US Legal Marketing & Business Development Recruitment:

I often get asked whether the US legal marketing and business development recruitment market has fundamentally changed heading into 2026. The honest answer is: not dramatically – but the firms that are succeeding are the ones that have adapted to the realities of the market

From where I sit at Ambition, the market feels relatively steady compared to last year, but with clearer patterns now emerging around location, flexibility, and how firms need to position themselves to attract talent. Below is my perspective on what’s happening nationally, where demand is strongest, and what both candidates and firms should be thinking about this year.

A Broad US Market with Regional Differences

At a high level, the US market is fairly consistent in terms of seniority. We’re seeing similar levels of roles across cities, particularly at manager and middle-management level. The key differences are around practice group focus rather than job titles.

New York

New York remains, by far, our busiest market. We’re seeing a very high volume of middle-management roles, particularly aligned to:

M&A
Private equity
Capital markets
Financial institutions

What’s compounding this is the number of roles that came into the market in 2025 and still haven’t been filled. That backlog has carried into 2026, meaning demand has stayed consistently high. If you’re a BD Manager in New York, it’s not unusual to have half a dozen viable options on the table at any given time.

Washington DC

DC continues to behave exactly as you’d expect for a regulatory-driven market. Litigation and disputes remain dominant, with ongoing demand in antitrust and some activity around international trade.

How this develops through 2026 will depend heavily on government policy and enforcement priorities, but overall, DC remains a very stable and specialised market compared to New York.

Chicago

Chicago is more of a mixed bag. We’re seeing corporate roles that mirror New York, alongside opportunities focused on tech and litigation. Increasingly, firms are also treating Chicago as an add-on location rather than a primary hub.

One of the reasons we saw an uptick in roles in Chicago last year was that firms were increasingly advertising roles across multiple cities – Chicago appeared to be a benefactor of this, along with roles that we already based in Chicago.

This isn’t about strategy so much as necessity. Firms are struggling to find the right person in a single location, so they’re widening the net.

Middle Management vs Associate Director Hiring

The market behaves very differently depending on seniority.

At middle-management level, hiring is extremely active year-round. In markets like New York, active candidates genuinely have a lot of choice.

At Associate Director level, roles are more concentrated in New York and tend to come with less flexibility on location. These are usually people-management-heavy roles, and firms are much more prescriptive about candidates being based where the bulk of the team sits.

Interestingly, we often see stronger applicant numbers at AD level than at manager level. These roles don’t come around as often, so when they do, they attract a more passive audience. Middle-management roles, by contrast, are always there.

Four Days in the Office Is Now the Norm

Hybrid working has seen one of the biggest shifts over the last 12 months.

More than 50% of the roles we’re working on now require a minimum of four days per week in the office. This is the first time we’ve seen four days become the majority position rather than a significant minority. Larger AmLaw firms are leading the way here, while boutique firms are generally slightly more flexible.

What’s changed is candidate reaction. A year ago, asking for four days in the office felt risky. Now, particularly in New York, there’s far less pushback. Candidates increasingly accept that highly flexible or remote roles are rare. Ironically, this means that firms offering more flexibility are now even more differentiated than they were 18 months ago.

Why Lateral Moves Are Still Difficult

Despite the number of vacancies, lateral hiring remains one of the biggest challenges in the market.

The reality is that the large post-COVID pay bumps aren’t happening anymore. Compensation increases have levelled off, and if someone is being asked to move into what is effectively the same job for only a marginal uplift, the incentive just isn’t there.

As a result, firms need to think beyond comp. The most effective lever we’re seeing is learning and development, particularly for lateral managers. A clear pathway to senior manager or director can often outweigh a modest salary difference.

Advice for Candidates: Be Clear on Your Why

For candidates, especially at middle-management level, the volume of roles can actually make decision-making harder.

Most BD Manager roles look the same on paper. The job descriptions are similar, the comp is broadly comparable, and the responsibilities are familiar. That means it’s critical to be clear on why you want to move and what you’re really looking for beyond the JD.

If the only driver is a pay increase, you’ll probably have plenty of options. But if you’re thinking about progression, leadership exposure, or long-term development, you need to be far more selective. Moving laterally every 18 months at the same level can start to raise questions, so it’s worth taking a mid- to long-term view.

Advice for Firms: Sell the Story, Not Just the Role

From a client perspective, the firms that are hiring well are the ones that understand that compensation and job specs aren’t enough.

In a talent-short market, most roles are technically very similar. What differentiates one opportunity from another is:

The people in the team
The hiring manager
The culture
The firm’s approach to development and progression

Firms also need to reset expectations internally. You’re not going to see four or five strong candidates for every role. If you can get two or three credible individuals, you’re doing well in this market. If you like someone, you often need to move decisively.

Outlook for the Rest of 2026

Looking ahead, I don’t expect any dramatic shifts. 2026 is likely to present very similar challenges to 2025.

Some firms will be more active this year, others less so, particularly with high-profile mergers and restructures in the market. But the core principles remain the same.

One cohort to watch is the group of professionals who moved roles in the post-COVID rush of 2022–2023. Many of them are now three to four years into their positions and may re-enter the market this year. Firms that aren’t actively focused on retention, development, and progression risk losing that talent.

Overall, the market feels steady rather than explosive. The firms that have adapted to these conditions are the ones that will continue to hire successfully and the ones that haven’t will continue to struggle.