City monitor · November 2026
Hong Kong: lateral market monitor
Lawyers who joined a new firm in Hong Kong 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
- 108
- Lateral moves, 12 monthsNovember 2025 to October 2026
- +28.0%
- Year on yearSettled 12-month windows
- 29.6%
- Partner share of moves
- 44
- Firms that hired
What the data show
Sartori & Partners data show 108 lateral moves in Hong Kong from November 2025 to October 2026, 0.8% of all lateral moves we tracked. Year on year, on windows that end a month early, the count grew 28.0% (93 to 119). It outpaced the market's own change of +9.0%.
Partners account for 29.6% of movers, near the market's 27.7%. On settled windows partner moves alone went from 31 to 31 (0.0%), which we read as flat. 10.2% of movers stepped up a level when they changed firm, against 12.9% for the market.
- Partner29.6%
- Counsel11.1%
- Associate59.3%
44 firms hired at least one lateral in Hong Kong in the window. Ten firms account for 46.3% of arrivals, against 12.9% across the market: concentrated. Baker McKenzie ranks first by lateral arrivals, in the 6-10 band.
By practice, Corporate & M&A comes first, involved in 34.3% of arrivals here (20.7% across the market). 76.9% of movers also changed city, against 20.5% market-wide.
For a firm hiring in Hong Kong, a rising market means candidates have options: move quickly once a shortlist exists.
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 | Baker McKenzie | 6-10 |
| 2 | Sidley Austin | 6-10 |
| 3 | Stephenson Harwood | 6-10 |
| 4 | Norton Rose Fulbright | 6-10 |
| 5 | K & L Gates | 3-5 |
| 6 | Clifford Chance | 3-5 |
| 7 | Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati | 3-5 |
| 8 | Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher | 3-5 |
| 9 | Jones Day | 3-5 |
| 10 | Linklaters | 3-5 |
| Rank | Firm | Moves (band) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Stephenson Harwood | 6-10 |
| 2 | K & L Gates | 3-5 |
| 3 | CMS | 3-5 |
| 4 | Baker McKenzie | 3-5 |
| 5 | Simmons & Simmons | 3-5 |
| 6 | Charles Russell Speechlys | 3-5 |
| 7 | Hogan Lovells Cadwalader | 3-5 |
| 8 | Watson Farley & Williams | 3-5 |
| 9 | Kirkland & Ellis | 3-5 |
| 10 | White & Case | 3-5 |
Related monitors and reports
Practices in Hong Kong
- Corporate & M&A37 moves
- Capital Markets25 moves
Other cities
- New York
- London
- Washington, DC
- Los Angeles
- Chicago
- San Francisco
- Boston
- Dallas
- Houston
- Miami
- Philadelphia
- Paris
- Atlanta
- Denver
- Seattle
- Toronto
- Charlotte
- San Diego
- Brussels
- Manchester
- Nashville
- Sydney
- Dubai
- Austin
- Minneapolis
- Frankfurt
- Milan
- Amsterdam
- Tampa
- Singapore
- Montreal
- Cleveland
- Munich
- Bristol
- Pittsburgh
- Raleigh
- Leeds
- Detroit
- Phoenix
- Portland
- St. Louis
- Orlando
- Calgary
- Warsaw
- Columbus
Hiring in this market
Reports
- Hong Kong Associate Market 2026: Built on Capital Markets Hiring
Capital markets runs at an index of 534 in Hong Kong lateral hiring, against 118 in London, and touched 19.5% of moves over three years against 4.1% market-wide. Associate hiring in the city follows equity and debt issuance.
November 11, 2026 · November 2026 - Hong Kong Lateral Partner Market 2026: A City That Hires From Outside
Hong Kong fills its law-firm seats from other cities: 76.9% of lateral moves into the city involved a relocation, 3.8 times the market rate. Capital markets work carries 5.4 times its market share of moves.
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].
For law firm leaders
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