Raleigh Lateral Partner Summary - June 2023 to June 2025
Raleigh Lateral Partner Movement Analysis: 2023-2025
Summary
Total Movement Volume:
2023: 19 lateral moves
2024: 40 lateral moves (+110% increase)
2025 (first 5 months): 14 lateral moves (projected ~30 for full year)
Key Trend: 2024 experienced explosive growth in lateral movement, more than doubling 2023 activity, while 2025 shows strong momentum continuing at a pace that falls between 2023 and 2024 rates of activity.
Title Movement Analysis
Partners vs Associates vs Counsel Movement
Title Changes with Moves
2023: 9 of 19 people (47%) changed titles with their move
2024: 25 of 40 people (63%) changed titles with their move
2025: 11 of 14 people (79%) changed titles with their move
Lateral Partner-Level Moves:
2023: 9 partners moved
2024: 18 partners moved (+100% increase)
2025 (first 5 months): 7 partners moved
Partner to Associate-Level Moves:
2023: 0 partner to associates
2024: 2 partner to associates
2025 (first 5 months): 0 partner to associates
Partner to Counsel-Level Moves (Of Counsel, Senior Counsel, General Counsel):
2023: 2 partner to counsel-level
2024: 8 partner to counsel-level (+300% increase)
2025 (first 5 months): 3 partner to counsel-level
Trend: Increasing percentage of lateral moves involve title changes, suggesting more strategic hires by firms and more candidates strategically considering career advancement/career fulfillment.
In-House and Government Transitions
Moves to In-House Positions:
2023: 2 partners moved to in-house (Peake III to Rivian, Pine to UNC Health)
2024: 3 partners moved to in-house
2025 (first 5 months): 0 moves to in-house
Moves to Government:
2023: 1 partner moved to government (Johnson to Social Security Administration)
2024: 2 partners moved to government (Mullins to NC DOJ, Cromwell to US DOJ)
2025 (first 5 months): 0 moves to government
Government/In-House to Law Firm Moves:
2023: 1 in-house/govt. to partner move (Cristea: In-house CLO → Partner)
2024: 2 in-house/govt. to partner moves (Stratte: In-house AGC → Partner, Duncan: In-house → Principal)
2025: 4 in-house/govt. to partner moves (Easley: US Attorney → Partner, Park: Solicitor General → Partner, Jordan: In-house Counsel → Partner, Adeleye: Government → Counsel)
Practice Areas and Specialties
Practice Areas with Most Movement:
Litigation:
2023: 8 moves
2024: 15 moves (+88% increase)
2025: 4 moves
Total: 27 moves (37% of all movement)
Labor & Employment:
2023: 4 moves
2024: 8 moves (+100% increase)
2025: 0 moves
Total: 12 moves
Intellectual Property:
2023: 3 moves
2024: 6 moves (+100% increase)
2025: 1 move
Total: 10 moves
Insurance:
2023: 4 moves
2024: 6 moves (+50% increase)
2025: 1 move
Total: 11 moves
Emerging Specialties:
Energy Law: Significant growth from 0 moves in 2023 to 3 moves in first 5 months of 2025
Health Care: Strong consistent activity (2023: 2, 2024: 4, 2025: 0)
Data Privacy/Cybersecurity: Steady niche practice movement
Geographic Movement Patterns
Cities Moved FROM (Top External Market Sources ):
Charlotte: 2023(3) → 2024(6) → 2025(2)
Cary: 2023(0) → 2024(3) → 2025(2)
Cities Moved TO (Top Out of Market Destinations):
Charlotte: 2023(1) → 2024(4) → 2025(1)
Washington DC: 2023(0) → 2024(2) → 2025(2) - Growing destination
Quarterly Movement Trends
Q1 (Jan-Mar): 2023(0) → 2024(5) → 2025(7)
Q2 (Apr-Jun): 2023(2) → 2024(12) → 2025(7)*
Q3 (Jul-Sep): 2023(5) → 2024(13) → 2025(TBD)
Q4 (Oct-Dec): 2023(12) → 2024(10) → 2025(TBD)
*2025 Q2 only includes April-May
Peak Movement Quarters: Q3 and Q4 traditionally show highest activity, with Q2 2024 being exceptionally active.
Market Outlook and Analysis
2024 vs 2025 Comparison (First 5 Months):
Movement Volume: 2024 showed exceptional growth with 40 total moves vs 19 in 2023. 2025's pace of 14 moves in 5 months projects to ~30 annual moves, suggesting sustained activity.
Title Mobility: The trend toward more people changing titles with moves (47% in 2023 → 79% in 2025) indicates a dynamic market with opportunities for advancement.
Practice Specialty Shifts: Energy law emergence and continued strength in litigation suggest market responsiveness to economic trends and regulatory changes.
Market Outlook:
Positive Indicators:
Sustained high movement volume
Increasing government-to-private transitions
Strong counsel-to-partner opportunities
Diverse practice area movement
Potential Concerns:
Some partner-to-counsel downgrades indicate competitive pressure
Some counsel-to-partner moves point to more investment hires vs. large book transitions
Heavy concentration in intra-market movement over the past 2.5 years shrinks the pool of active prospects