Record Law Graduate Hiring, BigLaw Expansion & AI’s Growing Role
The class of 2025 law graduates posted a near-record 92.8% employment rate, with a record 85% securing positions requiring or anticipating bar admission. BigLaw continued to dominate entry-level hiring, with firms of 500+ attorneys accounting for 33.2% of law firm placements, while private practice reached its highest share since 1990 at 60.9%. At the same time, federal government hiring fell 37%, highlighting a broader shift away from government and public-interest roles toward private practice and large law firms.
MARKET MOVEMENTS
Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP adds two capital markets partners, Peter Byrne and Tristan VanDeventer
Holland & Hart LLP hires patent team from Ashurst Perkins, Amanda Tessar, David St. John-Larkin, and Daniel Keese
Ballard Spahr LLP taps longtime litigator Scott Humphreys to lead LA office
Goldberg Segalla adds toxic-tort pro John E. Lienert from Maron Marvel
FIRM SPOTLIGHT - LINKLATERS
Linklaters has cemented its status as a global BigLaw leader through its strength in finance, M&A, and disputes and an aggressive international expansion strategy. Now operating 30 offices across 20 countries, the firm has two U.S. locations in New York and Washington, D.C., where it advises major corporations, banks, and financial institutions on complex transactions, litigation, and regulatory matters. Linklaters also stands out for its innovative reverse-mentoring program, which pairs partners with lawyers and business professionals from across its global offices to encourage broader perspectives and experiences.
INDUSTRY INSIGHTS
Ice Miller LLP has seen notable growth over the past few years, announcing in February that it saw record profits in 2025, largely driven by $1.15 million in profits per equity partner, marking a 10% increase from the previous year.
Aperture Investors is expanding its litigation finance platform to $600 million in assets with up to $1 billion in investment capacity, while typically providing $25 million to $50 million loans directly to plaintiffs’ law firms. More than 50% of its current portfolio is in post-settlement assets, with roughly 25% tied to bankruptcy-related cases.
Beyond the top 50 firms, “the build-versus-buy selection or strategy is not applicable to anyone,” said Offit Kurman Chief Innovation Officer Alex Finkel. Roughly 67% of large firms reported spending under 2% of their 2025 budgets on building or buying new technology, according to data shared with Bloomberg Law. Smaller firms, on average, spent higher shares of their budgets last year on new technology. Nearly 30% of firms with fewer than 500 attorneys reported spending more than 5% of their budget on new technology last year.
Cleary Launches Energy & Infrastructure Group Amid AI Boom
Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP has launched a new energy and infrastructure group, led by New York partner Raunaq “Niqui” Kohli, formerly of Jenner & Block. The move reflects growing demand for legal expertise around energy, infrastructure and the AI-driven surge in power demand and investment. Kohli will build the multidisciplinary practice across areas including M&A, private equity, finance, real estate and regulatory matters, while recruiting additional talent. His arrival marks Cleary’s 17th lateral partner hire of 2026, putting the firm on pace to match or surpass its 21 lateral hires from 2025.
Lowenstein Sandler Puts Legal AI Skills to the Test
Lowenstein Sandler LLP is taking a hands-on approach to AI training, launching its inaugural “AI Draft and Detect Challenge” for all 22 summer associates. The competition tasked teams with using AI to draft legal arguments and proofread a due diligence memo, while identifying errors the technology missed. The exercise highlighted AI’s ability to significantly speed up legal work while reinforcing that attorneys must still review and refine AI-generated output. The firm sees interactive, gamified training like this as an important way to prepare the next generation of lawyers for an increasingly AI-driven legal industry.
