Moving Up: Partner Status One More Tool In Hunt For Recruits

(April 11, 2022, 1:04 PM EDT) --

(iStock.com/peshkov)


For ambitious associates, sometimes making partner means moving to another law firm. In recent years, partnership has been a carrot that firms have increasingly used to attract top talent in a seller's market, according to data from Firm Prospects, an organization that tracks the lateral hiring market.


In this series, Law360 Pulse examines how the practice has spiked in the last three years and which firms have been most inclined to welcome promising associates with a place in their partner ranks.

Additionally, when it comes to top talent, numbers from Firm Prospects show that it's not just the industry's biggest players recruiting associates with the prospect of a promotion. Pulse takes a look at how mid-size firms have used partnerships to fish attorneys from bigger rivals.

More Associates Are Exiting To Take Partner Job Offers

By Aebra Coe  |  April 11, 2022

As law firms scramble to fill talent gaps in busy practice areas, they're increasingly open to offering the title of partner to senior associates joining their firm from a competitor, with a 35% increase in such hires over the last two years, according to data from Firm Prospects.


Kirkland Outstrips Competitors In Associate-To-Partner Hires

By Xiumei Dong  |  April 11, 2022

Kirkland & Ellis LLP has brought on the most partners from other firms' associate ranks over the past three years, outstripping its competitors in the hunt for legal talent, according to data from Firm Prospects.


Partner Title Can Help Mid-Law Lure 'Stunted' Associates

By Emma Cueto  |  April 11, 2022

Just as with BigLaw, the practice of hiring associates into partner roles is on an upswing in Mid-Law, with data from Firm Prospects showing that the number of such hires doubled between 2020 and 2021 among mid-size firms – and with experts saying such a hiring strategy can help smaller firms pick up quality talent.



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