Confidence to recruit is on the increase among UK legal firms, according to legal staffing specialist BCL Legal.

The firm has reported an increase of more than 30% in the number of in-house legal jobs that it has placed in the first quarter of 2011 when compared to 2010 and 40% up on the same period in 2009.

BCL Legal attributes the increase to a number of factors, including: companies making the decision to use more in-house expertise rather than always relying on private practice; the ending of the main banking crisis; and more general business confidence in key sectors such as manufacturing.

Mark Levine, director at BCL Legal and head of its in-House team, says: “There is no doubting that the in-house market has been hit hard over the last couple of years. Businesses had to make tough decisions and most inflicted virtual employment freezes. However, we did start to see a pick up from mid-2010 onwards and this spike is a reflection of that.”