Law firms are favouring hiring lateral associates in preference to entry-level associates, with the growing influence of AI in legal services a major part of the rationale behind the trend, according to reports compiled by legaltech firm SurePoint.
Its Law School Hiring Report for 2026 revealed that last year lateral associates accounted for 51% of associate hires in the Am Law 200, marking the third time in five years that laterals outnumbered entry-level law school graduates.
Between 2024 and 2025, associate lateral hiring increased by 12%, while entry-level hiring flatlined.
Law firms are building teams that are dedicated to AI, and are looking to recruit attorneys who have experience of the technology that has become an integral part of their modernising process.
Investing is this talent has been prioritised, as AI reshapes traditional associate development paths.
It is an emerging pattern in response to their clients who are grappling with AI’s effect on copyright, privacy, compliance and liability.
Mid-size firms especially are leaning towards hiring lateral associates over entry-level ones, mainly due to their practical experience requiring less training.
SurePoint’s 2025 State of the Legal Industry Report found that lateral associate hiring within the AI specialism grew by 106% during last year, outpacing both partner and counsel recruitment activity.
Meanwhile a Citi report released last December found that 86% of large law firm respondents planned to expand their associate ranks up to the end of 2027, but only 35% planned to increase the number of their first-year cohorts.
Also, two-thirds of those questioned expected a significant change to the lawyer leverage model by 2035.
However, SurePoint’s retention analysis concluded that while lateral associates outperformed elite law school T14 entry-level hires in long-term retention, entry-level associates hired from non-T14 schools showed the highest overall success rates.
Law firms may need to hire the candidates that develop and generate long-term value, rather than choosing based on assumptions over skills and experience between lateral and entry-level associates.
The report also underscored that recruitment was happening earlier, and AI was restructuring expectations and retention, and was emerging as a more meaningful measure of hiring success.
Law schools were also adapting to the escalation of AI in law practice. According to the report, the University of Chicago – tied in second place in the T14 – had included AI literacy standards in its curriculum and launched an AI Lab where students could create new AI tools.
Email your news and story ideas to: [email protected]
