With the movement of energy lawyers way down this year, and lateral movement overall taking a plunge, Texas legal recruiters are feeling the effects of local lawyers staying put.

As The American Lawyer reported last week, legal analytics firm Decipher found that 10,233 partners and nonpartners made lateral moves through Aug. 31, a decline of 30% when compared with 2019. Hiring in several practice areas was down substantially for the eight-month period, including declines of 33% in banking, 30% in energy, and 28% each in environmental and tax.