A return to profit growth and a broad “acceptance” of office work norms have made the legal industry look and feel a little more normal in 2024, relative to the rollercoaster ride of the last four years. And, according to new data, associate hiring may be another leg on that stool.

That’s because the growth in the number of associates at the National Law Journal’s 500 largest law firms in the U.S. settled at 2.7% between 2023 and 2024, according to data compiled by ALM—a number that is very similar to the growth rates in the two years immediately preceding the pandemic.