Laterally

04/05/2022

An astonishing 33% of NY associates left their firms last year. We share which firms were the best (and worst) at retaining their associates.

Associate attrition reached an astonishing 33%. But some firms held on to associates much better than others. Associate attrition rates in BigLaw have always been high. BigLaw is built on an up-or-out model where incoming classes of 100 first-years get whittled down to around 10 or 20 attorneys w

02/20/2020

"We'll never leave." Our post on law firms with the lowest attrition rates in 2019.

Attrition is a fact of life at America’s largest law firms. The average associate attrition at an AmLaw 100 firm is 16% per year. Take a look at any number of top law firms and you’ll see incoming classes of 100 or so lawyers whittled down to 10 or 20 lawyers a decade later. After 13 years, in f...

02/06/2020

In NY, here's where the jobs are, where and when associates move, associate retention rates, and the most competitive practices for associates

New York, with its 11,300 associates at Vault 100 firms, is the largest legal market in the US by far (second is DC with its 4,800 associates). This is the epicenter. The lateral market continues to boom here, with roughly 1,100 lateral hires in 2019. That’s actually down from a 2018 peak of 1,300...

03/27/2019

Some firms promote just 3% of associates to partner. Yet, almost half of AmLaw 100 firms promote more than 25% of associates to partner. Find out where your firm ranks.

Associates have long lamented the lack of promotion opportunities in Biglaw. For those associates at the top firms in the nation, where usually fewer than 10%—and sometimes as few as 3%—of attorneys in a class year get promoted to partner, the lament is justified. Yet, promotion rates actually v...

12/12/2018

What are the best firms for going in-house? We took a look at job moves going back to 2014 to find out.

Landing the best in-house jobs often takes a strong network, great credentials, and record of success with clients. You further increase your chances of landing a great in-house role by choosing the right practice area , the right city , and of course, the right firm. The right firm provides assoc

06/07/2018

You're not making partner without client relationships and your firm is not handing them to you. What is to be done? Check out the latest on the blog.

We often talk to associates at top law firms who want to make partner but don’t have a concrete plan for building client relationships. Their firms are pleased with their work, but are not handing them the client development opportunities they need to get to the next rung. This is typical at large

03/28/2018

To answer your four questions...

02/15/2018

Some firms manage to consistently outperform their peers in retaining their associates. Some of those firm will surprise you.

Big Law associate careers tend to be brutally short. Consider the outcomes of associates who joined 155 major law firms since 2010:* 44% left their firms before their 3rd year mark 67% left their firms before their 5th year mark 78% left their firms before their 7th year mark Amidst the migration, a

12/07/2017

Your ability to lateral in large part depends on your practice. We look at the data in our latest blog post.

Associates approaching the lateral market will find widely divergent demand for their services depending on the type of law they practice. Firms almost always hire lateral associates and counsel to fill specific gaps in their capabilities, and this happens in some practice areas far more often than

11/15/2017

Which firms will get you in-house?

In the last few weeks, we've looked at the cities and practice areas that give Big Law associates the best chance of going in-house. This week, we're looking at the law firms that send associates in-house at the highest rates.

11/10/2017

"We'll never leave"

Some large law firms manage to retain associates at a significantly higher rate than others. Below, using data from Laterally's Move Tracker, we compiled a list of law firm offices with the lowest attrition rates in 2017 and compared it to offices with the highest attrition rates this year. Congrats

10/30/2017

We ranked the top practices for going in-house...

80% of associates on Laterally are interested in in-house jobs, but only 24% of associates who leave their firm will go in-house, according to Laterally's data on in-house moves since 2010. In 2017, the competition has been even more intense, with the number of in-house hires from big law on