Despite repeated projections about a nationwide economic downturn, large law firms in Atlanta continued to boost their transactional and real estate practices in lateral partner hiring in 2023, and some industry observers expect them to keep that focus in 2024.

According to a Daily Report analysis, partners who practiced primarily in an area of real estate—from financing to development, commercial leasing and construction—made up the top group of laterals in Atlanta in 2023 and they primarily moved in the second and third quarters of the year.