The American Lawyer: Big Law Lateral Moves Hit New Peak Amid Snowball Effect
A recent American Lawyer article by Andrew Maloney examines why the Big Law lateral market has reached a new peak in recent months, driven by a run of senior leaders and major rainmakers changing firms - including Bill Savitt's move to Gibson Dunn this summer and Mike Aiello's move to Cravath this month.
The piece points to several compounding factors: record firm profitability giving firms more resources to invest in top talent, compensation packages that can now reach $30-40 million for the biggest rainmakers, and a shift toward two-tier partnership structures that make it easier for firms to accommodate larger group moves. Consultants quoted in the piece describe a "snowball effect," where each high-profile move makes the next one more likely.
Matthew Bersani, a partner at Macrae, comments in the piece on how firms' approach to lateral hiring has changed:
"A few years ago, many still tended to look at adding laterals as buying a book of business... Now, they're looking more at client and substantive overlap."
He also notes that firms are increasingly assessing how a lateral's client relationships and practice strengths complement their existing platform, rather than simply valuing the size of the book a partner brings with them - and that partners themselves are now more willing to step outside their comfort zone, including leaving leadership roles, to make a move.
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