Big Law Hiring Spree Lifts Diversity in Mostly White Industry

After nearly six years at Cantor Colburn, Atlanta lawyer Daniel Mitchell decided it was time to expand his horizons beyond patent prosecution.

Mitchell joined the intellectual property boutique’s Georgia office after graduating law school in 2016 because he knew he would get a lot of experience and hands-on work, like drafting patent applications. In February, he made the jump to Duane Morris, a much larger firm that brought in nearly $600 million over the year.

Mitchell was one of thousands of associates that moved into Big Law amid a frenzied hiring market for associate talent, known as “lateral hires,” as ...