BigLaw Is Structurally Changing How It Hires: The Shift From Building to Buying Talent

For the first time in modern legal history, lateral associate hiring has outpaced entry-level hiring, with 3,296 laterals versus 3,039 law school hires in 2025. BigLaw has made its decision. Firms are filling their talent pipelines through the open market rather than building from the bottom up, and that structural shift carries major implications for attorneys who know how to read it.