This is the latest update on lateral partner and counsel moves in the Washington, D.C. area. The data included in these reports are primarily derived from Firm Prospects LLC. For more details and analysis, including a list of laterals for the month, please contact Steve Nelson.
January was a particular active month for lateral hiring in DC, as 92 partner and counsel moves were reported, up from 39 in December. The number is also significantly higher than the 57 moves reported in January 2025.
Group moves were also significantly up from previous months as seven such transactions occurred. Those were:
- Five D.C. Public Finance partners who moved from Ballard Spahr to Barnes & Thornburg, as part of a nationwide lateral transaction.
- Five Health Care partners who moved from various offices of Burr & Forman to the D.C. office of King & Spalding.
- Three Litigation and Private Client lawyers who moved from the Galveston TX law firm of Greer Herz & Adams to the D.C. office of Ruddy Gregory
- Three partners from the now-defunct McGlinchey Stafford who joined Womble Bond Dickinson in DC.
- Two National Security and Investigations partners who joined Greenberg Traurig from Eversheds Sutherland. (Greenberg simultaneously added the Deputy General Counsel of the U.S. Cyber Command.)
- Two Environmental lawyers who joined Baker Botts from Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman.
- Two FDA partners who joined Paul Hastings from Hogan Lovells.
Other firms reporting multiple lateral moves included:
- Akin Gump
- Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney
- Dechert
- Jenner & Block
- Orrick
- Venable
- WilmerHale
Hiring from the government continued to be a major component of the lateral market, as 19 hires were made from the federal government. Eight of those hires came from the Department of Justice, with three each coming from the Securities and Exchange Commission and from the U.S. Patent & Trademark office.
January was also an active month for the hiring in-house counsel, as eight such moves occurred.
Thirty of the movers (32.6 percent) women. Of those, 21 (70 percent) joined their new firms as partners. That compared to 46 of the 62 men (74.2 percent) who were selected partners at their new firms.
Litigation once again was the most active practice area represented, with 13 moves. Other active practice areas included:
- White Collar/Investigations (9)
- Health Care (8)
- Intellectual Property (7)
- International Trade (6)
- Antitrust (6)
- Banking/Finance (6)
- Public Finance (5)
- Investment Management (3)
- Environmental (3)
- Government Contracts (3)
- Tax (3)
Keyed by heavy recruiting from government, lateral movement at the partner and counsel level increased by nearly 14 percent in 2025. On the other hand, group moves decreased last year.
These are among the findings in The McCormick Group’s report on the lateral partner market in D.C. in 2025. The report also features:
- The leading government agencies that were the source of the more than 290 attorneys that moved from federal agencies to private law firms.
- The most active law firms in the lateral market, including those from smaller firms.
If you are interested in this free report, please click here.
