An exclusive study conducted by The McCormick Group reveals that fewer Washington, D.C. Chambers-rated lawyers moved in 2015 than in the previous year.
The study showed that of 890 lawyers rated by Chambers in its D.C. section, only 23 changed firms in 2015 (2.6 percent), as compared to the 34 lawyers (3.8 percent) who moved in 2014.
One factor in the decrease may have been that there was only one major merger in 2015 versus three in 2014. Nearly half on the 2014 departures came from firms that merged during the year. Nine of the Chambers-rated lawyers who moved in 2014 joined the newly minted law firms created when three firms dissolved that year— Dow Lohnes, Patton Boggs, and Bingham McCutchen. Seven other lawyers from those three firms moved to other destinations. In 2015, only 1 Chambers-D.C. ranked lawyer moved as a result of a merger.
Also interesting is the fact that in 2015, 12 of the lawyers who changed firms went to a smaller law firm (based on AmLaw rankings that year), as compared to 11 who went to a law firm with larger revenues. In 2014, 19 of the 34 lawyers who moved went to larger firms, as compared to 15 who went to smaller firms. An important note here is that 9 of the 19 lawyers who moved in 2014 wound up at a larger firm purely as a result of a merger. Thus if one does not count these mergers, only 10 lawyers made a move to a larger firm in 2014.
In terms of conclusions, the study tends to support:
—the idea that a very small percentage of high-profile Chambers-ranked lawyers move on a yearly basis, meaning that effective lateral strategies need to focus on so-called “up-and-comers” whose reputations (and presumably practices) have not yet been fully developed.
—that mergers and dissolutions provide much of the opportunities for significant lateral hiring.
—anecdotal evidence that high-profile lawyers are as much, if not slightly more, attracted by smaller firms than by larger firms. Yet given the relatively even split, there remains both interest in the global platform offered by larger firms, and the flexibility offered by smaller firms.
One important note about methodology; this study only included lawyers rated in the D.C. section of the Chambers ratings, and did not include D.C. lawyers who were rated in the National section.
TMG’s Take is a regular e-mail advisory produced by The McCormick Group. The company’s Legal, Government Affairs, and Law Firm Management groups combine the expertise of more than 15 Consultants to help law firms fulfill all of their lawyer and administrative recruiting needs. TMG’s Take covers topics across the spectrum of law firm management, including associate and partner compensation, growth strategies, marketing and business development, operations and facilities management, finance and accounting, professional development, and technology. Please direct all inquiries to Steve Nelson, Managing Principal at (703) 841-1700 or snelson@tmg-dc.com.
