Law firm attrition differs from an economic perspective based on whether the departing attorney transitions to another peer law firm or joins an in-house legal department. When attorneys move to another peer law firm, the immediate impact often involves potential loss of revenue and talent for the departing firm, along with the costs associated with recruitment and training replacements. However, when attorneys opt for in-house roles, the departure could offer unexpected advantages. For instance, it may lead to potential new business opportunities as the attorney moving in-house may enlist the services of their former employer, thereby mitigating revenue loss and possibly even expanding the firm’s client base. Moreover, if the in-house employer was already a client of the law firm, the transition could solidify existing client relationships, potentially enhancing client retention rates.

With this in mind, Firm Prospects reviewed over 8,000 attorney movements from AmLaw 100 law firms to in-house legal roles to determine which law firms sent the most attorneys to in-house roles, which in-house legal departments hired the most attorneys, which law schools were attended by these attorneys, and which practice areas were the most sought after.

AmLaw 100 Firms that Sent the Most Attorneys to In-House Roles

In the aggregate, Latham sent the most attorneys to in-house roles with 271 moves, followed by Kirkland, Cooley, Ropes and Goodwin with 264, 220, 198, and 186 total moves to in-house roles, respectively.  The top 25 law firms can be seen in the chart immediately below.

Since AmLaw 100 firms range in total attorney headcount from over 5,500 to fewer than 300, we analyzed which firms sent the most attorneys to in-house roles as a percentage of active, U.S.-based attorneys.  Cooley topped the list with 220 total attorneys moving to in-house roles over the past three years, an amount equal to over 18% of its active attorney headcount.  Fenwick, Weil, Wilson Sonsini and Ropes rounded out the top 5, sending 16.94%, 14.46%, 14.44%, and 14.06% of their attorneys to in-house roles, respectively.   Although none were in the top 5, as can be seen in the chart below, 3 of the top 25 firms sending attorneys to in-house roles were large employment-focused firms, led by Ogletree, which sent over 11% of its attorneys to in-house roles over the last 36 months.

In-House Moves by Practice Area

Of the attorneys who moved from AmLaw 100 law firms to in-house roles, over 32% were part of the corporate department at their prior law firm, followed by litigation at 21.5%.  This is especially noteworthy because corporate attorneys make up just over 22% of all AmLaw 100 attorneys, as compared to 31% who are litigators.   Thus, over a 3-year period, with 12.5% of corporate attorneys and 6% of litigation attorneys moving to in-house roles, corporate attorneys are two times more likely to move from an AmLaw 100 firm to an in-house role than their colleagues in the litigation department.

In-House Employers with Most Hires from AmLaw 100 Firms

Not surprisingly, large financial institutions and tech giants were the most frequent employers of attorneys from AmLaw 100 law firms.  With 183 total attorney hires over the past 36 months, Amazon led the pack with more than 3 times more attorney hires than the companies with the second most hires, JPMorgan Chase and Meta, both of which hired 60 attorneys, and this isn’t including the 23 hires by its subsidiary, Amazon Web Services.  Big 4 accounting firms and hedge funds were also frequent employers of top-tier attorneys.

Law Schools Attended by Attorneys who went In-House

Not surprisingly, many of the attorneys who moved to in-house roles from AmLaw 100 law firms attended top-ranked law schools, with NYU, Harvard, Columbia and Georgetown each sending over 300 attorneys to in-house positions over the last 3 years.

In conclusion, as highlighted earlier, a move to an in-house role can impact a law firm differently than a transition to a peer firm. Therefore, when evaluating attorney attrition, it’s crucial to not only look at the numbers but also where attorneys are going.

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