You can get into Big Law from the firm you're at now.
Attorneys move into Am Law firms from mid-size and regional practices every year. Firms hire them for experience a short-handed group can use right away. We'll give you an honest read on where you stand, which firms are open to a background like yours, and what would make your case stronger. If the timing isn't right yet, we'll tell you what would change that.
- Where your background stands with Am Law firms, and which ones are open to it.
- Active searches with Am Law 100 and 200 firms, including firms with more than 1,000 attorneys.
- Confidential from the first message. Your current firm never hears from us.
- No cost to you, ever. The hiring firm pays our fee.
Big Law firms hire laterally from smaller firms far more often than the pedigree talk suggests. It happens most in the practices that stay busy: litigation, insurance-side work, labor and employment, real estate, and corporate. When a group is carrying more work than it can staff, an associate who has taken depositions or run a deal is worth more than a résumé that reads well. We represent attorneys at the country's leading national firms and run active searches with Am Law 100 and 200 firms, some of them well past 1,000 attorneys, so we know which groups are open right now. Once a firm finds the person it wants, our searches tend to close in about five to six weeks.
What firms weigh is specific. Practice depth comes first: the matters you've owned, and whether you carried real responsibility on a deal or in a courtroom. Writing samples get read closely, and credentials and class year still count, more so at the junior end. Timing matters as much as any of that, because a group with more work than bodies will consider a background a quieter group would pass on. The hours are real, so decide early whether you want that trade. Not every strong attorney at a smaller firm fits every Am Law seat.
What makes you competitive
You're being compared against laterals coming from other Am Law firms, so the case has to rest on what you've done. Here's what we work through with you before anything goes out.
Practice depth and real experience
The matters you've owned, the deals you closed, the motions and depositions that were yours. Firms care far more about substantive work in a busy practice than about how long you've been sitting somewhere.
Writing and credentials
A clean, persuasive writing sample carries real weight, and it's the piece most attorneys underprepare. Law school, journal, clerkships, and bar admissions still factor in, especially for junior associates.
Timing and class year
Mid-level associates move most easily, because that's where firms have the biggest staffing gaps and the least retraining to do. Senior associates move when a group needs specific expertise. We'll tell you where your class year sits against what's open.
Positioning the move
Why this firm and this group has to make sense to a hiring partner. We map your experience to what the group needs and work out how you talk about leaving a smaller firm, so the story is clear and credible.
Real recruiters who know the legal market.
You work with one person who specializes in your practice and keeps your search confidential.
Can I move to Big Law from a mid-size firm?
Yes, and it happens more than most attorneys assume. Firms hire laterally from smaller shops, particularly in litigation, insurance-side work, labor and employment, real estate, and corporate, where the work stays heavy. It isn't automatic, and we'll tell you how your odds look before you spend time on it. We run active searches with Am Law 100 and 200 firms, so that read comes from what those firms are hiring for now.
What do Big Law firms look for in a lateral from a smaller firm?
Practice depth in an area they're busy in, real deal or trial experience rather than a title, writing that stands on its own, and credentials that fit your class year. Timing counts too. A group with more work than it can staff will look hard at a candidate it would pass on in a slower year.
What class years move most easily?
Mid-level associates, roughly second through fifth year, have the easiest time. Firms have the most room at that level and the least retraining to do. Junior associates move when the credentials are strong, and senior associates move when a group needs particular expertise. Tell us your class year and practice, and we'll tell you what's realistic.
What does Big Law pay?
Most Am Law firms match a common market scale, the one Milbank set. As of July 2026 it runs from $235,000 base for a first-year up to $455,000 for a senior associate, with year-end bonuses on top. That's a real jump from most mid-size and regional pay, and the hours are higher to match. We'll walk you through both sides before you decide anything.
Is it confidential, and does it cost me anything?
It's confidential from the first message. Nothing about you reaches a firm without your explicit approval, and your current firm never hears from us. There's no cost to you at any stage, because the hiring firm pays our fee.