Germany’s lateral hiring market has typically been quiet, as lawyers have traditionally remained loyal to their firms. But this year the industry has been hit with an uncharacteristically high volume of lateral hires—possibly signifying a broader cultural shift in the industry, lawyers say.

Since January, Germany has witnessed a string of high-profile lateral moves, including Baker McKenzie’s Ingo Strauss and Heiko Gotsche jumping to Latham & Watkins, Allen & Overy’s Dominik Stühler moving to Dechert and Markus Käpplinger to Goodwin Procter, Goodwin Procter’s Lars Jessen and Martin Prokoph leaving for Paul Hastings, and Joachim Kayser departing Dechert for Goodwin Procter, among others.