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“[Firms] were anticipating another banner year, like in 2024, [but] there's so much uncertainty in the marketplace now, and that causes law firms to pull back,” said law firm recruiter Jeffrey Lowe, about expected 2025 head count changes.

Lowe, market president of Washington, D.C., for CenterPeak, noted that the expected boom in demand hasn’t quite played out yet in 2025, amid a seesaw in tariffs and reductions to the U.S. government workforce under President Trump.

“The start of a new administration came some very drastic changes to pretty much everything, and that's had a real tempering effect on the law firm's expectations and growth,” said Lowe. “So while we expect to see some modest growth this year, I think firms are being much more cautious about their hiring, particularly on the associate side, and as well as what we consider investment hires on the partner side.”

Law firm recruiter Dan Binstock noted that while there has still been "aggressive lateral partner hiring” this year, firms are taking their time and scrutinizing the business cases for laterals who may not be a “slam dunk.” That could include attorneys coming out of the federal government.

“It's the expected consequence of more uncertainty, even if it's more of a short-term consequence,” said Binstock, a partner at Garrison. “We see that playing out at certain firms as they are moving things a bit more slowly and deliberately.”

Accelerated Growth in 2024

The uncertainty that has crept in follows a year of strong head count and financial growth for many large and midsize law firms.

Looking at growth within the attorney ranks, total partners among all NLJ 500 firms in 2024 were up 4.4% over the prior year; other attorneys increased 7.5%; and the number of associates rose 6%. As seen in prior years, the equity partnership ranks rose at a slower rate (1.6%) than the nonequity partnership ranks (7.9%).

The accelerated head count growth last year came amid a 13% rise in gross revenue for Am Law 100 law firms last year and a nearly 11% rise in revenue for Second Hundred firms, American Lawyer reported.

A firm entrance at the top of the leaderboard led to ranking adjustments throughout the NLJ 500, but there were few dramatic swings. Dentons entered the rankings this year at the top slot, No. 1, with 5,931 total attorneys last year. (Dentons has been added back to the NLJ 500 rankings based on having a plurality of lawyers located in the U.S., following the firm’s split with China’s Dacheng.)

As a result of Dentons’ arrival back into the NLJ 500, DLA Piper (No. 2), Baker McKenzie (No. 3), Kirkland & Ellis (No. 4), Latham & Watkins (No. 5), Norton Rose Fulbright (No. 6) and Hogan Lovells (No. 7) all moved down one slot in the rankings.

All of those firms saw attorney full-time equivalent head count growth, some more modest than others. DLA Piper increased its attorney count by 5.8% from 4,561 to 4,827, while Baker McKenzie’s attorney count rose just 0.8% from 4,558 to 4,595.

Greenberg Traurig (No. 8) held its spot. White & Case (No. 9) fell down in the rankings, as its attorney count rose a modest 1.5% from 2,559 to 2,598. And Jones Day (No. 10) was bumped down one slot.

Among the NLJ 500 cohort, midsize firms once again had some of the largest jumps and dropoffs in attorney head count.

Lydecker, a national litigation firm, had the largest percentage increase at 45.5%, from 112 to 163 attorneys. Behind Lydecker, Fennemore Craig’s count rose 41.3%, as it completed five combinations in 2024, the most combinations the firm has done in one year, CEO and president James Goodnow said. The firm’s attorney count went from 242 to 342 attorneys.

“We have a strategic growth plan. That plan calls for growth of brick-and-mortar offices in the western United States. We've been executing on that plan for five years,” Goodnow said.

Fagen Friedman & Fulfrost, a full-service education law firm, saw its head count rise 40%, from 86 to 121 attorneys.

Meanwhile, other firms reduced their attorney ranks. FisherBroyles saw the largest percentage drop at 42%, from 293 to 170 lawyers — following an exodus of more than 100 attorneys to a spinoff firm, Pierson Ferdinand, early last year.

Selendy Gay Elsberg reduced its attorney count by 31% from 132 to 91. And Armstrong Teasdale saw a 23.8% drop in its head count, going from 349 attorneys to 266 attorneys.

Lawyer totals compiled for the NLJ 500 are based on the average number of full-time equivalent attorneys for the 2024 fiscal year or on information available on firm websites and collected on ALM’s Compass database.

2025 Uncertainty

It’s still unclear whether all the net gains the industry made in head count will hold in 2025 or subside. Client demand within several practice areas, including transactional, regulatory and white-collar practices, has been in flux in response to volatility in the economic market and changes under the Trump administration.

David Krutz, managing partner of Michael Best & Friedrich, said they’ve had a strong start to the year, with practices holding their own, but acknowledged that clients are watching the market.

“There’s a period of uncertainty with the economy. I think there's still a good amount of optimism with our client base, but they're cautious, and they're certainly reading to see what happens on trade, interest rates, etc,” said Krutz.

The impacts on transactional and corporate practices have varied by firm. Some middle-market firms have continued to see robust demand.

“We are definitely seeing growth in our corporate area, especially in the private equity area. Private equity has been robust for us, and we're focusing a lot of growth in that area,” said Kevin Cross, managing partner and chairman of Lippes Mathias.

Meanwhile, some white collar defense practices have taken a hit this year, as the Trump administration has reined in enforcement in certain areas, including foreign bribery and money laundering. One firm leader said the expectation is that demand within white collar practices will be down this year.

“Many are feeling the drop in federal enforcement,” said law firm recruiter Amy Savage, a partner at Garrison, but added that firms’ white collar practices handle internal and other investigations, as well as state-level and international issues.

“Some firms have reassessed their strategic hiring needs, but most haven't slowed their recruiting at all,” Savage added.

One hint of 2025 hiring could come from data on summer associate hiring.

Average class sizes shrank from 14 summer associates in 2023 to 12 summers in 2024, according to a report earlier this year from the National Association for Law Placement (NALP). Summer associate recruiting for 2024 had been sluggish as firms considered utilization concerns, per a NALP report last year.

2025 Opportunities

While this period of uncertainty may be causing some temporary reevaluation, some firms are taking advantage of the moment to recruit. And other firms are pushing forward with their long-term plans.

Goodnow said that Fennemore is still cautiously moving forward with its strategic growth plan.

“We've actually, surprisingly, seen minimal impacts so far from some of the volatility that you've seen in the broader marketplace. There was a lot of concern that that may happen. We've seen some, but not as much as we anticipated. So we're very much still taking a cautious, wait-and-see approach on that,” said Goodnow. “But as it pertains to combinations. We're making long-term plays and long-term investments.”

For Lippes Mathias, Cross said attorney integration will be a focus after the firm saw its head count grow 23% last year. However, the firm will be exploring more growth opportunities.

“This next year will be an opportunity for us to maximize what we have, look to continue some moderate growth,” said Cross. “And I have seen quite a few opportunities that we've looked at, but I'm taking my time with them for the firm, and to make sure they're going to be a good fit. So those things could come in [2026] for this firm.”

Aside from executing on strategic growth plans, Binstock said firms are taking advantage of the current market to pick up talent that might not have otherwise been available.

“So many firms have learned over the years that when they batten down the hatches too much and the market picks back up, they're playing catch up that can last a long time. And the most strategic firms use this opportunity to cherry-pick strong talent that might not otherwise be available,” said Binstock.