Q2 2025
This Q2 2025 report provides a consolidated overview of in-house legal movements at law firms between April and June 2025, offering a snapshot of ongoing trends in lateral recruitment and internal restructuring. By listing each individual and classifying them by seniority, the report highlights the scale and nature of in-house legal resourcing activity across the sector.
The data is designed to help stakeholders monitor hiring patterns, anticipate future shifts, and shape informed strategies around talent acquisition and retention. It also offers insight into how firms are evolving their in-house functions and the levels of experience being prioritised in recent appointments.
Q2 2025 saw a notable slowdown in internal legal moves compared to earlier quarters, particularly when set against the activity observed in Q2 and Q4 of 2024. While the prior financial year (2024/25) showed steady recruitment and restructuring—especially in the second and final quarters—this most recent period reflects a more cautious or delayed approach to hiring and promotion.
This drop may reflect several factors:
- Post-financial year recalibration, where firms pause to assess headcount and budget following year-end.
- A front-loading of hiring in previous quarters, especially Q4 2024 and Q1 2025.
- The impact of economic or regulatory uncertainty, leading to more conservative growth strategies.
The most active segment this quarter was national firms, which accounted for five in-house hires, indicating a strong push to build internal legal capability—perhaps in response to growing regulatory or operational pressures.
In contrast:
- International megafirms made three hires, maintaining a steady but cautious presence.
- Magic Circle and other international firms each made two hires, consistent with recent quarters but not indicative of major expansion.
- No US firms made any in-house hires in Q2 2025, marking a notable absence after activity in previous quarters. This may reflect shifting hiring priorities or delays in approval cycles within US-headquartered firms.
Most individuals hired into in-house roles this quarter came from other law firm in-house teams, continuing the sector’s clear preference for candidates with pre-existing internal legal experience. There were no significant moves from private practice, reinforcing the sense that Q2 hiring was tactical rather than opportunistic.
While the overall number of moves was lower, senior hires continued, suggesting firms were still prepared to invest in high-impact leadership roles. However, junior appointments and internal promotions were more limited, indicating that talent development and succession planning may have taken a temporary back seat during this quieter phase.
One of the clearest patterns in Q2 2025 was the dominance of internal promotions over external recruitment:
- 13 promotions into in-house legal roles
- Compared to just 6 new hires
This ratio underscores a strategic shift towards internal development, as firms seek to retain institutional knowledge and reward performance without committing to the cost and complexity of lateral recruitment. It also reflects the maturity of in-house legal teams at many firms, which are now large and experienced enough to support meaningful internal career progression.
List of market moves Q2 2025
Junior (NQ – 3PQE)
Joana Santos-Ruess has been promoted to Compliance Lawyer at Slaughter and May from their previous role as Junior Compliance Lawyer.
Anke Phiri has been appointed as Risk Lawyer at HFW from their previous role as Risk and Compliance Officer at Taylor Walton LLP.
Mid-Level (4PQE – 8PQE)
Clare Sanders has been appointed as Associate, General Counsel’s Office at HFW from their previous role as Risk Lawyer at Macfarlanes.
Hannah Lane has been appointed as Risk and Best Practice Lawyer at Bevan Brittan LLP from their previous role as Senior Associate at Capsticks LLP.
Ashley Ayton has been promoted to Senior Risk and Compliance Associate at Norton Rose Fulbright from their previous role as Senior Risk and Compliance Lawyer.
Mary Hatt-Lewis has been promoted to Counsel – General Counsel & Risk at Norton Rose Fulbright from their previous role as Senior Associate – General Counsel & Risk.
Senior (9PQE+)
Jane Banerjee has been promoted to Counsel – Deputy Head of Conflicts at Norton Rose Fulbright from their previous role as Counsel – General Counsel & Risk.
Julie Huntingdon has been promoted to General Counsel (Partner) at Ward Hadaway from their previous role as In-house Regulatory Counsel (Partner).
Sophie B has been appointed as Senior Associate, Risk and Compliance at TLT LLP from their previous role as Senior In-House Counsel at Eversheds Sutherland.
Richard Farquhar has been promoted to Head of Financial Crime at Ashurst from their previous role as Manager – Financial Crime & Risk.
Jenny Cassidy has been promoted to Global Head of Insurance, Claims and Complaints at Bird & Bird from their previous role as Joint Head of Risk & Compliance.
Craig Emden has been promoted to Chairman and General Counsel at Howard Kennedy LLP from their previous role as Managing Partner.
Laura Kealey has been promoted to Of Counsel, Professional Indemnity and Claims at CMS UK from their previous role as Senior PI & Claims Manager.
Adriana Speight has been promoted to Partner – International Lead in the Office of the General Counsel at DAC Beachcroft from their previous role as Risk and Compliance Senior Associate.
Amy Last has been promoted to Of Counsel, Group Commercial team at Mishcon de Reya LLP from their previous role as Managing Associate, GC (Operations) team.
Hayley Wright has been appointed as Head of Risk Operations at Kennedys from their previous role as Senior Global Operations Officer, Legal Department at Freshfields.
Nikki Weir has been promoted to Counsel for Risk and Data Protection Officer at Burness Paull LLP from their previous role as Counsel for Risk.
Niamh Crowdy has been promoted to Head of Partnership Legal Advisory at Linklaters from their previous role as Partnership Counsel and Acting Head of Regulatory Compliance.
Ekaterina Harrison has been appointed as Senior Legal Advisor – Conflicts & Ethics at Ashurst from their previous role as Senior Associate: Private Credit at Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP.
