City monitor · November 2026
Frankfurt: lateral market monitor
Lawyers who joined a new firm in Frankfurt 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
- 101
- Lateral moves, 12 monthsNovember 2025 to October 2026
- -8.1%
- Year on yearSettled 12-month windows
- 20.8%
- Partner share of moves
- 51
- Firms that hired
What the data show
Sartori & Partners data show 101 lateral moves in Frankfurt from November 2025 to October 2026, 0.7% of all lateral moves we tracked. On settled windows the count went from 124 to 114 (-8.1%), a change inside the noise of the two counts, so we read it as flat.
At 20.8%, partners are a smaller slice of arrivals than in the market as a whole (27.7%). 8.9% of movers stepped up a level when they changed firm, against 12.9% for the market.
- Partner20.8%
- Counsel9.9%
- Associate66.3%
51 firms hired at least one lateral in Frankfurt in the window. The ten firms at the head of the hiring table took 41.0% of arrivals (12.9% market-wide), so hiring here is concentrated. First on the hiring table is Latham & Watkins, with arrivals in the 6-10 band.
Corporate & M&A ranks first among practices, involved in 35.6% of the city's arrivals against 20.7% of the whole market. 27.0% of movers also changed city, against 20.5% market-wide.
With volume in Frankfurt 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 | Latham & Watkins | 6-10 |
| 2 | Clifford Chance | 3-5 |
| 3 | McDermott Will & Schulte | 3-5 |
| 4 | Weil Gotshal & Manges | 3-5 |
| 5 | Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner | 3-5 |
| 6 | Bird & Bird | 3-5 |
| 7 | DLA Piper | 3-5 |
| 8 | Eversheds Sutherland | 3-5 |
| 9 | Jones Day | 3-5 |
| 10 | Norton Rose Fulbright | 3-5 |
Related monitors and reports
Practices in Frankfurt
- Corporate & M&A36 moves
- Private Equity21 moves
Other cities
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Hiring in this market
Reports
- Frankfurt Associate Market 2026: A Closed Circle of Large Firms
Frankfurt associates move inside one circle of large firms: over three years 78.6% of arrivals left a firm of 1,000+ lawyers and 78.3% joined one, against 56.6% and 52.5% across the market. Fewer movers gain a title on the way: 8.9%, against 12.9%.
November 11, 2026 · November 2026 - Frankfurt Partner Market 2026: A Deal City With Few Partner Moves
Frankfurt hires for deals: private equity and corporate work over-index well beyond London, and corporate touched 34.0% of moves over three years. Partners are a thinner slice than in the market, and the largest firms take most of the hiring.
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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