Legal recruitment consultancy Edwards Gibson said there were 546 partner hires in London in 2024, up from 510 in 2023 and 480 in 2022 — while “magic circle” firms collectively experienced a record net loss of 28 partners.

Scott Gibson, director of Edwards Gibson, told the FT: “Unprecedented investment by US law firms in private equity-related hires has pumped scores of millions of dollars into the system.

“This has distorted the market by causing compensation to spike and creating huge knock-on effects down the chain as hapless rivals have scrambled to restock.”

Founder Charlie Harvey added: “We have worked with law firm partners in the London market who have doubled or tripled their compensation when moving.

“We see no signs of lateral partner hiring slowing down as we move into 2025.”