Big Law’s Associate Appetite Means New Perils for Regional Firms

A deluge of corporate work without enough associates to staff it has sent cash flush Big Law hunting for hires in smaller markets, a dynamic that could threaten regional law firms in the long run.

The nation’s largest law firms have thrived in spite of Covid-19, especially corporate practices, like M&A, where demand surged 7.8% in the first quarter of 2021 over the same period last year, according to a recently released report by Thomson Reuters. All that work has made this year’s hiring market for corporate associates the hottest in recent memory.

Since the beginning of the year through ...