City monitor · November 2026
Brussels: lateral market monitor
Lawyers who joined a new firm in Brussels over the last 12 months: how many, at what level, in which practices and with which firms.
The last 12 months: November 2025 to October 2026
- 121
- Lateral moves, 12 monthsNovember 2025 to October 2026
- -1.6%
- Year on yearSettled 12-month windows
- 24.0%
- Partner share of moves
- 44
- Firms that hired
What the data show
In the Sartori & Partners lateral record, 121 lawyers joined a new firm in Brussels from November 2025 to October 2026, 0.9% of all lateral moves we tracked. On settled 12-month windows the count showed no clear change: 122 against 124 (-1.6%). It fell behind the market's own change of +9.0%.
The level mix sits close to the market: partners are 24.0% of arrivals, against 27.7% market-wide. On settled windows partner moves alone went from 20 to 30 (+50.0%), a change inside the noise of the two counts, so we read it as flat. A step up in title came with 9.9% of moves (market 12.9%).
- Partner24.0%
- Counsel8.3%
- Associate66.9%
44 firms hired at least one lateral in Brussels in the window. The ten firms at the head of the hiring table took 50.0% of arrivals (12.9% market-wide), so hiring here is concentrated. First on the hiring table is NautaDutilh, with arrivals in the 6-10 band.
Antitrust & Competition ranks first among practices, involved in 36.4% of the city's arrivals against 2.9% of the whole market. 27.5% of movers also changed city, against 20.5% market-wide.
Group moves were 4.1% of the total (market 1.5%).
With volume in Brussels holding level, a hire depends on a specific reason to move, which a firm has to put in front of the candidate.
Firms by rank and band
Each firm appears as a rank and a band, never an exact count, and only with at least 10 moves in the window.
| Rank | Firm | Moves (band) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | NautaDutilh | 6-10 |
| 2 | Latham & Watkins | 6-10 |
| 3 | Dentons | 6-10 |
| 4 | Clifford Chance | 6-10 |
| 5 | Simmons & Simmons | 3-5 |
| 6 | CMS | 3-5 |
| 7 | Crowell & Moring | 3-5 |
| 8 | Baker McKenzie | 3-5 |
| 9 | Kirkland & Ellis | 3-5 |
| 10 | White & Case | 3-5 |
| Rank | Firm | Moves (band) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dentons | 6-10 |
| 2 | NautaDutilh | 3-5 |
| 3 | Hogan Lovells Cadwalader | 3-5 |
| 4 | Crowell & Moring | 3-5 |
| 5 | Kirkland & Ellis | 3-5 |
| 6 | Fieldfisher | 3-5 |
| 7 | Bird & Bird | 3-5 |
Related monitors and reports
Practices in Brussels
- Antitrust & Competition44 moves
- Litigation & Disputes28 moves
Other cities
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Hiring in this market
Reports
- Brussels Associate Market 2026: Step-Ups Trail London and the Market
Associates make 66.9% of Brussels lateral moves, yet only 9.9% of the city's moves come with a step up in title, below both the market and London. Over three years the share is lower still, at 8.7%.
November 11, 2026 · November 2026 - Brussels Lateral Partner Market 2026: An Antitrust City
Antitrust and competition was involved in 36.4% of Brussels lateral moves over 12 months, an index of 1,260 against the market, where London sits at 128. Firms of 1,000+ lawyers made 74.4% of the hires.
November 11, 2026 · November 2026
Edition November 2026. Window: November 2025 to October 2026. Source: Sartori & Partners, from public law-firm announcements, firm websites and professional profiles, checked monthly. Methodology. Spot an error? [email protected].
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