Considerations Affecting Potential Partner Targets in 2025

By Pete Smith | 415.837.6686 | peter@taranisrecruiter.com | www.taranisrecruiter.com

As you consider adding partners and/or associates to your practice in 2025, it is essential to understand the evolving factors that your potential lateral targets are weighing before they decide to move. Attracting and successfully integrating high-value professionals depends on grasping these key motivators and market realities.

1. Market Dynamics: What Your Targets Are Watching

Lateral moves remain robust but increasingly strategic. In 2025, many candidates await clarity on bonuses and firm performance before committing. For example, London saw a 49% increase in partner moves in Q1 vs. 2024, driven by firms aggressively expanding practice areas and geographies. U.S. firms like Kirkland & Ellis and Clifford Chance continue their transatlantic growth, signaling high demand for partners with portable business. Your potential hires, especially partners, will be looking for firms that can demonstrate precise, niche-driven growth rather than volume hiring.

2. Practice Area Fluency: Candidates Want to Leverage Their Expertise

Today’s top lateral partner prospects prioritize firms where their specialized skills — in areas such as private credit fund formation, AI governance, energy transition, or trade secrets litigation — are highly valued. Potential recruits expect your practice to clearly articulate market pain points their expertise solves. This fluency signals you understand their value and can provide a platform for their growth.

3. Integration & Culture: The Non-Negotiable Factor

Candidates consistently rank cultural fit and onboarding as critical success factors. Firms winning recruitment battles now offer structured integration plans and genuine collaboration opportunities early on. Your targets want assurances they will be embraced and not just onboarded, to avoid the high failure rates common in rapid lateral expansions.

4. Structural Models: How Your Partner Tiers Impact Appeal

The rise of non-equity partner tracks — the so-called “Kirklandisation” — influences candidate decisions across the U.S. and Europe. While some candidates appreciate a clear, predictable path that non-equity models offer, others worry about misaligned incentives and limited voice. Being transparent about your partner tier structure, compensation models, and long-term equity prospects is critical to gain trust.

5. Values, Politics & Pro Bono: Alignment Matters More Than Ever

Increasingly, potential partners assess firms not only commercially but ethically. Recent political controversies around pro bono commitments and DEI programs have caused internal dissent and partner departures in some firms. Your potential hires want to know where you stand on these issues and whether your firm’s values align with theirs. Misalignment here can be a dealbreaker.

6. Expansion Strategies & Targeted Hiring Budgets

Candidates are aware that firms are investing heavily in strategic lateral hiring as part of geographic and practice growth. Many firms have budgets exceeding $4M annually for partner recruitment, emphasizing fit and market relevance over volume. Demonstrating a clear, long-term vision for your practice, backed by resources and targeted recruitment, will attract candidates who want to join a winning team rather than a collection of hires.

7. Risk vs. Reward: What Your Targets Are Evaluating

Your prospective partners will weigh:

• Does your firm offer competitive compensation in a high-demand niche?

• Is there a clear, fast integration path for rainmakers with portable books?

• Does your culture and pro bono stance align with their values?

• Are equity opportunities transparent and realistic?

• Are they being recruited at the right time, or would waiting enhance their leverage?

Understanding these risk/reward calculations helps you tailor your pitch and integration approach.

8. Decision Matrix: How Your Candidates Decide to Move in 2025

Your lateral targets will assess:

Question	Yes = Candidate for Move	No = Likely to Stay
Is their practice in a rapidly growing niche?	✔️	❌
Are they being courted by multiple firms?	✔️	❌
Is their current compensation rising?	❌	✔️
Do they want early partner title without equity?	Consider	❌
Is firm culture and political alignment important?	✔️	—
Are they concerned about integration quality?	Only to firms with strong onboarding	✔️

Final Takeaways for Partner Adders

• Your targets in 2025 prioritize fluency in growth sectors, cultural fit, and transparent partner structures.

• Successful recruiting means offering not just a role, but a clear path to thriving within your firm’s unique model.

• Values alignment around pro bono and ethics increasingly influence decisions.

• Firm expansion backed by strategic hiring budgets signals stability and opportunity.

• Finally, demonstrate strong onboarding and integration to ensure long-term success for your new partners.

  
  

If you want to discuss how to position your practice to attract and retain top lateral partners, need a tailored candidate profile matrix based on recruiter intelligence, or simply want to reach out regarding assistance in finding partners or associates for your practice, feel free to reach out. -Pete Smith 415.937.6686.