Power and Gas Regulation Lawyers: Hiring Beyond the Largest Firms

Most regulatory hiring follows the wider market into the largest firms. Energy regulatory lawyers, who handle rate cases, transmission, pipeline certificates and wholesale market rules before federal and state regulators, break that pattern. Sartori & Partners data show that firms of 150-399 lawyers hired 25.5% of the power and gas regulation lawyers who changed firms in the last 12 months, against 12.2% in the regulatory and compliance practice and 13.3% across all practices. For a firm leader, that gap decides who sits across the table in the next search.

The field is small, so every hire is visible. In the Sartori & Partners lateral database, 55 power and gas regulation lawyers changed firms in the last 12 months, joining 37 different firms. The field's moves recorded under the regulatory and compliance practice equal 13.3% of that practice's moves. In a pool this narrow a few hires move the shares by whole points, which is why the size pattern below is read over two windows.

Firms of 150-399 lawyers hired 25.5% of power and gas regulation laterals in the last 12 months, 2.1 times their 12.2% share of regulatory and compliance moves. Across all practices the same class took 13.3%, so the regulatory practice as a whole sits close to the market and the energy field is the outlier. Both larger classes hired a smaller share than in the practice: firms of 400-999 lawyers hired 23.6% of the field's lawyers, against 29.7% in the practice, and firms of 1,000+ lawyers hired 50.9%, against 53.1% in the practice and 53.6% in the market.

For a firm of 400-999 lawyers or 1,000+ lawyers, this changes the competitive set for an energy regulatory hire. Plan for a firm of 150-399 lawyers in the bidding far more often than in a general regulatory search, and set the offer, the timetable and the business case with that rival in mind, not only the usual peers. For a firm of 150-399 lawyers, the reading is the reverse: this is a field where firms of its size already win hires well above their weight in the market.

Over 3 years the field counted 166 lateral moves, and firms of 150-399 lawyers took 18.2% of those to firms of known size, against 14.8% in the regulatory practice and 13.9% across all practices. The lead over the practice is 3.4 points over 3 years and 13.3 points over 12 months: smaller in the long window, but on the same side.

The tilt stops at the mid-size class. Firms under 150 lawyers took 3.0% of the field's moves over 3 years, a rough figure resting on few hires, against 6.0% in the practice and 8.6% in the market. Firms of 400-999 lawyers held 27.9%, level with the practice's 28.4%. The practical reading: competition from firms of 150-399 lawyers is a standing feature of this field, stronger in the last year, while very small firms rarely land these lawyers.

Washington, DC drew 26.5% of power and gas regulation moves over 3 years, against 16.9% for the regulatory practice and 5.2% across all practices. That is 5.1 times the market's share and 9.6 points above the practice, which is itself concentrated in the capital.

These lawyers also change city less often when they change firm. In the last 12 months, 14.3% of the field's moves with both cities known involved a relocation, against 18.4% in the practice and 20.5% in the market. Over 3 years the order holds: 15.8% for the field, 20.1% for the practice and 21.6% for the market.

A firm without a Washington office starts this search at a disadvantage, and a firm with one should start there. Outside the capital, budget for recruiting from the energy bar already in the target city rather than for relocating a Washington lawyer.

Sartori & Partners records of dated matters show the same focus. Of the 74 power and gas regulation matters on record over 3 years, 59.5% were regulatory and antitrust work, and 47.3% were for clients in utilities, water and waste. This is docket work for regulated companies, tied to rate cycles and agency proceedings rather than to the deal calendar.

Hiring in the field held flat (+14.0%) year on year, with 57 moves in the 12 months to September 2026 against 50 a year earlier, a gap inside the noise for counts this small. The regulatory practice held flat (+0.5%) over the same windows, at 422 against 420, while the whole market rose 9.0%, from 13,128 to 14,305. A firm should not wait for a wave of available candidates here: each year brings about the same number of movers, and each one draws several bidders.

Partners made up 36.4% of power and gas regulation moves in the last 12 months, against 42.5% in the regulatory practice and 27.7% across all practices. Associates were 47.3% of the field's moves, against 40.5% in the practice. Over 3 years the field's partner share was 43.4%, above the practice's 40.0%, so the last year leans junior against the field's own record. Partner hiring itself held flat: 22 partners in the settled 12 months against 20 a year before, a +10.0% change that is steady at this size.

The partner bench available in any one year is thin. A firm that needs regulatory depth now should weigh senior associates and counsel alongside partners, since associates were the largest group of the field's recent moves, and plan to promote from that group rather than wait for the next partner to come free.

The ten firms that hired most power and gas regulation lawyers in the last 12 months took 51.9% of the field's individual hires. Balch & Bingham ranks first, in the 6-10 band of hires.

Across the regulatory and compliance practice, the ten most active hirers took 21.8% of individual hires, and Balch & Bingham ranks 5th there. With energy hiring this concentrated, a firm outside the first list competes with a handful of repeat buyers for each candidate, and its offer will be measured against theirs.

For a firm of 1,000+ lawyers, the competing bid in this field comes from a firm of 150-399 lawyers far more often than in other regulatory searches: those firms took 25.5% of the field's moves in 12 months, against 12.2% across regulatory work. Build the case around the docket the lawyer will run and the bench behind it, and move quickly, because hiring held flat (+14.0%) and there is no surplus of candidates to wait for.

For a firm of 150-399 lawyers, an energy regulatory partner is a realistic target, not a stretch. Start in Washington, DC, which drew 26.5% of the field's moves over 3 years, and expect candidates who want to stay in their city.

For any firm, read the field over both windows. The 12-month figures rest on 55 moves and swing with a few hires; the three-year series, built on 166 moves in the Sartori & Partners lateral records, is the base to plan a multi-year build against.