Jaws dropped on both sides of the pond last summer when Paul Weiss added 13 partners from Kirkland in a single month to build out its private equity capabilities in London, New York and California. While a move of that magnitude is an outlier, smaller group moves attracting less attention occurred at a rapid clip in 2023, and all signs point to more of the same this year. Already we’ve seen a number of these, such as five energy litigation partners from Eversheds Sutherland jumping to Baker McKenzie, three restructuring and insolvency partners from Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner landing at Seyfarth Shaw, and three antitrust partners from Norton Rose going to DLA Piper. 

Big Law group shuffles both small and large raise a question any successful partner eyeing a lateral move is more likely than ever to consider: Am I better off moving alone or with a group?

Justine Donahue of Macrae. Courtesy photo Justine Donahue of Macrae. Courtesy photo