ICLG: US Firms Lead the Race for Antitrust Partners
A recent ICLG article by Rob Harkavy covers Macrae's new Transatlantic Antitrust report, which tracks antitrust partner movement across Brussels, London, New York and Washington, DC from January 2024 to September 2026.
The report records a net gain of 19 antitrust partners for AmLaw 25 firms across the four cities in the first nine months of 2026, ahead of the net gain of 15 recorded in each of 2024 and 2025. Across all four locations, Macrae recorded 56 partner moves between January and September, compared with 72 in 2025 and 63 in 2024. Washington accounted for 26 of this year's moves, followed by London with 12, and Brussels and New York with nine each.
The article highlights how the drivers differ by market. In London, recruitment has become more focused on competition litigation, with the report noting that "demand there is high, but the talent pool is small," and that conflicts, rates and panel requirements add further complexity to hiring. In New York, merger activity is sustaining demand for transactional antitrust lawyers, and Macrae expects this to continue into 2027 provided deal flow holds. In Brussels, seven of this year's nine moves involved existing partners changing firms. In Washington, eight of this year's moves came from government into private practice, 31% of the total.
Read the full article from Rob Harkavy in ICLG here: US Firms Lead the Race for Antitrust Partners