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A closer look at Belgium's business law market
For its annual research, YouConnect mapped 90 business law firms in Belgium, representing more than 4,000 lawyers holding a Belgian law degree [1]. We analysed new entrants, lateral moves, departures from the Bar and partner promotions between August 2025 and July 2026.
The primary aim of this research is to provide lawyers with insights into career developments within their profession. At the same time, we want to inform decision-makers, graduating law students and other interested observers about the key trends and developments shaping the legal market.
The law firm pyramid has a solid top
The structure of business law firms is often represented as a pyramid: a broad base of junior lawyers, followed by progressively smaller groups of experienced associates and partners. Our figures, however, paint a somewhat different picture.
Trainee lawyers account for approximately one quarter of the population surveyed. Non-partner lawyers with more than three years of experience represent roughly half, while the remaining quarter consists of partners.
An average team therefore consists of one partner, two experienced associates and one trainee. In other words, the base is narrower and the top broader than in a traditional pyramid structure.
Is AI reducing junior hiring? Not yet
The question of whether law firms are hiring fewer junior lawyers as AI becomes increasingly capable of supporting legal work continues to generate debate. For now, however, our figures show no decline in the number of first-year lawyers.
During the past legal year, we recorded 354 first-year lawyers joining the firms included in our research. They represent approximately 8.5% of the total population.
Behind this overall figure, however, lie significant differences between firms. Of the five firms that recruited the highest number of first-year lawyers over the past year, three hired fewer juniors than the previous year. The other two, however, recruited significantly more. At one firm, the number of new entrants even tripled. Figures also vary considerably across other large firms, making it premature to draw any general conclusions.
In our conversations with law firms, some have already indicated that they are deliberately choosing to recruit fewer first-year lawyers. Others may see this as an opportunity to attract more young talent, recognising that today's juniors are tomorrow's seniors. Nevertheless, the figures do not currently indicate an overall decline in junior recruitment.
Young lawyers are increasingly unlikely to complete their traineeship at the firm where they started their careers
For young lawyers, completing their entire Bar traineeship at the same firm is becoming less of a given: 21.4% of lawyers with less than three years of experience switched firms over the past year. This represents a noticeable increase compared to last year (16%). Trainees therefore remain the most mobile group of lawyers.
Last year, we already observed that young lawyers are not reluctant to change firms when their working environment fails to meet their expectations or if they believe they can improve their situation at a different law firm. Insufficient guidance, an unhealthy workplace culture, a lack of challenging or interesting work, or a poor work-life balance can all play a role.
The further increase in lateral moves highlights the importance for law firms of not only attracting junior talent, but also creating an environment in which they want to stay. Clear expectations, accessible mentors and regular conversations about professional development and workload can help identify potential issues at an early stage.
For young lawyers, switching firms also deserves careful consideration. A different firm may offer new opportunities, but it is important to assess whether the guidance, assignments and expectations genuinely align better with what they are looking for.
Experienced lawyers are also switching firms more frequently, but are less likely to leave the Bar
The increase in mobility is not limited to the youngest lawyers.
Among lawyers with three to five years of experience, the proportion switching firms increased from 13.6% to 16.8%. For lawyers with five to eight years of experience, it also rose slightly, from 12.1% to 13.7%.
The most striking change can be observed among lawyers with eight to ten years of experience. Last year, 6.3% of this group switched firms; this year, the figure reached 14%. The proportion has therefore more than doubled and is now almost as high as among their slightly less experienced peers. The sharp decline in mobility from eight years of experience onwards that we observed last year has now shifted towards the more senior experience group with 10+ years of experience.
One possible explanation may lie in the changes experienced by certain law firms over the past year. Based on our observations of the market, some firms or teams have faced a reduced inflow of work. This may prompt firms to take a more critical look at their staffing levels, potentially putting more experienced and generally more expensive lawyers under pressure as well.
Lawyers with more than ten years of experience also switched firms more frequently: approximately 7%, compared to 5% last year. Nevertheless, they remain the least mobile experience group, with a clear difference compared to their less experienced peers.
In contrast to the increase in lateral moves, departures from the Bar are declining. The proportion of lawyers leaving the Bar fell from 8.2% to 6.5% this year.
Lawyers with three to ten years of experience account for approximately two thirds of those leaving the Bar. Most find their next professional challenge in the corporate world, taking up in-house legal positions. A smaller group moves into academia, the judiciary or the notarial profession.
New partner appointments: almost as many women as men
Within the overall partner population, the historically established gender imbalance remains significant. Of the 1,009 partners at the firms surveyed, 232 are women and 777 are men, representing 23% and 77% respectively.
However, the picture is more balanced when looking at new partner appointments. Over the past year, 59 lawyers became partners at the firms included in our research: 26 women and 33 men [2]. Women therefore accounted for approximately 44% of newly appointed partners, an increase compared to last year, when only around one third of new partners were women.
Of these 59 new partners, 40 were already working at the firm where they were appointed, and thirteen had even been with that firm since the beginning of their careers.
Among internal partner promotions, women actually held a slight majority, accounting for 52.5%. This more balanced distribution is encouraging and aligns with the attention that various law firms have devoted to gender diversity in recent years. However, it does not in itself prove that these efforts are bearing fruit. A single year of more balanced appointments does not yet constitute structural change. The coming years will have to show whether this development continues.
Nineteen lawyers obtained partnership by moving to another firm. Within this group, men were clearly in the majority, accounting for 74%.
Men were also significantly more represented among partners who switched firms, accounting for 84% of those involved. This figure should, however, be viewed in the context of an overall partner population that is 77% male.
Most new partner appointments occur among lawyers with ten to fifteen years of experience. This group represents 60% of all partner promotions. Approximately 15% of new partners completed their partner track within the first ten years of their careers, while the remaining 25% achieved partnership after at least fifteen years at the Bar.
Conclusion: what does this mean for your career or recruitment strategy?
The figures for the 2025–2026 legal year reveal a business law market in which more lawyers are leaving their firms, while fewer are leaving the Bar altogether.
For law firms, this calls for attention to both recruitment and retention. Young lawyers do not necessarily wait until the end of their traineeship to explore other opportunities, while more experienced associates continue to evaluate their options. Conversations about mentoring, workload, the nature of assignments and future career prospects should therefore take place throughout a lawyer's career.
For companies, law firms remain an important source of legal talent. However, the decline in departures from the Bar highlights the importance of presenting a compelling and clearly defined job opportunity. Simply referring to a different working environment is not enough to demonstrate why a move would align with someone's professional ambitions. The transition from self-employed status to salaried employment also deserves sufficient attention and guidance.
For lawyers themselves, the figures provide useful context, but not personalised career advice. The increase in lateral moves does not mean that changing firms is always the best choice.
A sustainable career also requires loyalty, perseverance and a long-term perspective. Building expertise, earning trust and progressing professionally all take time. Not every difficult period should therefore be a reason to immediately look elsewhere: an open conversation about expectations and development opportunities can sometimes be more valuable than a quick move.
At the same time, loyalty should not become a reason to stay when meaningful prospects are consistently lacking. The key question is which environment offers you the best conditions for long-term professional development, while respecting your personal priorities.
Would you like to understand what these developments mean for your next career move or your approach to recruiting legal talent? YouConnect would be happy to explore this with you.
[1] The law firms were selected based on YouConnect’s market expertise, supported by the rankings published by Chambers & Partners and The Legal 500. Lawyers holding a foreign law degree were excluded from the analysis.
The information was gathered from the websites of the law firms included in our research, supplemented by publicly available data on LinkedIn. The research provides insights into the selected business law firms and its findings should not automatically be generalised to the Belgian legal profession as a whole.
[2] Lawyers who established their own law firm during the past year were not included in this calculation.
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