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The issue I have with people talking about the “booming” Nashville market is that I’m pretty sure more firms have opened up in Boston in the past few years than Nashville. Why is no one talking about that? I think Freshfields, Paul Hastings, STB and Fenwick opened up in Boston in the last 3ish years (on top of a lot of other AmLaw firms).
The trades try to create a narrative that these midsize cities are booming but they are still behind some “larger” cities in terms of growth (Boston, Philly).
The city that’s been really impressive isn’t Nashville. It’s Charlotte.
Mentor
Fair enough. It was the Nashville metro area and over 20 years, but it certainly wasn’t only 100k. https://www.macrotrends.net/global-metrics/cities/23077/nashville/population
Nashville is just an example, with Kirkland having moved there this week. I agree that Miami, Atlanta, Dallas, and Austin are bigger magnets, but Nashville is sort of the shiny new thing.
Not sure about ATL or Miami, but I predict at least two more AmLaw 50 firms will open Charlotte offices by the end of 2026, and that's not necessarily a great thing for the market and won't always lead to more associate opportunities. The work itself isn't increasing, existing Charlotte firms are just losing partners due to attrition, kind of like musical chairs vs. the pie itself getting larger.
Enthusiast
Charlotte is a very difficult market to break into. It took me 5 years and was finally hired by a firm that had a role listed for any office. There just isn’t that much work here.
It took me two weeks to break into it. I think it’s relative to the department you’re being hired into and the market you’re coming from.