Anthony Matthews
15 October 2026
As the temperature starts to drop in the Northern Hemisphere and negotiations begin on which part of the family to spend Christmas with; Autumn is in full swing. In this article, we have a brief look at some of the stories and themes in the legal recruitment market as we head towards 2027.
Senior Movement
In both London and New York, the ever-accelerating carousel of partners continues. Most noticeably, firms where there was rare senior movement before in New York have been losing top talent that some would have thought were as engrained in these firms as the granite on their buildings – https://www.legalbusiness.co.uk/law-firms/the-velocity-of-partner-movement-is-incredible-new-york-follows-londons-lead-on-laterals/ .
One of New York’s heavyweights has also seen an implosion, with heads of departments both sides of the Atlantic at Weil (30 partners since beginning of year) making moves - https://www.nonbillable.co.uk/news/weil-loses-london-co-managing-partner-to-sullivan-cromwell
Hot Areas
We are now seeing a maintained demand for competition lawyers across the board both in London and Brussels. Although the majority of firms are ideally looking for EU/UK/LLM experience, there are some firms that would look at overseas qualified lawyers making the direct move.
Data privacy and cybersecurity continues to be an increasingly busy area, alongside TMT. As AI becomes more and more of a staple in everyday life and business, these practices will continue growing.
In terms of core areas, litigation remains very slow and firms are often reluctant to look at overseas associates. Corporate remains ticking along, especially in private equity. Finance, especially lev/acquisition & securitisation remains busy.
Antipodean Recruitment
Unlike the huge peaks and troughs of 5 or so years ago, recruitment of Australian and New Zealand associates to the London market has remained very steady. There have been continued struggles in disputes but finance and corporate remains resolute in their overseas hiring.
The New York market has warmed a little with a handful of firms very open to hiring Australian nationals. As we move towards ’27, we think this is likely to increase as there has been unprecedented senior movement in Manhattan over the last 12 months which often shakes up the market.
Upcoming Trips
Following a recent successful trip to Edinburgh, we’ll be heading across the globe over the last few months of 2026. If you are located in any of these locations and would like to discuss options over a coffee, don’t hesitate to get in touch.
- Manchester: October 26th
- Sydney: 24-27th November
- Melbourne: 30th November & 1st December
- Auckland: 3rd & 4th December (AM only on 04/12)
- San Francisco: 4th December (PM only)
Happy Birthday!
Matthews and Carter Associates turned 10 years old on 1st October and it is hard to believe that a decade has gone by since we took the plunge and started moving lawyers across oceans. Amongst other changes, the idea of a video interview in 2016 was a novelty and often involved hiring out an entire meeting room at a specialist location! Whilst now it is as easy as a click of a button in the spare room!
There have been many ups and downs in the last 10 years with Covid sitting right at the heart of the period but it has been an absolute pleasure to work with lawyers from all different walks of life. The most satisfying thing that we now see is lawyers that we placed around the NQ mark now starting to make partner at various law firms.
A big thank you to all the lawyers and law firms that we’ve worked with over the last decade and looking forward to what the next decade has in store!