Private Equity Partner Hiring in New York: Slower Moves in a Still-Active Market
While lateral partner hiring remains strong across many practice areas and geographies, movement among private equity partners in New York has tempered in 2025. In a recent The American Lawyer article, Ryan Harroff explores this trend, drawing on insights from the newly released Macrae+ Private Equity: New York report and commentary from our New York-based partner Ryan Belville.
According to our Macrae+ data, just nine private equity partner moves took place in New York in the first half of 2025 - a significant drop from the 28 moves recorded in all of 2024. Notably, 78% of these 2025 moves were lateral hires, reinforcing firms’ ongoing preference for partners with portable business.
So why the slowdown?
As Ryan explains in the article, economic and geopolitical uncertainty, combined with slower client activity in 2024, is making both partners and firms more measured in their decision-making. “In private equity, firms are making incredibly significant investments,” he notes, “and they're doing so with some uncertainty - both uncertainty that relationships will port and uncertainty that the sponsors that do port will be active and bring revenue in the door in the first couple years the partner is there.”
Despite fewer moves, deal value in the private equity space continues to rise, suggesting that firms are still bullish on the long-term opportunity - but highly selective in their hiring. As the market continues to evolve, we’re closely tracking which firms and individuals are poised to capitalize on renewed momentum in the months ahead.
Read the full article from Ryan Harroff for The American Lawyer here.
Please note: A subscription may be required to access the full article.
For more insights, connect directly with Ryan Belville or reach out to our team at Macrae here.
