Several leading cities in the Southeastern United States, including Atlanta, Charlotte, and Nashville, are experiencing a significant increase in lateral partner moves this year. This trend reflects the overall surge in legal industry activity throughout the region.
According to newly released data from Decipher Investigative Intelligence, the majority of these moves occurred during the second quarter of this current year, compared to the first quarter. Furthermore, these three cities have seen more lateral partner moves in this past year than the average annual moves since 2017.
The figures, without a doubt, speak to the growth of these cities as major legal markets. “Atlanta has really matured as a legal market. It is now very clearly a substantial legal market.”, said Greg Hamman, Decipher’s chief data officer.
This trend is indicative of the ongoing restructure and reshaping of the legal landscape on a global scale, with firms seeking to expand their presence and penetrate growing markets. As law firms continue to strategically position themselves in various markets to acquire top-tier legal talents, the landscape of lateral moves will inevitably evolve, particularly in burgeoning markets like Atlanta, Charlotte, and Nashville.