Midsize firms have long offered a more defined culture and more manageable billable hours expectations compared to Big Law. Despite large firms spending big money on bonuses and other incentives to attract and retain talent, smaller firms say the current working environment is sending more Big Law talent their way.

“We’re attracting interest from more associates from Big Law on the front end,” said Alicia Vaz, a partner at Cox, Castle & Nicholson. “We continue to actively recruit and sell the firm on its culture, flexibility and development and growth opportunities, and it is garnering more results for us than in the past.”