The American Lawyer: When Hiring Rainmakers Demands 'Surgical' Precision
A recent piece by Patrick Smith for The American Lawyer looks at why lateral hiring gets more complicated, not less, once a firm's practice is already mature. Bringing in a rainmaker sounds like a straightforward win — but in a well-built-out practice, the wrong hire can create conflict, dilute existing partners' business, or unsettle culture rather than add to it.
Macrae's Jon Truster spoke to the piece on the internal dynamics firms need to weigh before adding to an already strong bench:
"Law firms don't want to risk hiring into a practice and then losing someone. And that is where firms need to be more surgical."
Truster also pointed to a less-discussed ripple effect: senior associates watching a new lateral partner land in their group can start to wonder what it means for their own path to partnership — and may begin exploring options elsewhere if they sense the runway has shortened.
The article underscores a broader shift in how AmLaw firms are approaching lateral strategy: less about simply adding a book of business, and more about whether a hire is genuinely additive to the platform, the client relationships, and the people already there.
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