The London legal market witnessed a particularly active summer in 2025, with more than 120 partners switching firms across a broad range of practice areas. From US firms aggressively expanding their London presence to UK outfits consolidating or losing key talent, the dynamics of the market underscore London’s continued role as one of the most competitive legal centres globally.

As anticipated, the frenetic pace of hires this year slowed slightly over the summer months, but the overall number of hires is still high especially compared to last year. YPOG entered the London market strong, making the most lateral hires of any firm with their recruitment of the Withers team. Conversely, Eversheds, Withers and Dechert fared the worst for attrition, losing seven, six and five partners respectively. Of the 135 moves collated in our data, 22% of them featured female partners.

Key Trends by Practice Area

Banking & Finance

Banking and finance saw the highest volume of movement. Naomi Roper moved from Capsticks to Penningtons, while Sudhir Nair left White & Case for DLA Piper. Freshfields hired the team of David Seymour and Will Bryant in July. Meanwhile, Claire Puddicombe, Daniel Tobias, David Quirolo and Alexander Collins all joined Orrick from Cadwalader.

US firms were highly active: Philip Baynes moved from A&O Shearman to Weil reinforcing its finance platform; Simpson Thacher brought Rick Hanson across from Cadwalader; and, Goodwin hired Matthew Ayre from Travers Smith.

Disputes

Disputes and arbitration saw significant moves, with boutique firms expanding. Andrew Hutchinson left Simmons & Simmons for Carpmaels & Ransford, Stewarts hired Rovine Chandrasekera from Stephenson Harwood, and Signature Litigation hired Duncan Grieve from Cadwalader and Mark Beardsworth from Goodwin.

US firms also continued their hiring spree in this area: Miles Robinson joined Squire Patton Boggs from Mayer Brown; Proskauer hired Jonathan Egerton-Peters from Steptoe and Deborah Polden from Eversheds; and, Michael Darowski joined Reed Smith from McDermott.

Ropes & Gray, though losing two finance partners to Freshfields, responded by adding Cataldo Piccaretta from Latham & Watkins in September.

Corporate

Corporate partner mobility was expectedly robust, with both UK and US firms making a number of key hires to deepen their benches.

Morrison Foerster recruited David D’Souza and Ambarish Dash from HSF Kramer. Cooley picked up Jonathan Cohen from Ashurst. Greenberg Traurig hired Elias Hayek from Squire Patton Boggs, while Matthew Sperry joined Cadwalader from Katten.

Notable Moves 

• DWF has hired a 27-strong major injury and casualty team from Kennedys, led by Richard West, Claire Mulligan, Gareth Thomas and Jennifer Harris. This group follows the 13-person marine insurance team they hired in February.
• Orrick recruited an 8-partner finance team from Cadwalader, in the US and London – the London partners include David Quirolo, Claire Puddicombe, Daniel Tobias and Alexander Collins.
• German tech firm YPOG has hired a team from Withers, led by James Shaw, to open their first international office in London.
• Crowell & Moring hired an 18-lawyer patent team from Dentons, led by Justin Hill.

Looking Ahead

The lateral partner market in London shows no signs of cooling:

• US firms still on the offensive: Morrison Foerster, Weil, and Paul Weiss are unlikely to slow their London expansion, especially in finance, funds and disputes.
• Restructuring to rise: With increasing macro-economic pressures, restructuring hires (currently modest, e.g., Kon Asimacopoulos to Squire Patton Boggs) are expected to grow significantly.
• Energy & ESG-driven work: Energy transition mandates and ESG regulation are set to boost hiring in both energy and disputes practices.