THE CHEETAH BRIEF – 30th EDITION
As 2025 nears its end, law firm leaders across the Am Law 200 are cautiously optimistic — and many confident — that the year will be a financial success despite political and economic turbulence. Firms have leaned on billing rate hikes, litigation growth, and quick pivots to offset soft demand and sluggish mid-market deals, with many on pace to beat 2024’s strong results. Still, leaders point to challenges from Trump-era executive orders, tariff volatility, industry politicization, cultural shifts, and uneven AI adoption. While transactional activity hasn’t rebounded to 2021 highs, megadeals and select practices are driving revenue up 11.3% and net income up 14.5% in the first half. Overall, most leaders expect 2025 to be remembered as a surprisingly strong year, though questions remain about long-term sustainability and firm culture.
MARKET MOVEMENTS
Weil adds two Paul Hastings Partners, Adam Fee and James “Bo” Pearl, to the complex commercial litigation team in Los Angeles.
Paul Hastings lures Goodwin PE Partner, Jim Curley, for Boston Office.
Paul Weiss snags antitrust partner trio, Ben Gris, David Higbee and Djordje Petkoski, from A&O Shearman.
Fried Frank taps Wachtell IT Director, Sean Sullivan, as new CIO amid Big Law’s growing demand for tech leadership.
FIRM SPOTLIGHT - DTO LAW
In May 2019, William Delgado, Megan O’Neill, and Mark Tarango founded DTO with the goal of building a different kind of law firm. Delgado and O’Neill first met in 2002 at Quinn Emanuel, where they both began their careers, later reuniting in 2016 at a Quinn spinoff. Tarango, who started his career at Baker Hostetler and Morrison & Foerster before spending fourteen years in-house at Toyota, met Delgado in 2015 while organizing a legal conference. Their unconventional marketing idea—a short parody film of A Few Good Men featuring a sword fight between a Jedi (Tarango) and Jack Sparrow (Delgado)—highlighted their creative approach. When all three finally connected, they discovered a shared belief that there was a better way to practice law, and with two other attorneys, they set out to prove it by launching DTO.
INDUSTRY INSIGHTS
According to the 2025 GC pay report, New York saw Goldman Sach’s Chief Legal Officer, Kathryn Ruemmler, move to the top of the highest-paid list, replacing last year’s #1, Blackstone’s CLO, John Finley. She saw her pay shoot up 31% in 2024, reaching $17.6 million.
Median GC pay in the Fortune 1000 rose 8.6% to $2.95 million, driven by a strong equity market
In 2024, Cadwalader boasted a 15.7% revenue jump to $638.2 million, while profits per equity partner surged 33.5% to $3.7 million
For the second year in a row, Microsoft Teams is the top video conferencing software used by law firms, with 86% of respondents in the ILTA Tech Survey saying they’re using it
INDUSTRY NEWS
Proskauer and Orrick Enter Charlotte’s Finance Market
Proskauer Rose and Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe are opening offices in Charlotte, North Carolina, by hiring top finance partners from Cadwalader Wickersham & Taft. The move strengthens their positions in the nation’s second-largest financial hub and heightens competition with established firms like Moore & Van Allen, McGuireWoods, and Cadwalader. Recruiters expect the expansions to fuel Charlotte’s fast-growing lateral market, while regional firms say they’ll continue serving community banks and local businesses outside the high-finance space.
Big Law Pushes Four-Day Office Mandates
A recent survey of over 3,000 midlevel associates highlights growing frustration with stricter office attendance mandates, as at least 10 Am Law 100 firms—including Covington, Ropes & Gray, Simpson Thacher, Skadden, and Latham—now require lawyers in the office four or more days a week. Most of these firms pay top-of-market salaries, making flexibility less of a recruiting tool compared to lower-paying competitors. While leaders cite concerns about training gaps for newer associates, many firms remain cautious about alienating talent in a competitive market, with some, like Cleary Gottlieb, embracing more transparent and balanced hybrid policies.
