Onward Insights - January 2026
Most legal workdays aren’t undone by a single overwhelming task. They’re worn down by accumulation. Small interruptions, fragmented attention, and administrative work that quietly fills the spaces between everything else.
Over time, these hidden time drains shape performance, judgment, and sustainability far more than most lawyers realize.
The Real Cost of Making Equity Partner in Biglaw
Equity partnership is often seen as the culmination of years of demanding work, but the financial reality of ownership is frequently misunderstood until it arrives.
Today’s equity partner role comes with significant capital obligations that can materially affect liquidity, risk exposure, and long-term financial planning, making the decision far more complex than a title change alone.
When Your Team Struggles, Look Up, Not Down
Leadership development doesn’t happen overnight. It deepens through experience, reflection, and a growing awareness of how profoundly leaders shape the environment around them.
For many senior attorneys, leadership evolves from overseeing work to intentionally enabling others to do their best work - creating clarity, context, and conditions that allow excellence to compound over time.
Onward Insights - December 2025
In 2025, the legal market quietly recalibrated. Firms rethought how they hire, train, and promote, while lawyers navigated longer timelines, shifting expectations, and evolving definitions of value.
Conversations around AI, efficiency, and career progression moved from theory into practice, reshaping how work gets done and how success is measured. As the industry heads into 2026, these changes are no longer abstract, they’re actively influencing how legal careers take shape.
Keeping Your Momentum When Lateral Moves Take Months
Lateral hiring rarely moves in a straight line - and for many attorneys, the process now stretches six to nine months or more.
This blog breaks down why legal hiring takes so long, how to stay motivated through the silences, and what it really takes to maintain momentum during a non-linear search.
Onward Insights - November 2025
This month, we break down the surge in partner movement and merger activity shaping the legal market - and what every partner should evaluate before making a move. From early merger-integration trends to deal-flow timing and financial considerations, this edition offers a clear roadmap for navigating today’s shifting landscape.
Onward Insights - October 2025
The firms losing top candidates aren’t doing anything wrong - they’re just moving too slow. The real divide isn’t about effort; it’s about infrastructure. When traditional approval chains meet today’s lateral market speed, even well-meaning firms end up ghosting strong candidates.
We break down how one firm made a two-week close possible, what’s structurally blocking others from doing the same, and why treating recruiting as a strategic function - not a committee afterthought - is what separates firms that hire talent from those that just interview it.
Legal Hiring Market Reality Check: Fall 2025
The legal hiring market in fall 2025 isn’t frozen - and it’s not “back” in the 2021 sense either. What we’re seeing is a selective recovery defined by strategic hiring, focused growth, and renewed confidence across key practice areas.
From M&A’s cautious rebound to litigation’s sustained strength, firms are moving with precision, not panic.
For lawyers considering a move, understanding these shifts is essential to timing and strategy.
Onward Insights - September 2025
Fall hiring isn't slow - it’s strategic. October is when timing, leverage, and market movement quietly align, offering lawyers a real opportunity to plan their next move without the bonus-season stampede.
Firms are actively hiring across litigation and transactional roles, and some are offering sign-on bonuses for pre-year-end starts. For associates and partners alike, early action unlocks better options and fewer headaches.
We break down what’s actually happening in the market, what candidates should be doing now, and why intentional timing - not wishful thinking - is what sets successful transitions apart in today’s competitive legal landscape.
Onward Insights - August 2025
For years, associates have mentored summer classes, attended firm events, and sat through CLEs - all while knowing this work "mattered" but never quite sure how much. Now, some firms are putting a number on it.
The move to formalize "investment hours" alongside traditional billables isn't revolutionary on paper. Associates were already doing most of this work. But formalizing it? That feels different.
It's the shift from implicit expectations to explicit targets. And for lawyers already navigating a complex numbers game, that change is creating more conversation than expected.
We explore why this development is resonating across the profession, what it reveals about evolving workplace expectations, and how both firms and associates are adapting to new ways of measuring value.
Onward Insights - July 2025
A talent crisis is brewing in the legal profession, and it's hiding in plain sight.
While law schools continue producing graduates, the training infrastructure that develops them into experienced practitioners is rapidly shrinking. Summer associate classes are getting smaller each year as firms reassess the economics of entry-level hiring, creating a bottleneck that will leave the entire industry scrambling for mid-level talent within the next five years.
The implications reach far beyond BigLaw. In-house departments, boutique firms, and government agencies all rely on the same pipeline of experienced lawyers – a pipeline that's about to run dry.
We explore why this structural shift is happening, what it means for legal careers, and how smart organizations are already adapting their talent strategies.
Why Analysis Paralysis Is Derailing Smart Lawyers: A Psychological Perspective
Overthinking is costing lawyers real opportunities.
A candidate declined a simple meeting with a firm he admired—out of fear, not facts.
This article breaks down how legal training fuels analysis paralysis and why refusing low-stakes conversations can sabotage your career.