NALP Bulletin+
April 2023

Read the March 22, 2023 press release on this topic (PDF)

Watch NALP Director of Research Danielle Taylor's short video presenting highlights from the survey

After an unprecedented increase of 111% in 2021, the 2022 lateral hiring market produced mixed results according to the latest analyses from NALP's Survey on 2022 Lateral Hiring. Overall lateral hiring fell by 11.5%, but that decline was driven by a cooling-off in the lateral associate market, which decreased by nearly 20% as compared to 2021, following a 149% year-over-year gain in 2021. Lateral hiring of both partners (+5.5%) and other lawyers (+9.5%) increased somewhat in 2022, but that was not enough to make up for the drop in lateral associate hiring. Lateral hiring varied across firm sizes, regions, and cities included in the analyses, with some markets reporting increases in overall lateral hiring, while others experienced even sharper declines. As the only firm size with increases in both associate and partner lateral hiring, firms of 250 or fewer lawyers appear to have taken advantage of the overall pull back in lateral hiring across larger-sized firms in 2022.

NALP's lateral hiring analyses are based on data collected from U.S. law firms and are a reflection of the respondent pool, which may fluctuate from year-to-year. For calendar year 2022, 511 law offices completed the survey, which translates into 11% of respondents in firms of 250 or fewer lawyers, 15% in firms of 251-500 lawyers, 12% in firms of 501-700 lawyers, and 61% in firms of more than 700 lawyers. This is relatively consistent with regards to firm size to the 2021 respondents. Overall, 50% of offices reported a decrease in lateral hiring in 2022, 9% reported no change, and 41% reported an increase.

Key Findings:

• Based on aggregate hiring information on more than 8,100 lateral lawyers in 2022, the overall volume of hiring declined by 11.5% compared with 2021 in these same offices/firms, with a median of 6.0 and an average of 15.9 lateral hires per office/firm. This dip in lateral hiring was largely driven by a fall-off in the lateral associate market, which declined by 19.6%. In contrast, lateral partner hiring was up by 5.5%. The average number of lateral associates hired per office/firm in 2022 was 10.1 and the median was 4.0 compared to an average of 2.9 and a median of 1.0 for lateral partner hires. Lateral associate hiring accounted for 63.5% of lateral hiring in 2022 and lateral partner hiring accounted for 18.0%. Other lawyer lateral hiring, which includes staff attorneys and counsel, comprised 18.5% of lateral hiring. (See Table 1.)

• However, changes in lateral hiring as compared to 2021 varied considerably by firm size. In firms of 250 or fewer lawyers, lateral hiring was up by 24.0% overall, driven by a 56.0% increase in partner lateral hiring. By firm size, these smallest firms were the only group to report an aggregate increase in lateral hiring, as well as an increase in associate lateral hiring (+11.5%). In contrast, firms of more than 700 lawyers experienced the largest overall decline in lateral hiring (-16.5%), fueled by a nearly 25% decrease in associate lateral hiring. (See Chart 1.)

• As Table 2 shows, the level of hiring, measured by either the median or average number of hires, also varied considerably by both firm size and geography. For example, for firms reporting their data on a firm-wide basis (in the section of Table 2 labeled "Firm-wide Reports"), lateral hiring as measured by medians ranged from 15 to 99 depending on firm size.

• Among offices reporting activity for a single office, offices averaged from 0.9 to 1.6 lateral partner hires depending on firm size, whereas associate lateral hiring averages ranged from 3.9 to 5.6 per office.

• On a regional basis, the level of lateral hiring per office was highest in the Northeast — largely driven by the New York City market — with a median of 8.0 and an average of 13.5 lateral hires in 2022. However, in terms of aggregate volume change, lateral hiring fell the most in the Northeast (-23.3%), with Boston in particular reporting a large decline of nearly 46% (-45.8%).

• Among cities reporting at least 50 lateral hires in 2022, the percent change in lateral hiring from 2021 ranged from a decline of 46% in Boston, MA to an increase of 75% in Salt Lake City, UT. (See Chart 2.)

• Despite an overall 11.5% decrease in lateral hiring in 2022, not every office or firm experienced a decline, while others saw an even larger drop in lateral hiring. For example, about 47% of offices/firms reported a decrease of 11% or more in lateral hiring, while 53% experienced smaller declines or even increases in lateral hiring.

• By city, changes in associate lateral hiring ranged from a decrease of nearly 67% in Austin, TX to an increase of more than 122% in Wilmington, DE. Regionally, lateral associate hiring was down the most in the Northeast (-27.5%) and West/Rocky Mountain (-26.9%) regions for survey respondents that could provide individual office-level data.

• Although overall partner lateral hiring increased slightly, this was not the case across every firm size, region, and city. While firms of 250 or fewer lawyers reported a 56.0% increase in partner lateral hiring, firms of 251-500 lawyers experienced a 17.0% decline. Regionally, lateral partner hiring fell by more than 14% in the Mid-Atlantic region, while it grew by almost 16% in the West/Rocky Mountain region. By city, year-over-year changes in lateral partner hiring ranged from declines of 50% in Pittsburgh, PA and San Diego, CA to increases of 200% in Wilmington, DE and Charlotte, NC.

• This was the second year in which NALP asked offices about the hiring of any lateral lawyers who were located outside of the firm's geographic area and were allowed to work remotely without relocating. Overall, 16.1% of offices/firms reported hiring lateral partners who did not need to relocate (up from 15.3% in 2021), 19.3% reported hiring lateral associates who did not need to relocate (down from 22.7% in 2021), and 24.6% reported hiring other lateral lawyers who did not need to relocate (up from 23.4% in 2021). (See Table 3.)

• This year's survey results document a lateral hiring market in flux, following 2021's record-breaking year. Survey results, of course, reflect the respondent pool for each year. Nonetheless, to the extent that the survey pool is relatively consistent with respect to firm size and location, it appears that the average number of lateral hires per office/firm remains just below the record levels set in 2018 and 2019, although the median number of hires in 2022 (6) continues to fall below the medians of 7-8 observed during those years. (See Chart 3 and Table 4.)

For full results from prior year surveys, see NALP Bulletin+ columns posted under the Entry-level and Lateral Hiring page.

Table 1. Summary of Lateral Hiring — 2022

Source: NALP Survey on 2022 Lateral Hiring

Table 2. Lateral Hiring in 2022 and Comparison with 2021

Source: NALP Survey on 2022 Lateral Hiring

This table includes offices/firms that reported at least one lateral hire in 2021 or 2022 and that also reported complete information for both years. In aggregate, these 511 employers reported 8,143 lateral hires in 2022. Cities shown had at least 5 offices/firms collectively reporting at least 20 lateral hires in 2022. Following the overall total shown in the first line, the table separates out surveys which reported information firm-wide, or for multiple offices, from those which reported office-specific information. Firm-wide information by region includes firms whose offices are predominately or wholly in that region. Office-specific information includes some instances of firms with most lawyers located in that city or whose additional offices are located primarily in adjacent areas, and of multi-office nation-wide firms consolidating two geographically adjacent offices into a single survey.

Table 3. Prevalence of Lateral Hiring Outside of Firm's Geographic Locations and Relocation Requirements in 2022

Source: NALP Survey on 2022 Lateral Hiring
* The number of offices represents the total number of offices hiring this category of lawyers and also responding to the question regarding relocation requirements.
Note: Following the overall totals shown in the first line, the table separates out surveys which reported information firm-wide, or for multiple offices, from those which reported office-specific information. Some firms that reported office-specific information in Table 2 were only able to report firm-wide data for these items. Firm-wide information by region includes firms whose offices are predominately or wholly in that region. Office-specific information includes some instances of firms with most attorneys located in that city or whose additional offices are located primarily in adjacent areas, and of multi-office nation-wide firms consolidating two geographically adjacent offices into a single survey. A dash indicates that fewer than 5 offices hired this category of lawyers and responded to the question regarding relocation requirements.

Table 4. Summary of NALP Findings on Lateral Hiring — A 24-Year Retrospective, 1999-2022

Sources: NALP Survey on Lateral Hiring, 2021-22; NALP Survey of Legal Employers on Recruiting/Snapshot of the Recruiting Season Survey, 1999-2020

Chart 1. Percent Change in Lateral Hiring from 2021 to 2022 by Firm Size

Note: Data by firm size is inclusive of both firm-wide and office-specific reporting. Total lateral hiring includes partner, associate, and other lateral lawyer hires. Source: NALP Survey on 2022 Lateral Hiring

Chart 2. Percent Change in Aggregate Lateral Hiring from 2021 for Cities with 50 or More Lateral Hires in 2022

Source: NALP Survey on 2022 Lateral Hiring

Chart 3. Percent Change in Aggregate Lateral Hiring from Previous Year, 1999 - 2022

Sources: NALP Survey on 2021-22 Lateral Hiring; NALP Survey of Legal Employers on Recruiting/Snapshot of the Recruiting Season Survey, 1999-2020