City pair · November 2026

New York and Los Angeles: moves between the cities

Lawyers who moved between New York and Los Angeles over the last 3 years: which way, at what level and in which practices.

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01 The numbers

The last 12 months: November 2025 to October 2026

63
Moves both ways3 years
40
New York to Los Angeles
23
Los Angeles to New York
02 Reading the data

What the data show

Over the last 3 years, Sartori & Partners recorded 63 lateral moves between New York and Los Angeles. More went from New York to Los Angeles (40) than the other way (23).

Direction of moves, 3 years

Partners were 11.1% of the lawyers who moved between the two cities, against 27.7% of all lateral moves in the last 12 months.

Litigation & Disputes was involved in 39.7% of these moves.

52.4% of movers joined a firm in the same size class as the one they left: a move between these cities is usually a move between peers, not a change of platform.

For a firm recruiting in Los Angeles, New York is a pool to approach directly, and the reverse holds: candidates who have made this move before show it can be done without losing the practice.

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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