Lawyer Movement Continues to Rise at Unprecedented Rates in 2021

Lawyer movement continues reaching new heights in the unprecedented year of 2021 as law firms try to keep up with client demand amid a fiercely competitive talent market.

Leopard Solutions’ data showed that just from August 1 to October 31 of this year, 6,158 lawyers exited a top 200 firm. This is nearly double the number of top 200 exits during the same time period in 2020, 2019 and 2018. During the same period, 3,977 lawyers lateraled to a top 200 firm.

Movement from top 200 firms from August 1 to October 31

• 2021 – 6,158 exits; 2,791 laterals into top 200 firms
• 2020 – 3,308 exits; 3,095 laterals into top 200 firms
• 2019 – 3,771 exits; 1,587 laterals into top 200 firms
• 2018 – 3,554 exits; 3,977 laterals into top 200 firms

Movement from under top 200 firms from August 1 to October 31

• 2021 – 5,387 exits; 2,500 laterals into under top 200 firms
• 2020 – 3,518 exits; 3,802 laterals into under top 200 firms
• 2019 – 4,858 exits; 2,260 laterals into under top 200 firms
• 2018 – 3,304 exits; 3,987 laterals into under top 200 firms

This year continues to show unprecedented levels of attorney movement at firms of all sizes with record levels of attorney exits. These exits include lawyers who have moved to another firm, moved in-house or to other non-law firm positions (government, law school, etc) or left the legal industry altogether.

It’s crucial that law firms, legal recruiters and candidates use this market to their advantage, source and compete for candidates at all levels in a competitive market, retain your people and set your lateral hires up for success. Learn more on how to do this in a recent Leopard Solutions webinar.

Watch a Leopard webinar on what legal recruiters are looking for in today’s legal jobs market.

To learn more about this data and find out how Leopard Solutions can help you with your lateral talent needs, contact Phi Flora.