Legal Job Centre's most clicked-on Job Of The Week is as follows:

General Counsel

* Burgess Paluch Recruitment

* Melbourne-based role

* Well-known Australian brand seeks experienced commercial lawyer for Melbourne based General Counsel role to provide proactive legal advice on a range of commercial matters at both an internal and external level

* Strong commercial approach and excellent communication and negotiating skills are required. Position would best suit 8+ PAE lawyer

Jackie Gillies, consultant at Burgess Paluch Legal Recruitment says the in-house sector has seen significant activity recently, with a range of new opportunities available in the market.

"In recent months we have noticed an improvement in the in-house market sector. There are some very interesting roles emerging and our research shows significantly improved confidence at general counsel level. 

"Whilst companies are still being extremely cautious about hiring staff, the mood is much more positive now than it was six months ago, and we expect this trend to continue in coming months."

According to Paluch, there are two separate factors driving the demand for in-house lawyers. Companies are either creating new legal roles, effectively bringing the legal function in-house in an effort to reduce their legal spend, or adding to the legal teams as the work starts flowing back in - but competition for positions is still fierce.

"In Melbourne, there has been recent demand for mid-level to senior lawyers either looking to make the move in-house, wanting a new corporate role, or returning from overseas, so these roles are being hotly contested."