Breaking down all the lateral move activity in 2018 by region, we see some things we might expect. Hiring at Am Law 200 firms is high in cities like New York and Los Angeles. But in the top 20 most active markets  — measuring by partner hires at Am Law 200 firms — there were also three cities in Texas: Houston, Dallas, and Austin.

Houston and Dallas were ranked in sixth and seventh place, respectively, in 2018. That's a slight jump up if you compare how they placed in the rankings over the period of 2001-2017. Both of those Texas cities bested San Francisco and Boston last year — even though the Beantown market has been heating up, too.

Meanwhile, Austin saw more lateral hires among Am Law 200 firms than Miami or Orange County, or even Seattle. Not far away in Houston, native firms have seen an increase in competition over the past decades; since 2001, the Houston market has been invaded by a wide range of national and international law firms.

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