This is the latest update on lateral partner and counsel moves in the Washington, D.C. area. The data included in these reports is primarily derived from Firm Prospects LLC. For more details and analysis, including a list of laterals for the month, please contact Steve Nelson.
Lateral hiring decreased in October, as 62 partner and counsel moves were reported, down from 92 in September. However, the 62 moves were higher than the 55 reported in October 2024. Overall, lateral hiring has increased by more than 22 percent during 2025.
More than half of the lateral moves came from Government, with 32 attorneys entering private practice, compared to 31 in September. Overall, there have been 276 government moves so far in 2025, compared to 87 during the same time period in 2024, and 158 in 2021, the last year of an administration change.
Fourteen different federal government agencies were represented in October, with the Department of Justice leading the way, with six attorneys moving to private practice. Other agencies that were represented with multiple hires were: the Department of the Treasury (5), the Department of Homeland Security (3), the Department of Health & Human Services (3), the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (2), and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (2).
Only one group move was reported in October, a two-partner D.C. component of a 37-lawyer Finance team that left Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft to join Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe.
Other firms reporting multiple hires included:
- Blank Rome
- Boies, Schiller & Flexner
- Covington & Burling
- Davis Wright Tremaine
- Foley & Lardner
- Greenberg Traurig
- Holland & Knight
- Jones Day
- Sidley Austin
- Taft, Stettinius & Hollister
Twenty-eight of the movers (45.2 percent) were women. Of those, half joined their new firms as partners. That compared to 19 of the 34 men (55.9 percent) who joined their new firms as partners.
Litigation was the most active practice area represented, with 9 moves. Other active practice areas included:
- International Trade (7)
- Real Estate (5)
- Banking/Finance (5)
- White Collar/Investigations (4)
- Antitrust (4)
- Intellectual Property (3)
- Data Security (3)
- FDA (3)
- Government Contracts (3)
- Tax (3)
The McCormick Group keeps extensive data on Lateral Moves in the D.C. market and offers consulting services relating to that data. Among the areas of focus include:
- A breakdown of the sources of laterals—from law firms, government, and in-house positions.
- The leading government agencies represented.
- The most active law firms in the lateral market and those firms that are the sources of the most laterals.
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