What drove partner lateral moves in 2025?
In our searches, law firm mergers drove most of the partner lateral moves in 2025.
Compensation explains a minority of the moves in our searches. The rest trace to the merger wave and tighter diligence on portable books.
Why are law firm mergers driving partner moves?
Large firm combinations closed across the 2025 to 2026 window. Herbert Smith Freehills and Kramer Levin launched as Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer on June 1, 2025. Ashurst and Perkins Coie completed their combination on June 28, 2026. McDermott Will & Emery and Schulte Roth & Zabel completed their merger on August 1, 2025. Winston & Strawn and Taylor Wessing's U.K. business launched as Winston Taylor in June 2026. Hogan Lovells and Cadwalader launched on July 1, 2026 with more than 3,200 lawyers and more than $3.6 billion in revenue, per the firm's announcement.
Mergers produce partner laterals in two ways. First, partners in overlapping practice groups reconsider, because the firm's post-merger economics won't look the same for them, and competitors know it. And the firms absorbing that traffic hire aggressively to rebalance their own practice mixes. In our searches, both effects run for 12 to 18 months after the combination is announced, and the 2026 combinations aren't past that window yet.
In our searches, a partner at a newly merged firm hears from competitors quickly, often within weeks of the announcement.
- McDermott Will & Schulte
- Launched
- August 1, 2025
- Size the firm reported
- More than 1,750 lawyers, 20+ offices
- Winston Taylor
- Launched
- June 1, 2026
- Size the firm reported
- More than 1,400 lawyers, 20 offices
- Ashurst Perkins Coie
- Launched
- June 28, 2026
- Size the firm reported
- 3,500 client-facing practitioners, 52 offices
- Hogan Lovells Cadwalader
- Launched
- July 1, 2026
- Size the firm reported
- More than 3,200 lawyers, 18+ countries
| Combined firm | Launched | Size the firm reported |
|---|---|---|
| McDermott Will & Schulte | August 1, 2025 | More than 1,750 lawyers, 20+ offices |
| Winston Taylor | June 1, 2026 | More than 1,400 lawyers, 20 offices |
| Ashurst Perkins Coie | June 28, 2026 | 3,500 client-facing practitioners, 52 offices |
| Hogan Lovells Cadwalader | July 1, 2026 | More than 3,200 lawyers, 18+ countries |
How do firms value a partner's portable book?
Portable book diligence shifted across 2025 and 2026. Here's what we're seeing: as of early 2026, the firms we work with routinely discount stated portable-book figures by 30% upfront. That's an informed baseline rather than an opening position.
Firms we work with expect only about 70% of a stated book to transfer in the first 18 months after a lateral move. The 30% that doesn't transfer is some combination of: clients who stay with the original firm for regulatory or relationship reasons, matters that were attributed to the partner but originated with the firm's platform, and contingent matters that never monetize.
A partner who claims a $6M book gets underwritten at roughly $4.2M. The comp package is built on that $4.2M figure. Offers look different now, and so does the prep you need.
What diligence should a lateral partner expect?
Matter-level detail is what firms ask for now, instead of relying on an aggregate book figure. In our searches, firms ask who the originating partner was and who the billing attorney is.
Firms also ask whether a written engagement letter names you.
For lateral partners, come into the conversation with that documentation already organized. In our searches, firms read reluctance to produce it as confirmation that the stated book is soft. Right now, that's often enough to end the conversation before an offer.
Will partner lateral moves keep rising in 2026?
We think the merger wave isn't done and the pressures behind combinations haven't eased.
Our working assumption is that 2026 partner lateral volume will match or exceed 2025. Firms winning those searches built their diligence around the 30% haircut. They can close before a top partner commits to a destination.