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Most legal departments prefer to add more in-house lawyers as opposed to adding work for outside counsel, according to a new survey. But it looks like this year, many departments might not have the opportunity to bring on any extra lawyers.

Special Counsel's Parker + Lynch, an executive recruiting and consulting firm, surveyed more than 500 legal professionals in the second half of 2017 for its first-ever 2018 In-House Legal Trends Survey.

According to the report, 65 percent of respondents said they prefer to add in-house lawyers versus relying on outside counsel. Thirty-three percent felt the opposite.