Law firms in the Southeast are continuing to focus more on litigation-related lateral hires than lawyers in transactional practices, according to a new study, which also showed more lawyers moved to new law firms in the Southeast in November than during the same time last year.

The study by Boston-based legal industry data company Firm Prospects LLC appears to show that law firms are “being cautious,” adding lawyers in counter-cyclical practice areas amid continued economic uncertainty, said Firm Prospects CEO Adam Oliver.