Associate Lateral Hires Jumped 61 Percent Last Year
After lateral hiring stalled at law firms in 2009, it got a big jump start in 2010.
Lateral hiring increased by 38 percent last year, mostly fueled by a 61 percent increase in lateral associate hires, according to an April story in the NALP Bulletin, a publication of the NALP group for legal professionals. The increase in lateral partner hires was a more modest 8 percent.
The numbers represent a turnaround after two years of decline.
In raw numbers, about 2,300 lawyers jumped to new law firms last year, NALP says. The figures are based on reports from 284 law firms that made at least one lateral hire in 2009 or 2010. The median number of lateral hires was four per law firm, and the average was eight.
Lateral hiring was most robust in the Northeast and least active in the Southeast.
