Private Equity Practice Hiring Remains Hot as Firms Compete for Market Share
A recent article by Amanda O'Brien in The American Lawyer examines how top AmLaw firms have significantly adapted their hiring strategies to deepen their private equity benches, with Pirical's latest data revealing more than 50% headcount growth in some PE practices over the past three years.
The piece explores how firms are responding to Kirkland & Ellis's dominance of the PE market — and the very different regional dynamics shaping where that competition plays out. While emerging markets like Nashville and Austin are attracting a growing share of PE attorneys, Northern California has seen demand slow considerably from the hiring burst of a few years ago.
Macrae West Coast US Partner Sarah Morris, comments on how the competitive landscape has reshaped both compensation structures and hiring thresholds across the market:
"Private equity is touching everything, it's omnipresent … it really is such a force in the market. … These clients are bringing in the most significant revenue streams at some firms. A lot of firms have completely changed their compensation system, and that's for two reasons — one is retention, and the other is to be able to hire."
Morris also notes that while firms remain engaged with the market, appetite for risk in lateral hiring has shifted:
"While the market is certainly slower, all the firms are saying that they still want to expand in private equity."
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