Biglaw
partners
are
on
the
move!
That’s
the
message
the
industry’s
received
from
data
crunchers,
but
not
everyone
is
included
in
that
wave
of
lateral
moves.
According
to
data
from
recruiting
firm
Macrae,
New
York
private
equity
partners
have
actually
seen
a
dip
in
their
lateral
numbers.
In
the
first
half
of
2025,
there
were
only
nine
partner
moves
for
that
group
—
less
than
50%
of
the
2024
total,
as
“cautious
and
deliberate”
becomes
the
mantra
for
hiring
PE
partners.
Macrae
partner
Ryan
Belville
told
Law.com
that
2024’s
slow
year
in
the
PE
market
makes
the
books
of
business
for
those
partners
look
less
enticing,
plus
you
know,
the
whole
what-the-hell’s-up-with-the-economy
thing
with
“geopolitical
uncertainty,
tariffs
and
interest
rates
being
sticky”
equals
cautious
hiring
decisions.
And
that’s
despite
total
value
of
deals
in
PE
up
28.7%
this
year,
and
even
total
number
of
deals
is
up
a
more
modest
8.7%.
With
partner
paydays
higher
than
ever,
firms
have
to
be
circumspect
about
who
they
add
to
their
ranks.
And
Belville
is
seeing
that
caution
in
the
PE
practices.
“Rates
are
skyrocketing
and
comp
packages
are
through
the
roof,”
Belville
said.
“In
private
equity,
firms
are
making
incredibly
significant
investments,
and
they’re
doing
so
with
some
uncertainty
—
both
uncertainty
that
relationships
will
port
and
uncertainty
that
the
sponsors
that
do
port
will
be
active
and
bring
revenue
in
the
door
in
the
first
couple
years
the
partner
is
there.”
Michael
Parrillo,
founder
and
principal
of
legal
recruiting
firm
Parrillo
Search
Group
in
New
York,
also
notes
that
the
aggressive
partner
hiring
over
the
last
four
years
means
the
pendulum
has
swung
the
other
way
into
that
“cautious
and
deliberate”
mentality.
But,
for
PE
partners
interested
in
making
a
lateral
move,
while
there
may
not
be
a
hiring
frenzy,
the
appetite
for
a
strong
PE
book
of
business
is
still
there.
Kathryn
Rubino
is
a
Senior
Editor
at
Above
the
Law,
host
of
The
Jabot
podcast,
and
co-host
of
Thinking
Like
A
Lawyer.
AtL
tipsters
are
the
best,
so
please
connect
with
her.
Feel
free
to
email
her
with
any
tips,
questions,
or
comments
and
follow
her
on
Twitter
@Kathryn1 or
Mastodon
@[email protected].