AI, Associate Pay & the Shifting Legal Market
Cahill Gordon & Reindel LLP has appointed Kelly Graves as its first Chief AI Strategy and Innovation Officer, while also promoting her to partner. Graves will lead the firm’s AI and innovation strategy, overseeing responsible technology adoption, AI-powered workflows, governance frameworks, and new client-facing AI offerings. The move reflects Cahill’s growing investment in AI as a tool to enhance legal services and client outcomes, and follows a broader industry trend of major law firms establishing executive-level AI leadership roles.
MARKET MOVEMENTS
Snell & Wilmer has hired the former assistant general counsel of environmental and sustainability at Lucid Motors, Julie Peng, who is joining the firm in Washington, D.C.
Holland & Knight LLP adds healthcare policy duo from McDermott Will & Schulte, Kristen O'Brien and Jeffrey Davis
Greenberg Traurig, LLP has added former Kirkland & Ellis funds lawyer Sheldon Hunt
San Francisco-based Coblentz Patch Duffy & Bass LLP has grown its corporate and litigation practices with the addition of four attorneys from Carr McClellan PC: Mark A. Cassanego (Corporate Partner), Edward J. Willig (Corporate Partner), J. Craig Crawford (Litigation Partner), and John McCauley (Litigaiton Counsel)
FIRM SPOTLIGHT - DENTONS US LLP
Dentons has grown into one of the world’s largest law firms through an aggressive series of mergers and combinations, building a presence across the U.S. and major markets worldwide. The firm operates across 40 practice areas and 24 sectors, with particular strength in capital markets, insurance, banking and finance, litigation, energy and real estate, including one of the world’s largest global real estate practices. Alongside its continued international expansion, Dentons emphasizes attorney development and well-being through mentoring, career development programs, cross-office networking and its Wellness for Life initiative.
INDUSTRY INSIGHTS
Cooley LLP’s global capital markets practice advises companies and investment banks on complex equity and debt transactions, such as high-value IPOs, direct listings, follow-on offerings, convertible note offerings, special purpose acquisition companies and de-SPAC mergers. The firm worked on 180 deals globally in 2025, totaling more than $51.5 billion in deal volume, the firm said.
As lateral partner pay packages at top law firms have reached $40 million in recent years, the recruiters who place such candidates have also seen substantial increases in their compensation, according to industry veterans. The average partner at a top 50 law firms sees first-year guaranteed compensation rise from, say, $2 million to $5 million, those placement fees for a single lawyer would increase from $500,000 to $1.25 million.
Judge Challenges Meta’s In-House Counsel
Meta’s in-house legal team is facing scrutiny after a federal judge criticized its handling of attorney-client privilege and internal research related to youth harms, ahead of the company’s $17 billion settlement. The judge questioned Meta’s use of an incorrect privilege standard and efforts to remove potentially damaging findings from an executive presentation, though legal experts are divided over whether these actions were serious missteps or defensible litigation-risk management. The controversy also renews questions about whether Meta adequately responded to years of shareholder warnings about harmful content and potential legal liability.
Associate Salaries Climb at Massumi & Consoli
Massumi + Consoli has raised associate salaries by $10,000 to $20,000, matching the compensation scale established by Milbank LLP in June. First-year associates will now earn $235,000, with salaries reaching $455,000 for eighth-year associates. The firm, which employs roughly 60 attorneys and law clerks across five U.S. offices, said the increases reinforce its commitment to attracting and retaining top legal talent as competition over associate compensation continues across the industry.
