San Francisco Employment Hiring Runs on Associates: 70.1%

Sartori & Partners data show that the San Francisco employment lawyer lateral market runs on associates. Over the last 12 months, associates were 70.1% of the 77 employment and labor lateral moves into San Francisco, against 61.6% for employment across the market and 58.9% for San Francisco at all practices. Counsel were 7.8%, against 15.2% for the practice and 15.0% for the city. Hiring also sits in fewer hands: over 3 years the top 10 hirers took 42.4% of the city's employment moves, against 26.6% for the practice as a whole. For a firm building an employment bench in San Francisco, that adds up to a wide associate pool, a thin counsel tier and a short list of rivals for every candidate.

In the Sartori & Partners lateral database, 54 of the 77 San Francisco employment moves over 12 months were associates. That share sits 8.5 points above the practice as a whole and 11.2 points above the city. Partners were 22.1% of the cell, close to 22.4% for the practice and 24.9% for the city, so the extra associate weight comes mainly out of the counsel tier. Nor is this a one-year reading. Over 3 years, associates were 71.5% of San Francisco employment moves, against 63.6% for the practice and 56.5% for the city.

For a hiring partner, depth sits at associate level. An associate search in San Francisco employment draws on the largest tier of the local market. Choice is real there, and so is competition for the same résumés.

Counsel made up 7.8% of San Francisco employment lateral moves over 12 months. The practice as a whole sits at 15.2% and the city at 15.0%, gaps of 7.4 points and 7.2 points. Over 3 years the cell's counsel share was 11.9%, against 13.8% for the practice and 15.0% for the city: the tier was already slim, and the last 12 months thinned it further. Few moves brought a new title either. Only 11.7% of San Francisco employment moves were a step up, against 13.5% for the practice and 14.1% for the city.

A firm that needs a senior non-partner employment lawyer in San Francisco should expect a short slate and a longer search. The faster route is often internal: a senior associate ready for the counsel title.

Concentration is the second feature of this market. Over 3 years the top 10 hirers took 42.4% of San Francisco employment lateral moves, 1.6 times the 26.6% share for the practice as a whole and 2.1 times the 20.1% for San Francisco at all practices. The field of employers is small as well: 42 firms hired an employment lawyer in the city over the last 12 months, and 70 over 3 years.

Large firms take the bigger part of the hires. Firms of 1,000+ lawyers made 55.6% of San Francisco employment moves, against 46.9% for the practice and 57.7% for the city. On firm size the cell resembles its city; on concentration it stands apart from both comparisons. For a firm outside the most active group, every associate candidate is also hearing from the same few employers, so offers need to land quickly.

Employment lawyers in San Francisco rarely change city to move firm. Only 10.4% of the cell's moves involved a change of city, against 20.6% for the practice as a whole and 15.0% for San Francisco at all practices. Over 3 years, 73.1% of the cell's movers were already practicing in San Francisco, against 68.6% for the city overall. Mid-size firms feed the pool more than they do across the city: 23.4% of San Francisco employment movers left firms of 150-399 lawyers, against 9.9% for the city and 16.7% for the practice.

The pool's focus is mostly contentious. Over 3 years, 72.5% of San Francisco employment movers listed employment litigation as a focus and 36.3% listed advisory work. One lawyer can carry several focuses, so these shares overlap and do not add up to the whole.

A search that counts on relocation will run long. The better yield is local: lawyers at the city's mid-size and smaller firms, and associates at large firms who want a different platform.

Volume gives no reason to wait for a better moment. San Francisco employment hiring held flat (+29.5%) on settled 12-month windows: 61 moves in the earlier year and 79 in the later one. The percentage looks large, but on counts this small it sits inside the noise. Employment hiring across the market rose 6.9%, and San Francisco hiring at all practices rose 30.1%. Employment and labor appears in 17.0% of San Francisco lateral moves, and the city's index for the practice is 158, well above the market's own mix.

The practical reading: the San Francisco employment market is a stable, local associate market, not one that is opening up. A firm can plan its hiring around the present mix rather than wait for it to shift.

Plan associate hiring as the default. With 70.1% of moves at associate level, a firm can run a San Francisco employment associate search on the local pool and expect a real choice of candidates. Treat a counsel hire as a scarce search: at 7.8% of moves, the tier runs 7.4 points below the practice as a whole, and growing the title from within will often be faster. Know the rivals. Over 3 years the top 10 hirers took 42.4% of moves, so the same firms will see many of the candidates you see; speed and a clearly defined role count for more than a broad brief. Partner moves are a smaller share, 22.1% of the cell against 22.4% for the practice, and too few to read as a trend.