One in four lawyers from outside the UK

As the City of London's legal sector continues to experience a chronic shortage of candidates, reliance on overseas imports means that one in four new legal recruits are reportedly now from outside the UK.

Chris Hickey, director of professional services at recruitment firm Robert Walters told The Independent the lack of British lawyers reflects a shortfall of professional staff in their 20s and 30s as UK graduates choose to pursue careers outside the professions.

"Corporate law is a particularly difficult area, with firms finding it difficult to keep up with the boom in mergers and acquisitions activity there has been over the past 18 months," he said. Unsurprisingly, the mismatch between the demand and supply of professionals in London and the South-east is leading to higher pay.

The market for professionals in legal, finance, compliance and accounting has become increasingly global. "Overall, we reckon around one in seven lawyers we appoint is from Australia, New Zealand or South Africa and the picture is pretty similar in accountancy," reflected Hickey.

However chief executive Robert Walters told the Financial Times the candidate shortage in these areas is a global and not just a UK issue. "We bring people over from South Africa and Australia to work here but we are just shifting them around and not solving the problem."

Walters said the conundrum will only be resolved if India and China start producing highly qualified individuals who can work internationally without difficulty.