Election Cycle Creates A 'Perfect Storm' For Lateral Partner Hiring

Firms are preparing to address clients' needs following the looming administration change, and they are becoming increasingly confident about the outcome of the election.

Amy Savage

Amy Savage

Ed. note: This is the latest installment in a series of posts from Lateral Link’s team of expert contributors. Amy Savage is a Senior Director at Lateral Link, and focuses on matching attorneys with employers in the D.C. metropolitan area. She has placed associates, counsel, partners, and in-house attorneys with some of the finest practices in the world. You can reach her at Amy@laterallink.com or connect with her on Linkedin.

There is good news for attorneys interested in a lateral move: this campaign cycle has created a “perfect storm” for lateral partner recruiting. Firms are preparing to address clients’ needs following the looming administration change, and they are becoming increasingly confident about the outcome of the election. They are betting on more regulation, which will lead to even greater demand for legal services. Many have strategic growth plans that include hiring lateral partners to build up the practices that they believe will be most affected. In fact, more than one firm has told us that this election cycle has created ideal conditions for hiring lateral partners.

Government Attorneys

The change in administration presents a unique opportunity for government attorneys interested in moving to the private sector. In fact, 26.5% of new partners hired by firms since June have come from the government. In 2015, only nine partners moved from government to Biglaw during the same four-month period, compared to 22 this year. The increase is no surprise to those familiar with the D.C. market. The revolving door between Biglaw and the government takes more turns with an imminent change in administration than at any other time.

Many of the hires have been high-profile attorneys holding leadership roles related to an area of strategic growth for the firm. More often, however, firms have hired government attorneys who might not be as well-known but who have the expertise to immediately add value to their respective teams.

Law Firm Partners

Although the administration change gives firms a unique opportunity to hire government lawyers, firms have even greater interest in hiring current law firm partners, who have accounted for over 70% of recent moves. Firms anticipate a surge in demand in many practice areas: corporate/M&A, antitrust, cybersecurity, litigation, finance, white collar, and investigations are at the top of the list.

Despite the increased demand there will be a drop in the reported number of law firm laterals in Q4, but that is not bad news. Firms are actively interviewing many partners and extending offers today, but the partners will not join the firms until Q1 of 2017. A delay between offers and start dates for current partners is expected this time of year. Unlike government attorneys — who are usually better off financially by making a move sooner rather than later — the vast majority of law firm partners are better off waiting until the end of their firms’ fiscal years so that they can collect bonuses and other forms of deferred compensation. Firms understand and expect the delays. Rest assured that Q1 will see a surge in lateral hiring announcements about current partners.

The relationship between public and private practice in D.C. creates lateral hiring issues that are unique to our region. Make sure you have the guidance you need to navigate the D.C. market. If you are a partner looking for more market intelligence, or firm management looking to stay ahead of the curve, feel free to reach out to me or my colleagues at Lateral Link.


Lateral Link is one of the top-rated international legal recruiting firms. With over 14 offices world-wide, Lateral Link specializes in placing attorneys at the most prestigious law firms and companies in the world. Managed by former practicing attorneys from top law schools, Lateral Link has a tradition of hiring lawyers to execute the lateral leaps of practicing attorneys. Click ::here:: to find out more about us.