Boston: lateral market monitor

From November 2025 to October 2026, Sartori & Partners recorded 365 lateral moves in Boston, 2.6% of all lateral moves we tracked. Measured on settled 12-month windows, 344 moves against 278 the year before, the count rose 23.7%. That runs ahead of the wider market, which moved +9.0%.

With partners at 26.6% of arrivals, the mix is in line with the market's 27.7%. On settled windows partner moves alone went from 85 to 92 (+8.2%), a change inside the noise of the two counts, so we read it as flat. 11.2% of movers stepped up a level when they changed firm, against 12.9% for the market.

Lateral hires in Boston were spread across 104 firms. Ten firms account for 29.7% of arrivals, against 12.9% across the market: moderately concentrated. DLA Piper ranks first by lateral arrivals, in the 11-20 band.

Litigation & Disputes ranks first among practices, involved in 32.9% of the city's arrivals against 39.9% of the whole market. More lawyers left Boston for another city (53) than moved in from one (45). A change of city came with 14.6% of moves (market 20.5%).

Group moves were 3.3% of the total (market 1.5%). In-house roles drew 29 lawyers in the last 6 months, 17.6 per 100 lateral moves (market 13.1).

Volume in Boston is rising with a mix close to the market, so timing matters more than the level you hire at.