BigLaw Access | February Issue 2024
Stefano Barbagallo
AmLaw 100 Recruiter ? Lawyer ? Former Biglaw, Funds, Secondaries + PE ? Sonder Consultants ????????
Earlier this month, news that the UK and Japanese economies had officially fallen into recession last year hit headlines across the globe, and before long, eyes were on the US economy.
Thankfully, the news here was a little more positive. Reports showed that the US avoided its predicted recession, and instead the economy actually grew by over 3.1% in 2023. While this is welcome news, it makes it harder to explain why hiring was so slow last year despite a 'growing economy'.
Ultimately, it boiled down to the fear of a downturn, together with inflation risk and other macro factors that limited deal flow across the US and caused a downturn in the lateral hiring market.
Lateral hiring gains momentum
I'm confident that 2024 will be a different story -- at least for the lateral hiring market. There still remains a risk of recession, but most are predicting a 'soft landing' rather than a recession.
Since early January, there's been a clear uptick in both Associate and Partner hiring, particularly within corporate, finance and funds as confidence grows. We'll continue to see strength in the debt and restructuring market for the remainder of this year while the economy adjusts. ThomsonReuters confirmed that 40% of corporate counsels are expected to increase outside legal spend this year further supporting these claims for growth. I truly think it's going to be a fruitful year for firms and we are starting to hear that some firms' discretionary bonuses are returning for the first time since 2021.
2023 League Tables
This week, PitchBook released its annual global league tables for 2023. Despite a quieter year in the market, there's some really impressive results here, with a few surprises thrown in. I've focused on the law firm results for Private Equity and M&A across the 4 main categories: Global, US, Europe/UK and Rest of World.
Private Equity
DLA Piper had an incredible 2023, taking out the #1 spot for PE deals globally, and in regional sectors for Europe, losing out to Kirkland & Ellis for the US regional category and Stikeman Elliott LLP for 'rest of world' category.
Interestingly, Canadian firms made up 5 of the top 10 firms in the rest of world category and Australian firms Herbert Smith Freehills, Corrs Chambers Westgarth and Gilbert + Tobin all made it to the top 20.
The most active law firms for PE deals:
Overall:
US:
Europe:
UK:
West Coast:
Rest of World:
Buyouts (deal type):
Exits (deal type):
Mergers & Acquisitions
DLA Piper took out the top spot for M&A deal globally and across Europe and the rest of the world, losing the top spot for the US region to Kirkland & Ellis, but coming in a close second. Canadian firms made up a majority of the top 20 firms in the rest of world category with only 4 Australian firms making the list.
The most active law firms for M&A deals:
Overall:
US:
Europe:
Rest of World:
For a full list of the annual results - click here.
Secondaries' Associates
This month I spoke to the Sonder Podcast about all things Secondaries -- one of the most lucrative and exciting practices in the Biglaw market.
A quick recap of the episode:
Take a listen of the full episode here.
With the last of the snow behind us and Spring (almost) on our doorstep, there is lots to look forward to with warmer weather and a stronger market for Associates and Partners.
Happy Leap Day -- I hope you all enjoy the extra 24 hours of billing today!
-Stef
Stefano grew up in Australia where he practiced as a top-tier corporate and funds attorney before moving to the US to work in Biglaw. He is now a legal recruiter and Associate Director with Sonder Consultants working between NYC and LA. Connect with him on LinkedIn.