Insights from Oakstreet Attorney Search on the lateral Partner market across the Carolinas, including key moves, compensation patterns, and our outlook for 2026.

Introduction

The Carolinas legal market continues to evolve quickly. In 2025, firms doubled down on growth in Charlotte and the Triangle, transactional practices continued to excel, and several major firms entered the market.

This year, AmLaw 200 firms made 55 lateral partner hires across North Carolina and South Carolina, with strong activity from regional firms as well. Two major AmLaw firms, Orrick and Proskauer, entered the Charlotte market by picking up two Finance groups. Transactional practices such as Finance, Corporate, and Real Estate led lateral hiring, but Litigation remained a major force.

Our team at Oakstreet Attorney Search has personally overseen several partner moves in key markets this year and continues to stay closely connected with firms on their strategic hiring priorities. For a quick overview of the key steps in a lateral partner move, you can also review our Lateral Partner Move Guide

Compensation Trends

Firms are still using guaranteed compensation to land key lateral partners, but the structure has shifted from 2021–2022. Instead of the multi-year guarantees we saw during that period, offers in 2025 typically followed a “stub year plus one” model, which is essentially an 18–24 month period of fixed or partially fixed compensation before a partner transitions onto the firm’s standard compensation system.

In addition to base compensation, we continue to see supplemental components such as signing bonuses, guaranteed year-end bonuses, and incentive or performance-based compensation.

Firms are more disciplined than they were in 2021, but for the right candidate or group, they remain competitive. The key takeaway is that partners can still negotiate meaningful upfront security, but firms expect a much clearer connection between guaranteed pay and the business you bring in.

Compensation structures for non-equity partners depend heavily on their book of business. With a sizable book (but not quite at the desired threshold), firms may offer terms similar to equity-track hires—short guarantees followed by consideration for equity. Without a book, compensation tends to resemble Counsel-level structures, unless the firm has a critical need for coverage in that specific service area.

How Firms Are Evaluating Books of Business

Ultimately, compensation is driven by the revenue a firm expects a lateral partner or group of partners to bring with them. Over the last couple of years, we’ve seen increased scrutiny around portable books. Firms are looking closely at:

• Multi-year origination trends: firms want to see origination reports going back several years.

• Diversity and stability of the client base: firms are placing more scrutiny on highly concentrated books of business.

• Business plans and growth projections: particularly whether there is potential synergy with the firm’s existing practices and/or core competencies.

Firms are also engaging in client due diligence (with the candidate’s approval), especially for larger books, to validate expected portability.

New Entrants and Office Openings

Several major moves reshaped the Charlotte market in 2025:

• Orrick recruited a group from Cadwalader focused on structured finance products, involving attorneys in both Charlotte and NYC.

• Proskauer hired a four-partner leveraged finance team, also from Cadwalader, further expanding its lender-side footprint in the Southeast.

• Akerman opened a Charlotte office with the addition of a respected Project Finance group. (Added period)

These moves continue to reinforce Charlotte’s position as one of the most attractive growth markets for national firms.

Lateral Moves in the Carolinas

The graphics at the top of this report show a full breakdown of the highest-growth markets and practice areas for AmLaw 200 firms. A few highlights:

• Charlotte led the Carolinas in partner hiring, driven in part by new office openings and group acquisitions.

• Raleigh/Triangle saw steady, healthy growth and remains a priority market for firms expanding in the Southeast.

• Transactional practices—Finance, Corporate, and Real Estate—remain in strong demand, and Litigation accounted for roughly one-third of partner moves.

• Several firms experienced meaningful exits (often due to group departures), while others saw substantial growth tied to strategic expansion or new office launches.

Market Trends & Predictions for 2026

Looking ahead:

• More firms will enter the Carolinas: we’ve heard repeatedly from firms without a presence here, that they would be interested in expanding their footprint into the Carolinas with the addition of strong groups.

• Lateral hiring will remain active as firms pursue long-term strategic plans and talent becomes increasingly mobile.

• If interest rates decline as expected, we anticipate renewed momentum in Finance, Corporate, and Commercial Real Estate.

• Loyalty to legacy firms is declining; partners are more willing to explore opportunities that better align with their long-term practice goals and cultural preferences.

Exploring a Move in 2026

If you’d like to discuss how these trends may impact your practice or explore what a strategic move could look like in 2026, we’re always available for a confidential conversation.

For a quick overview of the key steps in a lateral partner move, you can also review our Lateral Partner Move Guide