The confidential search firm for lateral partners and BigLaw associates.
We represent partners with portable business and associates at the nation's leading firms — matching them to the right platform, discreetly, in every market where BigLaw practices.
Submit your resume
Partners with portable business and BigLaw associates: send your resume and we'll respond with opportunities matched to your practice and market — held in strict confidence.
bonnie@platinumlegalsearchgroup.com
Relationships and market intelligence, not volume.
Since 2006, Platinum Legal Search Group has advised elite attorneys on the single most consequential decision of their careers — where to practice next. We work a small number of searches at a time, which means real attention, candid counsel, and complete discretion from first conversation to first day.
Our value is the depth of our relationships across Am Law firms and elite boutiques, and a precise read on which platforms are hiring, what they'll pay, and where a practice will actually thrive.
Two moves, one standard of discretion.
Whether you carry a book of business or you're an associate targeting a stronger platform, the search is confidential and the counsel is honest.
Partners with portable business
You've built the practice. We find the firm that values your book and negotiate terms that reflect what you bring — as an individual lateral or a full group move.
- Individual partner and multi-partner group moves
- Origination credit, compensation, and integration structured around your practice
- New office openings and practice-team lift-outs
- Confidential positioning to firms matched to your book
BigLaw associates, firm to firm
Targeting better work, a stronger platform, or a clearer path to partner? We know which firms are hiring in your practice — and which are the right fit.
- Lateral placements into leading Am Law firms and boutiques
- Guidance on timing, market demand, and practice-group need
- An honest read on where you'll advance
- Interview preparation and offer negotiation
Law firm mergers & acquisitions.
Beyond individual moves, we advise firm leadership on strategic combinations — from single-office tuck-ins and practice-group acquisitions to full firm mergers. We identify the right counterpart, protect confidentiality on both sides, and help align the platforms, economics, and culture that determine whether a combination succeeds.
Define the objective
Clarify the growth goal, the practices or markets to add, and what a successful combination needs to deliver for the partnership.
Identify & approach
Confidentially source and prioritize suitable firms or groups, then open discreet discussions between principals.
Test the alignment
Assess practice fit, cultural compatibility, and financial similarity — profitability, leverage, and rate structure — before momentum builds.
Guide to completion
Facilitate negotiations through to signing and support integration so the combined firm realizes the value that drove the deal.
Retained, exclusive, or contingent.
We structure each engagement to the search — the same methodology the leading firms use, run with a boutique's attention.
For strategic, high-priority roles
A dedicated, exclusive engagement with a target list, detailed market report, and direct pursuit of specific candidates until the role is filled.
For focused, single-source searches
One firm, a defined mandate, a single committed source — the efficiency of a dedicated partnership without a full retainer structure.
For ongoing lateral needs
A steady flow of pre-screened, qualified candidates matched to your strategy, fee due only on a successful placement.
Every major market. Every core practice.
We recruit across the markets where BigLaw maintains a footprint and the practice areas that drive lateral demand.
And every other market where the Am Law 200 maintains offices.
Insight that informs the move.
We track the lateral market in real time — where firms are growing, what practices are in demand, and how compensation is trending across the major markets.
Timing a lateral move with a portable book
How to evaluate a platform, protect client relationships, and structure origination credit before you make the jump.
Reading the market on lateral compensation
What guaranteed compensation, draws, and bonus structures look like across the major markets in the current cycle.
Moving a practice group without losing momentum
Coordinating a multi-partner lift-out — from confidential outreach to a clean, unified transition.
Stay ahead of the lateral market.
Join our confidential mailing list for periodic insights on lateral partner and associate moves — hiring trends, compensation benchmarks, and market intelligence across the major legal markets. No noise, and never your name shared.
Thank you — you're on the list. Watch for our next lateral market briefing.
Looking for a lateral who fits.
We bring firms and in-house teams vetted partners and associates who match the practice, the platform, and the economics — screened for cultural and strategic fit before they reach your desk. Tell us the search and we'll bring you candidates worth meeting.
Let's talk — privately.
Whether you're ready to move or simply want to understand the market, the conversation stays between us.
Send your resume or inquiry in confidence
We'll respond with opportunities matched to your practice, your market, and — for partners — your book.
bonnie@platinumlegalsearchgroup.com