Corporate legal departments and law firms are waging a battle for legal talent that could shape the future of the in-house world. So far, the in-house side is losing the recruitment tug-of-war as Big Law leverages eye-popping bonuses and the ability to work remotely to lure and retain top-notch lawyers.

“Everybody’s fighting for the same thing. Everybody wants the highest quality people and everybody’s trying to look at diversity as much as possible,” said John Gilmore, co-founder and managing partner of executive search firm BarkerGilmore in Fairport, New York.