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Senior City lawyers moved jobs in record numbers this year, as the aggressive expansion of US law firms chasing private capital work in London fuelled more poaching of partners.
Law firms in the capital hired 668 partners so far in 2025, according to figures from Edwards Gibson, the highest number of moves since the legal recruiter started collecting data in 2007 and a 21 per cent increase on last year.
US private equity giant Kirkland & Ellis made the largest number of partner hires at 19, followed by firms such as White & Case and Baker McKenzie, as American groups continued to invest in bulking up their private equity practices in London.
“The record-breaking figures continue an escalating three-year bull run of law firm partner hires in London which, for the first time ever, saw more than 600 moves,” said Scott Gibson, founder of Edwards Gibson, whose figures account for moves announced by December 22.
Gibson added that consolidation and the need to expand to invest in technology and data, particularly artificial intelligence, had also contributed to a strong hiring market.
The hiring of partners was once a rarity in the City of London, where senior lawyers tended to stay at one firm for their entire career.
But the insurgency of large US-founded firms such as Kirkland and Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison into London has lit a fire under the market. Top US firms have significantly increased headcount in the City in a bid to secure more work from their US private equity clients in Europe.
“We continue to see significant growth potential in Europe’s private capital market, and we are investing for the long term by developing, promoting and attracting the best talent,” said Matthew Elliott, a member of Kirkland’s executive committee.
The churn in the market has come as large law firms also make substantial investments in buying and developing AI tools, creating pressure to shore up profitability with the help of high-billing partners.
Some recruitment this year was an attempt to backfill departing partners. Los Angeles-founded firm Paul Hastings lost 19 partners in London this year and has hired nine. The firm said its revenue in London was projected to be up 20 per cent this year.
UK “magic circle” outfit A&O Shearman also had 19 partners leave for other firms, one year on from the merger of legacy Allen & Overy and New York’s Shearman & Sterling. The firm also cut 10 per cent of its partners following the deal.
Lawyers moving from non-partner roles into partnerships made up 21 per cent of hires in 2025, reflecting the growing ranks of salaried partnerships at US firms in particular. Salaried partnership allows firms to lure more junior lawyers with the offer of day-one partnership without diluting the equity pool.
Mid-tier firms have also tried to take advantage of the strong market to tap lawyers from elite firms.
“Our people and clients benefit from us being quite different from other firms in the market — we’re keen to invest in, not shrink, our international network,” said Emily Monastiriotis, managing partner of Simmons & Simmons, which was among the biggest recruiters this year.
“This proposition has seen us increasingly hire partners from the highest-revenue firms.”
However, Gibson predicted that this year might be the last throes of the bull run — even if factors such as law firm consolidation and a more flexible partnership structure keep London’s rate of partner hiring above long-term averages.
“The cyclical tailwinds [such as private capital] will ebb . . . there are only so many ‘star’ private equity, debt finance and private funds teams left who have not moved,” said Gibson.
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