In the first half of 2025, the number of lateral partner moves considerably increased from 2024, with Edwards Gibson reporting that there have been 349 partner moves, a 25% increase from the first half of 2024.  

Specifically, the second quarter of 2025 saw exceptionally high levels of lateral partner movement in London’s legal market. This wave of mobility has been influenced by several key trends:

• the fallout of major law firm mergers,
• strategic repositioning in key sectors such as banking and finance, disputes, and energy, and
• continued interest in flexible or boutique platforms.

We have compiled a selection of 150 lateral partner moves that occurred (or were at least announced) in April, May, and June 2025. We sourced these moves from a variety of legal publications and online databases, and using this snapshot of the market we have analysed a number of trends happening in the market, and what we might expect to see for the latter half of 2025.

Overall, Baker McKenzie, Jones Day, and Pinsent Masons led the charge in hiring, with many other firms like Addleshaw Goddard, BCLP and MWE following closely. Banking and finance made up about 30% of the hires from our dataset, while corporate and disputes drew about even with roughly 15% each. Female partner moves made up roughly 29% of our data, which is on par with our data from Q1.

Banking and Finance: The Epicentre of Lateral Movement

The most active practice in our data by a significant margin was banking and finance, accounting for over 30 partner moves in the three-month period. Firms like Dechert, Addleshaw Goddard, Baker Botts, Paul Weiss, and Gibson Dunn were prominent recruiters, while the merged A&O Shearman saw a notable number of high-profile departures.

• A&O Shearman lost at least five banking and finance partners; Barnabas Reynolds who joined Sullivan & Cromwell, and Franz Ranero and James Smallwood who both left for Latham & Watkins.
• Paul Weiss continued aggressive expansion in London, poaching Cameron Roper from Proskauer Rose and Nick Charlwood from A&O Shearman.
• Dechert brought in a four-lawyer team including Sushila Nayal and James Jirtle from Orrick.

Disputes Remains a Strategic Battleground

Dispute resolution remained one of the most mobile practice areas with 21 moves, reflecting strong client demand and firm competition for litigation talent.

• Jones Day recruited multiple high-profile disputes partners:  Philip Pfeffer from HSF Kramer, as well as Samantha Silver and Natalie Smyth from Kennedys.
• Schjødt, a Norwegian firm new to London, made bold moves into disputes with hires like Nick Barber and Cristan Evans from Stephenson Harwood.

Real Estate and Infrastructure: Surging Activity Amid Market Confidence

Surprisingly, real estate and infrastructure saw strong lateral activity, indicating renewed investor confidence and infrastructure project momentum.

• Over 15 moves in real estate, including Paul Dineen joining KPMG from DLA Piper, Simon Price joining Bird & Bird from Mayer Brown, and HSF Kramer hiring Alison Hardy from Ashurst to lead their real estate disputes team.
• Infrastructure also saw some notable moves including Richard Ceeney, who moved from Reed Smith to Greenberg Traurig, and Katie Hicks, who joined Milbank from White & Case.

Gender Representation and Progress

Female partner mobility remained moderate, with around 29% of the movers being women, reflecting ongoing gender imbalance at the senior level.

• Notable female movers included Katie Hicks (Milbank), Emma Wright (Crowell & Moring), and Virginia Allen (Greenberg Traurig).
• Firms like Fieldfisher, Baker Botts, and Simpson Thacher made multiple female partner hires.

Boutique and Alternative Platforms on the Rise

Platforms like Keystone Law and Broadfield saw multiple hires, suggesting a growing preference for flexible, partner-led platforms among senior lawyers seeking independence or a better work-life balance.

• Keystone Law brought in a number of new partners, which carries over their strong partner acquisition strategy from Q1.
• Broadfield hired a 2-partner team from Trowers and Hamlins; Sarah Souter and Claire Atkins.

Conclusion

The period from April to June 2025 was marked by intense lateral activity, driven by post-merger shifts, US law firms continuing to expand their market share within London, sector-specific demand in finance and disputes, and optimism in real estate and infrastructure.

Looking ahead at the second half of 2025, we might expect to see:

• Firms are currently engaged in extravagant compensation battles, notwithstanding the ongoing trend with US law firms getting rid of their all-equity partnership models – it could be expected that firms that are holding out on restructuring their compensation levels would stand to see more attrition as the year goes on.
• London firms are heavily investing in AI and legal tech, and it is expected that there will continue to be a good deal of movement in these areas as firms vie for the top talent.
• Looming trade-wars and potential economic slowdown could spur more advisory and litigation needs amid uncertain political and economic landscapes.
• A&O Shearman has seen relatively significant attrition in 2025, losing 15 partners in London alone. This post-merger disruption might be echoed with HSF Kramer and the recently announced McDermott Will & Schulte.