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 but organized by the Legal Recruiting team at The McCormick Group. For more details and analysis, including a list of laterals for the month, please contact Steve Nelson.
June was a good month for lateral partner hiring, as 79 partner and counsel moves were reported, up from 56 in May. The number was also slightly higher than the 75 moves reported in June 2026.
There were six group moves in May, up from three in May. Those were:
- A five-lawyer International Disputes Resolution group (two in DC) that moved from Wilmer Hale to King & Spalding.
- A six-person Government Relations group (including two partners in DC) that moved from Ice Miller to Taft.
- A two-partner Antitrust group (one in DC) that joined Kirkland & Ellis from Axinn Veltrop.
- A two-partner International Tax group that joined Baker & Hostetler from Alston & Bird.
- A two-partner Tax Controversy group that joined Miller & Chevalier from Morgan Lewis.
- A two-partner Intellectual Property group that moved from Wiley to Woods Rogers Vandeventer Black in Tysons.
Other firms reporting multiple lateral moves included:
- Davis Polk
- Dykema Gossett
- Gibson Dunn
- Greenberg Traurig
- Jenner & Block
- Latham & Watkins
- McDermott Will & Schulte
- Norton Rose Fulbright
- Skadden Arps
- Venable
- White & Case
- Winston Taylor
Fifteen attorneys moved from the federal government to law firms in June, up from nine in May. Six lawyers joined firms from in-house positions in June.
Twenty-eight of the laterals (35.4 percent) were women. Of those, 15 (53.6 percent) joined their new firms as partners. That compares to 38 of the 51 men (74.5 percent) who were selected partners at their new firms.
Litigation once again was the most active practice area represented, with nine moves. Other active practice areas included:
- Tax (6)
- Antitrust (6)
- Intellectual Property (6)
- Real Estate (5)
- Government Contracts (5)
- Banking/Finance (5)
- White Collar/Investigations (4)
- Energy (4)
- Securities/Commodities Regulation (4)
- Government Relations (4)
- International Trade/National Security (3)
In the latest episode of “Steve’s Rules,” TMG’s Steve Nelson and David Ris follow up on last year’s podcast discussing the impact of President Trump’s executive orders focused on major law firms. Among the areas covered:
- How much turnover has there been at the settling firms, as well as those firms that challenged the government.
- Why some firms have seen significant departures, while others have not.
- The impact on associate retention.
- The impact on diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.
The podcast, a feature of the Legal Recruiting and Legal Management practices of The McCormick Group, is available on virtually all platforms, including Apple and Spotify.
