Just yesterday, we noted that Biglaw had officially become the single largest employer of new law graduates. That’s still true. But there’s a catch: the biggest firms are hiring fewer of them.
New data from the National Association for Law Placement (NALP) shows that firms with more than 500 lawyers hired 7.5% fewer entry-level associates from the Class of 2025 than they did the year before — the first decline in Biglaw entry-level hiring since 2014. In raw numbers, that’s about 540 fewer graduates landing jobs at the largest firms.
The timing is striking. Biglaw now accounts for more than one in five employed law graduates, and roughly one in four graduates who enter private practice when firms with 251 to 500 lawyers are included. That’s a remarkable transformation in just a few years. But just as Biglaw has cemented its position as the dominant destination for new lawyers, it’s also becoming more selective about how many it brings through the door.
To be clear, this doesn’t mean the legal hiring market fell apart. The Class of 2025 still posted the second-highest employment rate in NALP history, thanks in part to a smaller graduating class. But the broader hiring picture wasn’t nearly as rosy, with roughly 2,700 fewer entry-level legal jobs available than the year before. Federal government hiring plunged, and public interest employers also scaled back.
So why is Biglaw getting more selective? Reuters points to a few factors:
A December report by Citigroup and Hildebrandt Consulting found that a majority of law firms through 2027 planned to prioritize hiring more experienced associates from other firms over entry-level hires.
The decrease at large firms was foreshadowed by lower levels of summer associate recruiting in both 2023 and 2024. Large firms also brought on fewer summer associates during the summer of 2025, which suggests entry-level hiring among 2026 law graduates will also be down, the NALP report said.
There’s no question that firms are investing more heavily in lawyers who can hit the ground running. Some industry observers have also raised questions about whether AI is reducing the amount of routine junior-associate work that traditionally justified larger incoming classes, though it’s far too early to call that a definitive trend.
Biglaw has never occupied a larger share of the entry-level legal market. Almost ironically, it’s claiming a bigger slice of a shrinking pie.
For law students dreaming of a $225,000 $235,000 starting salary, Biglaw remains the biggest prize in town. It’s just becoming a little harder to win.
Entry-level hiring at large US law firms declined for the first time in a decade, data shows [Reuters]
Staci Zaretsky is the managing editor of Above the Law, where she’s worked since 2011. She’d love to hear from you, so please feel free to email her with any tips, questions, comments, or critiques. You can follow her on Bluesky, X/Twitter, and Threads, or connect with her on LinkedIn.
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