Lateral Movement Overview

Over the last 12 months, there were a total of 553 lateral attorney moves in Dallas. 266 with Associate, 188 with Partner, 59 with Counsel and with 40 Attorney titles. The top five practices with the most movement are as follows:

1. Litigation- 34% of Lateral Moves

2. Corporate- 18% of Lateral Moves

3. Real Estate- 10% of Lateral Moves

4. Intellectual Property- 9% of Lateral Moves

5. Banking- 7% of Lateral Moves

Coming and Going

A few firms broke into the Dallas market in the past 12 months. Katten opened a 10 Partner shop with 7 Corporate, Real Estate and Litigation Partners from Hunton, a Corporate Partner from McDermott, and 2 Litigation Partners from Perkins Coie and Bracewell. Sheppard Mullin assembled an impressive team of 10 Partners from a variety of firms. 3 IP Partners from K&L Gates and Locke Lord, 2 Real Estate Partners from Quilling Selander, 2 Corporate Partners from Polsinelli and Hunton Andrews Kurth, 2 Litigators from Polsinelli and Foley and an L&E Partner from Polsinelli all now call Sheppard Mullin home. Kansas City based Stinson Leonard Street expanded when the 8 member Lackey Hershman firm changed the shingle and joined the 500+ attorneys at the litigation shop. Other firms that added 7 or more lateral Partners include: Winstead (8 - Litigation, Bankruptcy, Tax); DLA Piper (7- L&E, Litigation); Akerman (7 - Corporate, Real Estate, Litigation, International Trade); Jackson Walker (7 - Real Estate, Corporate, Litigation); Wick Phillips (7 - Banking, Corporate, IP, Litigation, L&E, Bankruptcy). Firms that lost 10 or more Partners include: Foley (-20); Hunton Andrews Kurth (-17); Winstead (-14); Clark Hill (-11).

On the Associate front, 30% of the moves were made by the classes of 2014 and 2015. Of those moves, 33% were in Litigation, 25% in Corporate, 14% in Real Estate, 8% in Banking, and 7% in L&E practices.

Want to Know Who Went Where?

HERE IS THE FULL LIST OF LATERALS, INCLUDING NAMES AND PRACTICE AREA:

Current Trends

The graph below demonstrates the current demand for talent by practice.

The past top five practice areas continue to surge. Here is why:

1. Corporate - An active M&A environment continues with strong deal volume in 2018 as companies continue to look for opportunities to bolster modest organic growth. Meanwhile, the regulatory and geopolitical challenges remain. For example, the U.S. Department of Justice’s appeal to block AT&T’s acquisition of Time Warner, coupled with increasing scrutiny around Chinese investments in the U.S., demonstrates that the regulatory environment may remain challenging but this will create a need for additional expertise to manage the landscape. (2) Lastly, the recent U.S. tax reform has created opportunities for U.S. companies to repatriate cash to the U.S. and corporate tax expertise will continue to be a valuable asset to any corporate group.

2. Intellectual Property -70% of current IP needs fall into the transactional category. Firms with strong prosecution shops are looking for technical IP lawyers and other clients are looking for licensing experience for rapidly growing tech transactions practices. We still need to see what impact the U.S. Supreme Court’s case in Oil States Energy Services will have over PTAB cases and IP Litigation in general, but there based on talent demands, there are currently no signs of a slow down. We are consistently hearing requests for junior and mid-level IP litigators from a variety of clients. 30% of current demand can be attributed to IP Litigation.

3. Labor & Employment - L&E continues to be a demanding area of expertise due to several factors including a resurgence in "failure to hire" litigation, sexual harassment issues, reduction in federal employment laws but increases in state and local government actions, and non-union NLRA issues that have increased as a result of social media.

4. Litigation - Litigation spending continues to be on the uptick after years of reduction and top CLO's expect a10% increase in Litigation matters. Complex Commercial Litigation matters are at peak levels while companies are reducing their law firm rosters by 20%. This is creating a major influx in litigation work for those firms that remain on the lists. (1)

5. Banking - Finance work has continued to flow among top PE platforms with strong debt finance practices. Middle market finance practices with top lender side practices are also continuing to see healthy pipelines.

What does this mean for attorneys interested in exploring the market? It means opportunities are abundant. Even for attorneys with expertise outside of the top five “in demand” practice areas, firms are growing and looking for stellar talent. We have relationships with a number of firms in Dallas and across the country. Our goal is to make lasting matches that lead to long term success for both the firm and the candidate.  If you are an attorney that is considering your future, now is the time to assess the market and explore any opportunities that may be a better fit. If you are ready for a career consultation go HERE.

(1) BTI Consulting, Litigation Outlook 2018

(2) JP Morgan Global M&A Outlook