With a change in priorities, and issues such as health care, climate and another stimulus package potentially on the agenda for President-elect Joe Biden, white-collar defense lawyers anticipate an uptick in enforcement work.

Firms have already begun reacting to what many expect will be a stepped-up regulatory environment, observers said this week, with a number of them looking for associates in the white-collar arena, partners gaining more traction in the lateral market, and a pickup in government hires.