Glut of Job-Seeking Partners Creates Buyers’ Market for Hiring Firms

Law firms hiring lateral partners are in a buyers’ market that is flooded with lawyers searching for jobs.

The result is that some partners can be snapped up at bargain prices, the National Law Journal reports. Lash Harrison, the chairman of 179 lawyer Ford & Harrison, told the publication that the glut is apparently driving down some salaries.

"I've heard from recruiters who say, 'I have a partner who will go for an associate's salary. They just need to pay the mortgage,' " he told the National Law Journal.

The market is crowded with partners because their law firms have dissolved or they fear their firms will be the next to go under, the story says. While hiring prospects are better for partners than associates, they still face significant obstacles, recruiters said.

Mark Jungers, a recruiter at Major, Lindsey & Africa, said law firms are unwilling to hire equity partners unless they have annual business between $1.5 million and $2 million. "Every firm wants their numbers to go up," he said.

Law firms are also taking longer to make hiring decisions and are most interested in hiring partners who practice in bankruptcy and restructuring.