Tracking lateral attorney movement offers a quantifiable perspective on market dynamics. In 2024, for example, hires decreased by 1 percent compared with 2023 but increased 3 percent from the previous seven-year average.
Much more context can be gleaned by taking a closer look at these moves: who moved from one firm to another, who joined private practice, and, notably, who left for in-house counsel, government, or non-legal roles.
Partners. Across the board, partner moves were up 6 percent from 2023, but a significant 17 percent from the previous seven-year average. Given that this includes the post-COVID “talent wars,” where we saw record highs in lateral mobility, this signifies that law firms are heavily relying on lateral hiring to boost market share, increase revenue, and secure key client relationships.
But hidden within this total are interesting storylines:
- Firm to Firm: In 2024, 2,792 partners moved from one firm to another, more than any other category last year. It’s also the highest volume over the past four years, and again, this includes the frenzied recruiting years immediately after the pandemic.
- Hires: This category includes lateral partners who joined firms directly from in-house or government positions. In 2024, 1,371 partners joined private practice firms, a massive increase of 27 percent over 2023. This is another signal at firms’ eagerness to recruit partner-level talent outside of the law firm ecosystem.
- Departures: This category includes the partners who left private practice; these individuals could have joined in-house legal departments, government agencies, or left the profession entirely (via retirement or reinvention). In 2024, this category included 906 moves, a 44 percent decrease from the previous three-year average. This four-year low indicates that in a high-demand market, partners are staying put.
Associates. While the partner numbers showed a lateral hiring boom, associate numbers dropped: Total moves were down 5 percent from 2023 and 6 percent from the previous three-year average.
Slower-than-average hiring was evident in every category of associate moves:
- Firm to Firm: The total number of true lateral moves — 5,756 — was up 9 percent from 2023 but down 20 percent from the three-year average. Within the associate ranks, this may reflect a solid return to normalcy after COVID, coupled with higher demand for partner-level talent.
- Hires: Law firms hired 2,360 associates into private practice, the lowest number in the past four years. This is a 38 percent decrease from 2023, and a dramatic 54 percent decrease from the previous three-year average. (Consider that in both 2021, law firms hired more than double the 2024 total.) As law firms invest more in partner talent — and legal technology — they are recalibrating their leverage ratios and associate headcounts.
- Departures: In 2024, 3,448 associate-level lawyers left private practice. This marked an increase of 11 percent from 2023 but a decrease of 24 percent from the previous three-year average. It’s important to note this precedes the Trump administration’s work to limit government hiring; this is more of a signal of lower demand for less experienced lawyers throughout the sector.
While tracking general attorney mobility provides valuable insight, analyzing how and where lawyers moved reveals a more nuanced and compelling picture.
