New York Partners Unscathed By MoneyLaw?
Ed. note: This is the latest installment in a series of posts from Lateral Link’s team of expert contributors. Ryan Belville is a Principal at Lateral Link in New York, focusing exclusively on associate and partner placements with Am Law 200 clients and placements for in-house attorneys.
When Cravath announced the most recent round of raises in June, the move was seen as a boon for New York associates, who have to contend with an exorbitant cost of living that’s unmatched by any other major legal market in the U.S. As the bonuses began proliferating to other major markets, there was concern that this would entice New York attorneys to leave the Big Apple for equal pay in less costly cities.
We were curious whether this turmoil would dampen the New York lateral partner market, but instead, it is plugging along as strong as ever. Though June had a notable drop in partner laterals, all the months since then have seen around 40 laterals per month – about average for the year.
By far, the largest amount of lateral movement is coming from corporate partners. They make up nearly 1/3 of all moves – not surprising given New York’s legal ecosystem. Litigation was close behind with 25% of all move in the city. The only other practice to surpass 10% was IP with 11% of the total moves in the last year to date.
The firm to watch in New York is Akerman, who brought on 13 partners over the last year, bolstering their comparatively small New York office. They had the third most partner acquisitions over the last year. The top two firms, Greenberg Traurig and Kirkland Ellis, continued their dominance in the lateral partner market by bringing on 24 and 19 partners, respectively. These two firms combined for over 11% of the total laterals in the New York partner market over the last year.
Our Managing Principal, Michael Allen, noted in his analysis of the California lateral partner market that firms are becoming more proactive in regards to partner succession and mandatory retirement. Interestingly, New York’s rate of lateral partners between 53 and 63 has not fallen by much. However, on average, firms are bringing on younger partners. In 2013, the most common age for a partner lateral was around 44. Over the last year, this number is shifting closer to 41 – despite the increasing amount of baby boomer partners that are 50 and older.
The amount of lateral movement for partners 65 and older has dropped slightly, but overall they are still lateraling at nearly the same rate.
As associate demand follows partner demand, glancing at the current demand for associates can be a decent barometer for demand in the partner market. Unsurprisingly, the demand for Corporate associates is incredibly high. Corporate associate demand makes up over 50% of the current lateral demand in New York. Litigation, in contrast with the high number of partner laterals, is lagging with just 6.4% of total demand. This gap is partially explained by the relative lack of exit strategies for mid-level litigation associates. Corporate is outpacing all other practices by so much that the next three closest practices account for about half the amount of demand that corporate does.
Although the New York lateral partner market is largely opaque, we measure the market both quantitatively and qualitatively to ensure our clients have access to the most up to date information. 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. We are happy to help. After all, it’s our job!
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.
