NALP Bulletin+
April 2024

Read the March 27, 2024 press release on this topic (PDF)

The lateral hiring market showed continued signs of a course correction in 2023, with lateral lawyer hiring down 35% overall, following 2022's decline of 11.5%, according to the latest analyses from NALP's 2023 Lateral Hiring Survey. These two consecutive years of declines in the lateral market follow in the wake of the hiring frenzy of 2021 —- when lateral hiring increased by an unprecedented 111% — and may indicate that many firms continue to readjust their talent growth strategies as they grapple with excess capacity, particularly at the associate level.

While lateral hiring was down across all lawyer categories in 2023, the associate lateral market continued to be the softest, declining by nearly 43%, following 2022's decline of approximately 20%. After a small uptick of 5.5% in 2022, partner lateral hiring finally fell in 2023, but to a much lesser extent, only decreasing by 10%. Other lateral lawyers, such as staff attorneys and counsel, make up a smaller share of the lateral market, and hiring was down for these positions by approximately 32%. As in prior years, there were variations in lateral hiring across firm sizes, regions, and cities included in the analyses, with a few markets even reporting increases in overall lateral hiring.

Consistent with 2022, there are signs that smaller firms continued to take advantage of the more sizable pull back in lateral hiring across larger-sized firms. For example, although lateral partner hiring decreased nationally, it was up by 21% in firms of 250 or fewer lawyers. Further, these smaller firms had the lowest overall decline in associate hiring by firm size, down by 26% compared to a decline of 51% in the largest firms of more than 1,000 lawyers.

NALP's lateral hiring analyses are based on data collected from U.S. law firms and reflect the respondent pool, which may fluctuate from year-to-year. For calendar year 2023, 479 law offices completed the survey, of which 11% of respondents came from firms of 250 or fewer lawyers, 11% from firms of 251-500 lawyers, 16% from firms of 501-700 lawyers, 7% from firms of 701-1,000, and 55% from firms of more than 1,000 lawyers. This is relatively consistent with regards to the firm size of 2022 respondents. Key findings from the survey follow below.

Key Findings:

• Based on aggregate hiring information of 4,444 lateral lawyers in 2023, the total volume of hiring declined by 35% compared with 2022 in these same offices/firms, with an overall median of 4.0 lateral hires and an average of 9.3 per office/firm. These are the lowest median and average lateral hire figures since 2010. (See Table 1 and Table 4.)

• Like 2022 when lateral associate hiring fell by nearly 20%, this decrease in overall lateral hiring can be primarily attributed to the continued drastic decline in lateral associate hires, which plummeted by another 42.9% in 2023. (See Table 2.)

• Lateral partner hiring also experienced a downswing in 2023, albeit to a lesser extent, dropping by 10% in 2023, following a 5.5% increase in 2022.

• Lateral associate hiring accounted for 55.1% of all lateral hiring in 2023, while lateral partner hiring accounted for 24.4%. Other lateral hiring, which includes staff attorneys and counsel, comprises 20.4% of lateral hiring.

• Changes in lateral hiring as compared to 2022 varied by firm size. For example, despite the overall aggregate decline in lateral partner hiring, partner hiring increased in most firm sizes except for those with 501-700 lawyers (-19.1%) and 1,001 or more lawyers (-19.9%). Lateral associate hiring experienced a major decline across all firm sizes, with the largest change in firms with 1,001 or more lawyers, at -51%. Other firm sizes experienced declines ranging from approximately -26% to -42%. (See Chart 1.)

• Measures of median and average number of hires were also wide-ranging. Firms reporting their data on a firm-wide basis had medians ranging from 10 to 79 total lateral hires depending on firm size, and averages of 10.8 to 68.0. (See section of Table 2 labeled "Firm-wide/Multi-office Reports".)

• Among offices reporting hiring activity for a single office, rather than firm-wide, the average number of hires for cities range from 1.3 to 6.6 for lateral associates and 0.1 to 2.9 for lateral partners, with New York City at the top of the range in both categories. (See section of Table 2 labeled "Office-specific Reports.")

• Regionally, similar with 2022, the Northeast again had the largest decline in overall lateral hiring for single-office reporting (-45.4%), mostly attributed to New York's lateral hiring market, which experienced a drop of 47.2%.

• Among cities reporting at least 40 lateral hires in 2023, the percent change in lateral hiring from 2022 to 2023 ranged from a decline of 17.0% in Denver to a decline of 47.2% in New York City. (See Chart 2.)

• Although there was an overall 35% decrease in lateral hiring in 2023, outcomes were mixed across cities, regions, and firm sizes. About 47% (47.2%) of all offices experienced a decrease of 35% or more in total lateral hiring, leaving about 53% with smaller declines, or even increases in lateral hiring.

• On a city level, lateral partner hiring varied from a decrease of 80% in Austin to an increase of 150% in San Diego. Lateral associate hiring, on the other hand, generally decreased among all cities, with Charlotte and cities in Florida experiencing the largest declines of more than 55%. One outlier city was Wilmington, DE, where lateral associate hiring actually increased by 144.4%.

• For the third consecutive year, NALP asked offices about lateral lawyer hires from outside of the firm's geographic areas and who were granted the flexibility to work primarily on a remote basis without relocating. As the lateral hiring market has cooled, a smaller share of firms are hiring fully remote laterals located outside of the firms' geographic areas. Out of 250 firms/offices hiring lateral partners in 2023, 12.0% hired lateral partners outside of the firm's office locations and who did not need to relocate — dropping from 16.1% of offices in 2022. Similarly, of the 390 firms/offices hiring lateral associates in 2023, 13.6% hired lateral associates from outside of the firm's area who did not need to relocate — down from 2022 (19.3%) and 2021 (22.7%). (See Table 3.)

• This year's survey results depict a lateral hiring market that is still in a course correction after the over hiring that took place in 2021. The overall 35% decline in lateral hiring in 2023 was the biggest decrease observed since 2009, at the height of the Great Recession. Likewise, the overall median number of lateral hires (4) and average (9.3) were the lowest on record since 2010. Further, the average number of laterals hired in 2023 dropped by more than 6 lateral hires from 2022 (15.9 laterals), well below figures of 16.4-16.5 in 2018 and 2019. (See Table 4 and Chart 3.)

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

Table 1. Summary of Lateral Hiring — 2023

Source: NALP Survey on 2023 Lateral Hiring

Table 2. Lateral Hiring in 2023 and Comparison with 2022

Source: NALP Survey on 2023 Lateral Hiring

This table includes offices/firms that reported at least one lateral hire in 2022 or 2023 and which also reported complete information for both years. Collectively, these 479 employers reported 4,444 lateral hires in 2023. The total columns include lateral hiring of partners, associates, and all other lateral lawyers combined. Cities shown had at least five offices/firms collectively reporting at least 20 lateral hires in 2023. 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. Some firm size categories are omitted from the table because there were not at least five offices or five unique firms reporting data. Other areas in Florida includes locations outside of the Miami/Ft. Lauderdale/W. Palm Beach area.

Table 3. Prevalence of Lateral Hiring Outside of Firm's Geographic Locations and Relocation Requirements in 2023

Source: NALP Survey on 2023 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. A small number of 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 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. A dash indicates that fewer than five offices or five unique firms hired this category of lawyers and responded to the question regarding relocation requirements. Some firm size categories, regions, and cities are omitted from the table because there were not at least five offices or five unique firms reporting data across any of the hiring questions. Other areas in Florida includes locations outside of the Miami/Ft. Lauderdale/W. Palm Beach area.

Table 4. Summary of NALP Findings on Lateral Hiring, 1999-2023

Sources: NALP Survey on Lateral Hiring, 2021-23; NALP Survey of Legal Employers on Recruiting/Snapshot of the Recruiting Season Survey, 1999-2020

Chart 1. Percent Change in Lateral Hiring from 2022 to 2023 by Firm Size

Note: Data by firm size is inclusive of both firm-wide/multi-office and office-specific reporting. Total lateral hiring includes partner, associate, and other lateral lawyer hires.
Source: NALP Survey on 2023 Lateral Hiring

Chart 2. Percent Change in Aggregate Lateral Hiring from 2022 for Cities with 40 or More Lateral Hires in 2023

Source: NALP Survey on 2023 Lateral Hiring

Chart 3. Percent Change in Aggregate Lateral Hiring from Previous Year, 1999 - 2023

Sources: NALP Survey on 2021-23 Lateral Hiring; NALP Survey of Legal Employers on Recruiting/Snapshot of the Recruiting Season Survey, 1999-2020