Biglaw

Biglaw Firm Pushes Out The Boat With Hiring Blitz

The strategy is paying off.

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Business man hand gives money bag to another person.Paul Hastings has already hired 44 lateral partners in 2024. That’s an impressive haul by any metric, and it signals the firms is on track for some pretty noteworthy growth. The strategy is being led by Chair Frank Lopez, who has made it very clear that Paul Hastings is looking to eat other firms’ lunch, as he shared with Bloomberg Law: “We’re trying to create an exponential impact where we’re really driving demand growth every year,” Lopez said. “And in a flat or contracting market, the only way to grow demand is to take market share from your competitors at the top.”

And the market is noticing the bold Paul Hastings plan. “They have gotten everybody’s attention,” said recruiter Mark Jungers. “They are doing a better job of effectively adding lateral partners to their platform than almost any other firm. They are aggressive, efficient, and the process is driven by Frank.”

So, just how many partners is Paul Hastings adding? This year has been very good to the firm’s hiring.

The group hiring has ramped up this year. The firm added 11 private credit and restructuring partners from King & Spalding, an eight-partner finance team from Vinson & Elkins, and a pair of partners from Sidley Austin that included the firm’s former co-leader of private equity.

Over the past three years, Paul Hastings has hired partners from 14 of the 25 most profitable firms. The haul includes three partners or more from Kirkland & Ellis, Gibson Dunn, Latham & Watkins, King & Spalding, Weil Gotshal, and Cahill Gordon & Reindel.

The firm added 44 partners through July, but it also saw 25 partners exit, according to Leopard Solutions data. Virtually every Top 50 firm saw departures in that time. Paul Hastings’ “net” addition of 19 partners was tied for the most with DLA Piper. The next closest firm, Sheppard Mullin, added 10 more partners than it lost.

The firm expects its New York headcount to increase 50% over 2022 (when Lopez took over leadership of the firm), with a similar increase in its London office. The firm’s lateral moves have been focused in those two cities. Lopez noted the lateral market there is “incredibly competitive.” Meaning he knows you have to pay the big-name legal talent in order to get then to lateral. “You have to have the financial strength to pay people what they’re worth in the market,” he said. “And we’re grateful to be well-positioned in that regard.”

This growth strategy is reportedly likely to net the firm a 10% increase in billable hours by the end of the year. Given rising hourly rates, this will likely correspond to an even more impressive revenue uptick. Not bad for your first two years on the job.

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Kathryn Rubino HeadshotKathryn 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].

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