The war for lateral partner talent in the legal industry is at its most intense in years. Partner hiring reached a five-year high in 2025, with firms making a clear shift toward lateral partner recruitment as they seek to strengthen practice depth and expand client relationships. Kirkland & Ellis alone made 116 lateral partner hires in 2025, with litigation partners accounting for 26% of all moves, followed by corporate at 16%. 

For firms racing to build scale, deepen expertise, and win the battle for rainmakers, bringing in a lateral partner is only half the challenge, the real test is what happens next. And it's a test that too many firms are failing. That was the question at the heart of a brilliant, from Stacey McReynolds (Clyde & Co), Pascale Bishop (Fisher & Phillips LLP), Michele Golivesky (Arnall Golden Gregory LLP) and Nikki Sherrill (Parker Hudson), who tackle head-on why lateral hires keep underperforming and what marketing and BD leaders can, and should, be doing about it.

Data on unsuccessful lateral hires is sobering. Research from Decipher Investigative Intelligence shows 48% leave within five years, 62% fail to deliver their promised book of business, and 35% never fully integrate. Overall, lateral partner failure rates hover around 50%, and it is increasingly hard to distinguish top performers leaving weak firms from underperformers leaving strong ones.

These failures are rarely about legal ability. More often, talented hires fall short because integration lacks structure. Firms invest heavily in recruitment but far less post-offer, where Marketing and BD teams should play a much bigger role.

Have a Conversation to Better Explore What's ‘On Paper’

Many firms rely on a standardised process for collecting information, but this alone is rarely sufficient for telling the whole story. As Nikki noted candidly, “we found that… the questionnaire… maybe wasn't good,” particularly for high-stakes partner hires. What firms are finding more effective is sitting down directly with candidates to explore what they are truly bringing to the table, not just stated portables, but realistic expectations about client transition timelines, the support they'll need, and how they envision building within the new environment.  “You just have to flesh all that out… what they're bringing to the table, their expectations.” This is especially critical for partner-level hires where the stakes are highest.

Own the Integration Phase

Once a lateral joins, the BD team's role doesn't end, it becomes even more important. With its holistic view of the firm's clients and activities, the BD team is well positioned to analyse and advise on cross-selling opportunities and to assess how cross-selling can operate in both directions, identifying which firm clients the lateral can service and which of the lateral's clients other firm lawyers can support.

The most effective teams are doing this work before day one. As Pascale described, “when that person actually does start, we're hitting the ground running… we kind of already have introductions on the schedule.”

Practical steps matter too: getting a lateral's bio onto the firm website, adding them to marketing materials, and posting a firm-wide announcement that invites colleagues to engage directly can spark early relationship-building and collaboration opportunities.

But momentum can stall quickly without structure. As highlighted in the panel discussion, common warning signs include missed internal introductions, unclear prioritisation, and laterals focusing too heavily on legacy matters. The response from BD teams needs to be proactive and hands-on. As Stacey put it, “making it as easy as possible… ‘you’ve got this meeting here, this is what you’re talking about’,” ensuring the lateral is guided, not left to navigate alone. Crucially, integration is a team sport. “We can’t solve these problems if we’re not connected to the people who can solve these problems,”  underlining the importance of BD teams being fully embedded across the firm.

According to Major, Lindsey & Africa's Partner Satisfaction Survey, proper integration was the single biggest predictor of a lateral partner's satisfaction. In short, partners who felt their new firms made a concerted effort to integrate them were most likely to report higher satisfaction. 

The bottom line…

Lateral hires will continue to be a cornerstone of law firm growth strategy. But the firms that see the best returns will be the ones that treat integration as a strategic function, not an administrative afterthought, and that give their Marketing and BD teams a genuine seat at the table from the very start.