Estate Planning Opportunities are Booming

Longer lifespans combined with later retirement and the race to make the next million (or billion), means that wealth planning and wealth management are becoming more in demand than ever before. In the legal industry, the demand for experienced trust and estates attorneys continues to rise as firms of all sizes figure how out to address the needs of their clients.

In past years, several of the nation’s largest law firms saw their estate planning departments leave to move into a boutique firm environment where the attorneys had more rate flexibility including the opportunity to offer flat rate fee structures and contribute significant non-billable time to business development, networking and educational opportunities.

Despite those changes, there is a still a significant presence in Big Law of estate planning attorneys who maintain a sophisticated wealth management practice and the competition for experienced attorneys is at an all-time high.

Currently in the AmLaw 200, there are just over 550 associates that show Trust & Estates as their primary practice area. Over 40% of those associates have already made at least one lateral move in their career and 7% have lateraled more than once. 

Where are the jobs?

Currently there are over 80 posted associate attorney positions for Trust & Estate attorneys, with over half of those being in AmLaw 200 firms. The remaining positions are seen in regional and boutique firms that have continued to grow thriving practices and attract attorneys out of larger firms.

These positions are all over the country in major and mid-market with a strong presence in New York City, Boston, Chicago and major markets in Texas and California. 

What does the ideal candidate look like?

Just because the demand for candidates is high, it does not mean that law firms are bending their requirements for the ideal candidate. Experience advising and development estate plans for high net worth individuals and families is a must. Most firms are seeking candidates with a minimum of two full years in this area with additional experience in trust administration and tax advising being a factor that makes candidates stand out to hiring partners. 

In addition, a trust and estates attorney should be actively engaged in networking and community engagement and education. This practice area is unique in that you often see associates being encouraged much earlier in their career to get in front of potential clients or engaging in opportunities to write or speak for organizations that build the associate’s reputation as an expert in the field.

If you are interested in having a confidential conversation about what opportunities in this thriving practice are available to you, please message me on LinkedIn or email me directly at [email protected].