Insights – Firm Prospects

Data Privacy

13 min read

Q3 2019 – On the Move: Data Privacy

Notwithstanding the impending recession chatter, and with some firms even bulking up on their bankruptcy ranks in preparation for a downturn, the lateral hiring market for law firms showed no signs of cooling in Q3 with over 4,000 moves tracked by Firm Prospects.

Law Schools

14 min read

Here’s Where the Top 5 Law School Graduates Are Going

Curious about where recent law school graduates from Yale, Harvard, Stanford, University of Chicago, and Columbia (Class of 2017-2019) are working now? Explore our interactive graphs below to discover their career paths. Let's explore where these graduates are by law firm, location and practice area.

In-House

9 min read

In-House Moves are Busy, too.

The red hot lateral associate market has received most of the press in 2021, but Firm Prospects' data show that attorneys are not just moving from one law firm to another. Of the 12,500+ attorney moves we have tracked so far this year, 1,133 of those moves have been to in-house roles.

Law Firms

9 min read

Associate Hiring and Attrition at “Top 25” Law Firms

There was a time when lateral moves by law firm partners got most of the attention from the legal media. As record numbers of associates switch law firms, however, legal publications have started to focus their attention on associate hiring. By way of example, in recent months Firm Prospects has worked with various reporters on stories covering law firm associate hiring from Law360, Business Insider, Bloomberg Law and more. Accordingly, we thought it would be interesting to take a broad look at the associate hiring and attrition rates at the twenty-five largest firms based on gross revenue (the "Top 25").

Practice Areas

12 min read

Record-Breaking Transactional Hiring by Law Firms in 2021

Much has been said and written about the robust lateral hiring of 2021, and it was, in fact, a very busy year. For example, Firm Prospects tracked 27,245 attorneys moves in 2021, as compared to 17,383 in 2020 and 22,362 in 2019, a 56% and 22% increase, respectively. What really stands out about 2021, however, is not necessarily the total number of hires but rather the unprecedented demand for transactional attorneys.

Attorney Movements

10 min read

The New Way to Network: How Attorneys Are Leveraging Their Connections

To make strategic career decisions and stay connected with colleagues and former classmates, lawyers can benefit from using networking and career development tools beyond LinkedIn. While the popular social platform is a great tool for cross-industry networking, an industry-specific platform built exclusively for attorneys can provide a more targeted network and career development tools built for the legal profession. Attorneys looking to keep up with peers, pursue lateral positions, and conduct in-depth research on prospective employers require a platform that’s designed specifically for them.

Practice Areas

20 min read

Should you Work with a Legal Recruiter? It Depends.

Associate attorneys contemplating a lateral move often wonder if they should enlist the services of a legal recruiter. To answer this question, associates should analyze the current demand for their specific skill. If the associate's services are in high demand, then law firms are typically willing to pay the fee associated with the placement, and the associate can leverage some of the many benefits associated with working with a good legal recruiter. If not, then the associate might be better served by undertaking the search on their own.

In-House

9 min read

Law Firm, In-House and Government Attorney Jobs all Dip in February

The Department of Labor noted that legal jobs dipped in January of this year. That trend appears to be continuing, as new listings on Firm Prospects from law firms, in-house legal departments and government agencies all dipped slightly in February.

Law Firms

7 min read

Lateral Law Firm Hiring Dips in February

Similarly to the decline observed in new attorney job listings last month, and considering more news about law firm layoffs, it's no surprise that lateral law firm hiring also experienced a dip in February, compared to both the previous month and year-over-year. As illustrated in the chart below, law firm hiring has steadily declined since October 2023, dropping from a peak of 1,957 new hires that month to just 1,314 hires in February.

Stay Ahead with Data-Driven Insights

Q3 2019 – On the Move: Data Privacy

Here’s Where the Top 5 Law School Graduates Are Going

In-House Moves are Busy, too.

Associate Hiring and Attrition at “Top 25” Law Firms

Record-Breaking Transactional Hiring by Law Firms in 2021

The New Way to Network: How Attorneys Are Leveraging Their Connections

Should you Work with a Legal Recruiter? It Depends.

Law Firm, In-House and Government Attorney Jobs all Dip in February

Lateral Law Firm Hiring Dips in February

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Latest posts

Q3 2019 – On the Move: Data Privacy

Here’s Where the Top 5 Law School Graduates Are Going

In-House Moves are Busy, too.

Associate Hiring and Attrition at “Top 25” Law Firms