Sources did not disclose a payment date or hours requirements, though King & Spalding said earlier this year it required associates to reach the industry standard of 1,950 billable hours to be eligible for bonuses.

In Pennsylvania, Tennessee and Georgia, the top schools didn't fare as well compared to lower-ranked schools for July 2025 bar passage rates.

"My CEO is saying, 'How are you managing your budget? Can't you use AI? Let head count be flat next year,'" said Lisa Roberts, general counsel of Stax Payments.

Once unthinkable, private equity reshaped the legal market in 2025. These five PE investment models explain why 2026 may be the year Big Law can no longer hold the line.

"Start by leading from where you are. Take ownership, mentor others, and think beyond your own docket. Leadership is about mindset—being proactive, collaborative, and committed to the success of the team as a whole. And there's no better way to position yourself for a leadership position you want than demonstrating those qualities in the positions that you already occupy."

The incoming New York City mayor also reiterated his desire to rapidly expand the city's law department, saying "there's a clear need for a few hundred additional lawyers."

“Mr. Cuban and the Dallas Mavericks are extremely pleased with this ruling, said Steve Best, partner and chair of Brown Rudnick's white-collar defense, investigations and compliance practice group.

Big Law firms ramped up their lateral machinery, making group laterals and lift-outs a key part of their playbooks in 2025.

Nekia Hackworth Jones was among the Securities and Exchange Commission's highest-ranking Black lawyers. She led the agency's Atlanta Regional Office before becoming one of the Division of Enforcement's four deputy directors in April.

This year, Mayer Brown has increased its lateral partner hires, from 26 to 56, by leaning on practice leaders to recruit and emphasizing six particular areas it says touch high-value sectors.

Law schools are partnering with legal tech companies and tapping innovators to guide them in using rapidly developing technology.

On Monday, the Consumer Attorneys of California opposed Uber's motion to postpone a Jan. 13 bellwether trial in the multidistrict litigation involving sexual assaults by its drivers.

The action comes after another former Kasowitz partner, Eric Herschmann, sued the veteran litigator and his firm over unpaid wages.

A special master found this month that Heninger Garrison Davis and two of its partners, Lew Garrison and Bill Bross, and former attorney Taylor Bartlett, failed to adequately vet nearly 1,000 claims made on behalf of Ugandan citizens in 3M's $6 billion earplug settlement.

Families of terror victims are trying to seize billions of dollars in hacked Bitcoin, arguing it belongs to Iran's hidden crypto-mining operation.

Mitchell Hamline School of Law professor Gregory Duhl will begin teaching his "reimagined" contracts course this spring.

The two Southeast-founded firms followed a trend of most Am Law 100 firms making fewer promotions this year

Kirkland, Latham, Goodwin and Paul Weiss are among the fast growers as U.S.-based institutions continue their relentless assault on the U.K. capital.

Several industry observers have said that if McDermott or any other big firm actually makes good on its talk and welcomes PE investment, it's likely others will follow suit.