Biglaw Chairman Says Today's Lateral Market Is Like Nothing He's Ever Seen Before

He's been at the top of his firm for more than two decades, so this is really unheard of.

onOctober 21, 2021 at 3:15 PMOctober 21, 2021 at 1:46 PM

I’ve never seen it like this. Long-term partners doing well at really successful firms are seeing a brighter opportunity somewhere else and seizing it. Firms are recruiting people who would have been considered untouchable just 10 years ago. It’s changing.

— Seth Zachary, the outgoing chairman of Paul Hastings, commenting on the state of today’s lateral market. “Law firms have to focus a lot on delivering for their partners,” he continued in an interview with Reuters. “[J]ust like the partners deliver to the firm —even in the case of loyal, prosperous partners — or other firms will try to recruit them.” When Zachary officially steps down next fall, he will have helmed the firm for 22 years.

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Staci Zaretsky is a senior editor at Above the Law, where she’s worked since 2011. She’d love to hear from you, so please feel free to email her with any tips, questions, comments, or critiques. You can follow her on Twitter or connect with her on LinkedIn.