If you’re planning to move after your year-end bonus, the search needs to start now, not in January. Here’s why Q3 is the window that decides who gets the best roles.
By Connor Spicer
Every year we have some version of the same conversation. A candidate reaches out in early January, ready to move, expecting a fresh market. What they find instead is a market that’s already moving and firms deep in process with candidates who started talking to us back in August and September. The bonus hasn’t even been paid yet, but the best roles for January starts are already spoken for.
Late summer doesn’t look like lateral season from the outside. There’s no headline hiring spike, no visible surge like there is in Q2. But for anyone planning a move around the turn of the year, this stretch is exactly when the real work happens.
Why Q3 Matters More Than It Looks
The lateral market runs on a lag. A hire that appears to happen in January was very often sourced, vetted, and largely agreed months earlier. Firms know their December attrition is coming, they see the same pattern every year, so they start building their bench in Q3 specifically to backfill it.
That creates a real gap between candidates. Those who wait until after their bonus is paid to start looking are, by definition, entering the market at the same moment as everyone else who made the same call. Candidates who start the conversation in Q3 are competing against a much smaller pool, for roles that haven’t been posted anywhere yet.
Starting Now Doesn’t Mean Giving Up Your Bonus
This is the most common hesitation we hear, and it’s usually based on an outdated assumption. Starting a search in Q3 is not the same as accepting an offer in Q3. A well-run process lets you negotiate a start date after your bonus is paid, and most AmLaw 100 firms will structure an offer around that as a matter of course.
- Most AmLaw 100 firms will pay a full year-end bonus to laterals who join before year’s end, or structure the offer around your existing payment date.
- Firms outside the AmLaw 100 will often prorate a bonus or allow a delayed start rather than lose a candidate over timing.
- Where the numbers don’t line up cleanly, sign-on or make-whole arrangements exist to bridge the gap. This is a routine part of the negotiation, not an exception.
- The process and the payout are separate conversations. Delaying the search to protect the bonus reduces flexibility, even though the issue can almost always be resolved in the offer.
What to Do With the Next Eight Weeks
If a January or Q1 move is on your radar, Q3 is when the groundwork gets laid. That doesn’t mean rushing a decision. It means starting the conversations, market read, and self-assessment that make a good decision possible once the timing is right.
- Get a realistic, data-informed read on how your practice and client relationships would be perceived in today’s market, before you’re under time pressure to decide.
- Understand which firms are actually building in your practice or industry right now, rather than which ones simply have an open seat.
- Have the start-date and bonus conversation early and directly, rather than assuming it will derail the process.
- Use the quieter summer stretch for exploratory conversations, while firms still have room in their process before the Q4 crunch.
The candidates who move well at the turn of the year are rarely the ones who started looking in January. They’re the ones who used the quiet months beforehand to understand their options, so that by the time bonuses are paid, the decision is already made, not just beginning.
Get in touch
If you’re weighing a move for early next year and want an honest read on timing, market fit, and how to structure the bonus conversation, we’re glad to talk it through now, with no pressure to act before you’re ready.
Email: connor.spicer@wearebuchanan.com