As expected, 2025 proved to be a busy year for planning lawyers. Most teams were operating at full capacity, juggling heavy workloads alongside evolving legislation. This, in turn, led to a fluid and active recruitment market.
The most obvious trend was the appetite for Partner hires, with several high‑profile moves taking place during the year. Firms with a strong built‑environment focus were particularly receptive to lateral Partner recruitment, and a number of notable moves are set out below.
Due to long notice periods, there was some crossover from 2024 into 2025, including the team move from Broadfield to TLT. There are also some moves yet to be announced.
Notable Partner moves in 2025 included:
Ian Ginbey – Clyde & Co to Mishcon De Reya
Robert Gowing – Hogan Lovells to Eversheds Sutherland
Lucy Thomas – Pinsent Masons to Bevan Brittan
Josh Risso‑Gill – CMS to Charles Russell Speechlys
Kathryn Jump, Lisa Tye and David Mathias – Shoosmiths to Town Legal
Hannah Quarterman – Hogan Lovells to Addleshaw Goddard
Michael Dempsey – Addleshaw Goddard to Broadfield
Christopher Stanwell, Richard Max and David Warman to Keystone Law
Cairo Nickolls – Gowling WLG to Freeths
Will Thomas – Shoosmiths to Browne Jacobson
While lateral Partner moves naturally attract a great deal of attention, it is also important to acknowledge that a significant proportion of Partners over the last couple of years have come through internal promotion. This is a clear testament of core planning firms’ willingness to invest in their people, and it is always hugely rewarding to see someone I have worked with achieve Partnership.
The senior‑level hiring trend also points to a broader shift in attitudes towards Planning Law, albeit only to a point. While firms with a strong built environment practice remain keen to invest, larger city firms, particularly those with US or global connections, appear to be placing less emphasis on planning as a standalone practice area, with some outsourcing it altogether. This has resulted in senior lawyers moving to firms that are more aligned with their client base and specialism.
This trend is particularly evident in development planning in London, where meeting the commercial expectations of global law firms can prove more challenging for Planning Partners. With ongoing rumours of US/UK firm mergers continuing into 2026, I expect this pattern to persist.
Although this may make for sober reading for some, I would argue that it represents a market shift rather than a decline. Opportunities remain for firms and individuals with the foresight to invest. Practices such as Town Legal, Pinsent Masons and CMS are good examples of those that identified this trend early and secured strong positions in the standalone development market. Others, including Mishcon De Reya, Freeths and Bevan Brittan, have made sensible lateral hires at various levels to support their broader firm strategies.
I have also noticed an increasing number of planning lawyers moving to platform practices such as Keystone Law, Davitt Jones Bould and Bexley Beaumont. For senior practitioners, this move makes sense as they offer greater flexibility alongside reduced management and fee‑income pressures.
Looking ahead to 2026, the appetite to hire the right people remains strong, particularly among firms that view Planning as a core practice area. However, we appear to be moving away from a “hire at all costs” strategy, especially at Associate level and towards a more considered approach, where hiring decisions are firmly grounded by business case.
That said, it only takes a glance at the political landscape to appreciate how quickly circumstances can change either way. For now, I expect steady senior‑level movement and acquisitions, which in turn will continue to create opportunities for more junior lawyers.
Stuart Phillips is a Managing Consultant at Origin Legal and can be contacted on 01206 326 904/07725 246857 or at [email protected] https://www.linkedin.com/in/stuart-phillips-7b62729/
