Not long ago, we looked at practice area growth among the AM Law 100 and found some interesting trends. Cybersecurity and Corporate work led the way with the highest increases in Partner headcount, while various Litigation practices saw sharp decreases in Partner numbers.

So now comes the turn of the AM Law 101-200! Using data from Pirical Legal Professionals (PLP), we've taken a look at Partner headcount growth by practice between 2019-2024 to reveal which practices are on the up and which have been shrinking.

Across the AM Law 200 more Partners work in Litigation than any other practice group. For firms ranked 101-200, Litigation represents the primary practice group of 42% of Partners and accounts for almost half of the top growing practices listed above.

In particular, Partner headcount has increased in Employment Litigation and IP Litigation practices across multiple locations.

Two of the AM Law 101-200's highest growth practice groups make up some of the lowest growth areas among AM Law 100 firms.

The clear practice area in common across both halves of the AM Law 200 is Cybersecurity, Privacy & Data Protection, where Partner headcount has grown significantly for the top 100 (+36%) and the second hundred (+34%).

Across San Diego, San Francisco and Los Angeles, Partner headcount among second hundred firms has grown by +32% since 2019, compared to just +11% for AM Law 100 firms. Litigation work and a handful of firms growing aggressively (such as Buchalter, Fisher Philips and Fennermore Craig) has driven this West Coast increase.

Back in May, our analysis of practice growth among the AM Law 100 found that California had experienced relatively low growth, partly driven by a decline in some Litigation practices.

The practice has decreased in headcount across multiple cities since 2019, with a number of firms losing Partners to bigger rivals. Most notably, AM Law 100 firm Nelson Mullins has poached Product Liability Partners from several second hundred firms in recent years, including Tucker Ellis, Lathrop GPM and Benesch.

Several of the AM Law 101-200’s lowest growth practice groups make up some of the highest growth areas among top 100 firms.

The gulf in Corporate work is particularly stark, the AM Law 100 has increased Partner numbers in Corporate practices by over 1,600 since 2019, compared to a headcount rise of just 167 Partners among the second hundred. Currently, Corporate is the primary practice group of 20% of AM Law 100 Partners and 10% of 101-200 Partners.

Detroit based law firms Honigman and Dickinson Wright account for a significant number of the Partner departures there. While Dickinson Wright again, makes up much of the decline in headcount in Phoenix, alongside Quarles & Brady.

Note on methodology

Source: Pirical Legal Professionals, using publicly available data

Timeframe: Jan 2019 - Sep 2024

Includes practices with more than 15 Partners and attributes 1 primary practice per Partner

Includes cities with more than 200 Partners and attorneys with multiple locations have been equally distributed across each

Written using data from Pirical Legal Professionals (PLP)

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