Deal market monitor

Reports

• Aerospace and Defense Deals Outpaced Capital Markets Work in 2026

  Aerospace and defense deals rose 50.7% year on year against 10.0% for capital markets deals, and capital markets lawyers sit on 36.5% of the sector's work. Lateral hiring in the practice held flat (+6.7%).

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Aircraft Finance Counsel in 2026: The Movers Are Banking Lawyers

  Capital markets lawyers work on 38.1% of aviation deals, more than any other practice. The aviation lawyers who changed firms are another bench: banking and finance lawyers at an index of 403 and London lawyers at 352, where the market's own share scores a hundred.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Asset Manager Finance Counsel in 2026: Three Firms Sit on Both Lists

  Only three firms appear on both the asset manager and the banking and finance adviser lists. The sector list opens with Dechert a band clear of the rest, the finance list with three firms sharing the 151-250 band.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Asset Manager Fund Counsel in 2026: One Firm Alone in the Top Band

  Asset managers buy their deal counsel from a short list. Dechert sits a band above every other adviser on the sector's list, two firms share the top band of the funds practice's list, and 27.0% of the sector's deals were handled with lawyers in Washington, 2.0 times the share for bank deals.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Asset Manager M&A Counsel in 2026: A Rare Client for the M&A Bench

  The pair runs below the market both ways. Corporate and M&A lawyers worked on 14.8% of asset manager deals over 12 months, against 23.3% of all dated deals, and asset managers were 3.1% of the M&A practice's deals, against 4.9% of all dated deals.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Automotive IP Counsel in 2026: Litigators Lead a 28.1% Rise in Moves

  Lawyers who focus on the automotive sector and changed firms rose 28.1% in a year, and they are litigators first: product liability lawyers are on 34.2% of those moves, at an index of 502 against the market. Lateral hiring of IP lawyers held flat (+7.2%), while IP lawyers sit on 13.0% of automotive deals.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Automotive M&A Counsel in 2026: Clients Come Back More Often

  Automotive clients averaged 2.4 deals each over 12 months, against 1.8 across corporate and M&A, and corporate lawyers worked on 28.0% of the sector's deals. Capital markets lawyers sit on slightly more.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Bank Finance Counsel in 2026: Movers Over-Index in Charlotte, Milan

  Banks are the banking and finance bench's largest client sector, on 17.8% of its deals. The bank-focused lawyers who change firms are mostly banking lawyers, 67.0% of them, and they join firms in Charlotte and Milan far above the market rate.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Bank Litigation Counsel in 2026: A Flatter Firm Field Than Bank Deals

  The firms on the most litigation matters sit one band step apart from first place to tenth; the firms on the most bank deals spread across three bands. Only Jones Day appears on both lists.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Bank M&A Counsel in 2026: Bank Deals Carry 2.1 Times the M&A Median

  Disclosed bank deals carry a median of $660 million, 2.1 times the corporate and M&A practice's $315 million. That median spans the sector's whole deal book, where capital markets lawyers sit on 51.0% of deals and M&A lawyers on 13.1%.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Bank Project Finance Counsel in 2026: Projects Outpaced Bank Work

  The projects practice that banks hire rose 26.2% in deal count on settled 12-month windows, against 7.2% growth in bank deals. Banks sit on 10.2% of the practice's deals, so the team a bank calls for a financing got busier faster than the bank's own deal flow.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Bank Regulatory Counsel in 2026: Leans on Banks, Rare on Bank Deals

  Banks and financial institutions are on 51.5% of the financial services regulatory practice's deals, just over half. From the bank's side the same deals are only 3.6% of its deal work: a practice that leans on banks is a small part of what banks hire lawyers for.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Capital Markets Deals in 2026: Two Firms Hold a Band of Their Own

  Capital markets is the most concentrated deal type at the top: its two most active advisers sit in the 701-1200 band, which no firm reaches in any other type. The work rose 10.0% while lateral partner hiring in the practice held flat (+1.1%).

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Chemical Company Capital Markets Counsel in 2026: Frankfurt Matters

  Chemicals deal work leans toward Europe: Frankfurt lawyers worked on 12.1% of the sector's deals and London lawyers on 18.3%. Capital markets is the sector's first practice, on 37.6% of its deals.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Chemical Industry M&A Counsel in 2026: Sector Outpaces the Practice

  The chemicals deal count rose 33.7% year on year, 3.5 times the pace of corporate and M&A deal work, whose count rose 9.5%. Corporate lawyers worked on 33.7% of the sector's deals, a close second to capital markets lawyers.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Consumer and Retail M&A Counsel in 2026: Flat Sector, Busier Bench

  Consumer goods and retail deals held flat (-2.1%) year on year, while corporate and M&A deals rose 9.5% and M&A partner moves between firms rose 12.2%. Corporate lawyers sit on 23.4% of the sector's deals, so consumer companies buy M&A advice from a practice that got busier while their own sector did not.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Consumer Brands' IP Counsel in 2026: Disputes Are 95.3% of IP Deals

  Consumer goods and retail is the client sector on 8.8% of intellectual property deals, first of the twelve sectors listed, and IP lawyers sit on 31.9% of the sector's deals. The work is contested: disputes and investigations were the type on 95.3% of IP deals and 42.4% of consumer goods deals.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Crypto Capital Markets Counsel in 2026: New York on 58.0% of Deals

  Crypto deal work runs through one city: New York lawyers were on 58.0% of the sector's deals, 14.4 points above fintech. Capital markets lawyers sat on 37.7% of them, ahead of corporate and financial services regulatory lawyers.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Deals Outside the Standard Types: Pharma Clients, IP Lawyers

  Deals that fit no standard type are a small, steady corner of the record, and 50.2% of them had a pharma or biotech client, against 6.8% of all deals. Intellectual property and commercial contracts lawyers, not corporate lawyers, worked them.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Disputes on Record Rose in 2026. Partner Hiring Did Not Follow

  Disputes and investigations grew faster than M&A and capital markets, yet the two practices that do much of the work did not add partners: litigation partner hiring held flat (+0.9%) and intellectual property held flat (+8.0%). Read the type as matters on record, heavy in intellectual property filings.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Fintech Capital Raising Counsel in 2026: Venture at 4.4 Times the Norm

  Fintech companies raise money privately as well as publicly: venture and growth deals are 16.6% of the sector's deals, 4.4 times their share of all dated deals. Capital markets lawyers sit on 23.7% of fintech deals, second only to corporate lawyers.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Fintech M&A Counsel in 2026: Corporate Lawyers on 45.4% of Deals

  Corporate and M&A lawyers sat on 45.4% of fintech and payments deals in the 12 months to October 2026, 1.9 times the 23.3% they reached across all dated deals. M&A was the sector's largest deal type, at 29.4%.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Food and Beverage IP Work in 2026: The Sector Held, IP Matters Rose

  Food, beverage and agriculture deals held flat (-1.5%) year on year, while intellectual property matters on record rose 20.9%. IP lawyers sit on 29.5% of the sector's deals, so food companies draw on a practice whose caseload grew in a year their own sector stood still.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Fund Counsel for Sponsors in 2026: The Work Leans on London

  Sponsors and asset managers are the funds practice's two client sectors, and their deals do not lean on the same cities. 29.5% of sponsor deals were handled with lawyers in London, 1.6 times the share for asset manager deals, and sponsor deal volume rose 8.9% while funds practice volume held flat (+2.8%).

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Fund Formation Work Rose in 2026: Ahead of a Flat Funds Practice

  Dated fund formations rose 23.0% year on year while the funds practice's whole deal record held flat (+2.8%), so the formation side is where the practice's work grew. Lateral partner hiring in funds rose 29.7% alongside it.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Half of Banks' Deal Work Is Capital Markets: 1.9 Times the Market

  For a bank, outside counsel is first a capital markets question: the practice touched 51.0% of the sector's deals, 1.9 times its share of all deals. Banks are also the practice's largest client sector, level with pharma and biotech.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Healthcare Provider Counsel in 2026: Nashville Works on 12.4% of Deals

  Nashville sits behind only New York, Washington and Chicago on hospital and health plan deal work. The health care practice does 71.7% of its deals for providers, yet sits on 16.7% of the sector's deals.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Hospital System Capital Markets Counsel in 2026: Only 12.0% of Deals

  Capital markets is a minor bench for hospital systems and payors: its lawyers sit on 12.0% of the sector's deals, under half its 26.4% share of all dated deals, and the sector's median disclosed deal of $250 million is less than half the practice's $563.2 million.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Hospitality M&A Counsel in 2026: The Work Fell, the Bench Did Not

  Hospitality and leisure deal work fell 8.6% year on year while corporate and M&A deal work rose 9.5%. Corporate lawyers still sit on 30.7% of the sector's deals, more than any other practice.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Hotel Brand IP Counsel in 2026: IP Appears 1.5 Times as Often as Usual

  Intellectual property lawyers sit on 17.0% of hospitality and leisure deals, 1.5 times their rate across all dated deals. Disputes and investigations, at 29.1%, are the sector's first deal type.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Hotel Company Capital Markets Counsel in 2026: Less Work, Same Bench

  Hospitality and leisure deal work fell 8.6% year on year, while lateral hiring in capital markets held flat (+6.7%) and partner hiring in the practice held flat (+1.1%). A smaller sector now meets an unchanged bench, and capital markets lawyers work on 17.8% of the sector's deals.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Industrial M&A Counsel in 2026: Seven Firms Share the Top Band

  Seven of the ten firms most active on industrial manufacturing deals sit in the 21-40 band of deals advised and the other three one band lower, while the corporate and M&A list opens with three firms at 401-700. Five firms appear on both lists.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Infrastructure Capital Markets Counsel in 2026: Capital Markets First

  Infrastructure owners bring in capital markets counsel more often than any other bench: capital markets lawyers sat on 30.1% of the sector's deals, against 22.1% for corporate and M&A, 18.5% for banking and finance and 15.0% for projects and infrastructure.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Infrastructure Finance Counsel in 2026: A $850 Million Median Ticket

  Disclosed infrastructure deals carry a median of $850 million, 1.6 times the $545 million of banking and finance work, and finance lawyers sit on 18.5% of the sector's deals, 2.9 times their share of all dated deals.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Infrastructure M&A Counsel in 2026: Partners Do the Moving

  The infrastructure bench that changes firms is senior: partners made up 61.0% of those moves, against 29.9% across corporate and M&A. Corporate lawyers sit on 22.1% of the sector's deals, which have grown much faster than that bench.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Insurance M&A Counsel in 2026: Two Top-10 Lists, One Shared Firm

  The firms with the most insurance deals and the firms with the most corporate and M&A deals share one name across two top-10 lists. Corporate lawyers worked on 25.2% of insurance deals, the third bench behind insurance specialists and capital markets.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Insurer Capital Markets Counsel in 2026: The Specialist Barely Leads

  Insurers give their deal work almost equally to the sector specialist and the generalist: insurance and reinsurance lawyers sit on 29.9% of the sector's deals, capital markets lawyers on 27.1%. The specialist leads by only 2.8 points.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Insurer Counsel in 2026: Four Firms on Both Insurance Deal Lists

  Rank firms by all insurer deals, then by insurance and reinsurance practice deals in every sector, and the same four names appear on both lists. The practice depends on insurers far more than insurers depend on it, and its matters rose while the sector's deals held flat.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Leveraged Finance in 2026: Repeat Borrowers, 2.4 Deals per Client

  Leveraged and acquisition finance runs on clients who come back: 776 deals for 327 clients, or 2.4 each, against 1.8 in M&A and 2.1 in bank lending. Sponsors are the largest client sector, and the work rose 18.8% (653 to 776 deals) while banking partner hiring rose 10.6% (546 to 604 partners).

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Logistics M&A Counsel in 2026: A Sector Where M&A Comes First

  M&A is the most frequent deal type in transportation and logistics, at 26.7% of the sector's deals against 19.3% across the whole deal record, and corporate and M&A lawyers sit on 32.2% of the sector's work, ahead of capital markets.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• M&A in 2026: More Clients Than Capital Markets, Fewer Repeat Deals

  M&A has the widest client base of the transactional deal types: 5,239 distinct clients against 4,831 in capital markets, on fewer deals. The average M&A client appears on 1.8 deals a year, and the largest client sector holds 10.6% of the work.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Media Capital Markets Counsel in 2026: Disputes Outrun Offerings

  Media and entertainment work is fought more often than it is issued. Disputes lead the sector's deal mix at 39.8%, and capital markets lawyers, on 13.4% of its deals, rank third behind corporate and IP.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Media IP Counsel in 2026: Los Angeles Over-Indexes at 463

  Los Angeles took 23.4% of the moves by lawyers with a media focus who changed firms, an index of 463 against the market, and 16.2% of media and entertainment deals were handled with lawyers in the city. IP lawyers sat on 26.3% of the sector's deals, so a media company buying IP counsel is buying a bench that works and moves in Los Angeles.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Medical Device Capital Markets Counsel: Two Different Benches

  Capital markets lawyers sit on 44.4% of medical device deals. The device-focused lawyers who changed firms were a litigation, intellectual property and health care bench, and 63.3% of them were partners, against 31.5% of capital markets laterals.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Medical Device Deals in 2026: Capital Markets Ahead of M&A

  In medical devices the M&A bench is the second bench: capital markets lawyers sit on 44.4% of the sector's deals and corporate lawyers on 28.8%, a gap of 15.6 points. Across all dated deals the same gap is 3.1 points.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Mining Capital Markets Counsel in 2026: Five Firms on Both Lists

  Five firms sit among the ten most active on mining deals and among the ten most active on capital markets deals. The mining list's first firm stands alone in the 61-100 band, above eight firms in 21-40, and is not on the capital markets list.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Oil and Gas Capital Markets Counsel: Houston Ahead of New York

  Oil and gas deal work runs through Houston before New York: 48.2% of the sector's deals against 42.0%. Capital markets lawyers sit on 41.5% of those deals, against 26.4% of all deals.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Oil and Gas M&A Counsel in 2026: More Sector Lawyers Change Firms

  Lawyers whose focus is oil and gas changed firms more often: their moves rose 27.6% and Houston firms drew them at an index of 1,162, while the sector's deals held flat (+5.3%). Corporate and M&A lawyers sit on 32.3% of those deals.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Pharma & Biotech Capital Markets Counsel: Smaller Deals, Other Leaders

  Pharma and biotech deals are small tickets for the capital markets bench: a $250 million median against $563.2 million for the practice. The two firms the sector uses most are not the practice's two busiest desks.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Pharma IP Counsel in 2026: One Firm on Both the Pharma and IP Lists

  The firms most active on pharma and biotech deals and the firms most active on intellectual property deals form two almost separate lists: Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati is the only name on both. The sector list follows a deal flow where capital markets lawyers sit on 53.1% of deals and IP lawyers on 10.3%.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Pharma M&A Counsel in 2026: Corporate Lawyers on 23.4% of Deals

  Corporate and M&A lawyers sat on 23.4% of pharma and biotech deals, against 47.8% of technology deals. A drug company's deal work runs through capital markets lawyers first, and the M&A bench it hires is a smaller one, shared with every other sector.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Power Capital Markets Counsel: Fastest Growth of Six Largest Sectors

  Of the six client sectors that carry the most capital markets deals, power grew fastest, rising 27.6% against 14.5% for pharma and biotech. Capital markets partner hiring held flat (+1.1%) over the same windows.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Power M&A Counsel Is One of Three Benches: No Practice Owns the Work

  Power and renewables work splits across three practices of similar size: projects lawyers on 32.9% of the sector's deals, corporate and M&A lawyers on 27.7% and capital markets lawyers on 26.0%. A general counsel who buys only an M&A team is buying one bench out of three.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Private Equity Deals Need Two Benches: No Practice Holds Half

  Private equity deals are worked by two practice groups at close to equal rates, 36.0% and 32.3%, while M&A runs on one. A firm that wants sponsor mandates needs both benches, and lateral partner hiring rose in each of them.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Private Equity Lawyers Work Almost Only for Sponsors: Not the Reverse

  Sponsors are the client on 83.9% of the deals private equity lawyers work, but those lawyers appear on only 32.8% of sponsor deals. A sponsor's panel needs funds, corporate and finance benches as well as a private equity group.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Product Liability Work for Individuals in 2026: Sector Up, Hiring Flat

  Matters involving individuals and consumers rose 15.8% year on year, but the product liability practice's own matters held flat (+0.2%) and its lateral partner hiring held flat (-5.0%). Product liability lawyers sit on 21.3% of the sector's matters, so demand is rising around a practice whose own readings are level.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Professional Services Capital Markets Counsel in 2026: One-Off Issuers

  Professional services companies are one-off issuers: their clients averaged 1.6 deals each in 12 months, against 2.6 across the capital markets practice. Capital markets lawyers worked on 18.6% of the sector's deals, behind corporate lawyers at 49.2%.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Project Finance Deals Rose in 2026 and Pulled Partners

  Project and infrastructure finance deals rose 22.0% on settled 12-month windows, and the projects practice answered with partners: partner hiring held flat (+16.5%) while hiring at all levels held flat (+1.3%). Across the whole market, partner and total hiring moved together.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Provider Product Liability Counsel in 2026: On 11.0% of Deals

  Product liability lawyers worked on 11.0% of healthcare provider and payor deals, between their 21.3% share of individual and consumer matters and 5.0% of consumer goods deals. Providers and payors in turn appear on 12.3% of the practice's own deals.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Public Law Work for Individuals in 2026: Washington Ahead of New York

  26.1% of individuals and consumers deals were handled with lawyers in Washington, DC, against 20.3% in New York, while government work runs the other way. Public law lawyers sit on 18.7% of the sector's deals, so a shortlist for this work should test Washington teams first.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Public Sector Counsel in 2026: Two Firm Lists, No Shared Name

  Eight of the ten firms most active on government and public sector deals share the 21-40 band, and none of the ten is on the public law practice's list. Public law lawyers sit on 21.5% of the sector's deals.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Real Estate Counsel for Asset Managers: A Median 3.0 Times Larger

  Disclosed asset manager deals carry a median 3.0 times the real estate practice's, though that median covers all of the sector's work. Real estate lawyers sat on 6.7% of asset manager deals, and asset managers were 11.1% of real estate practice deals.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Real Estate Counsel Is Local: Smaller Shares in Every Hub City

  In every hub city that appears on both lists, a smaller share of real estate deals than of sponsor deals had lawyers there, from New York at 31.7% against 43.2% to London at 12.8% against 29.5%. A property company buys its legal work city by city.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Real Estate Deals in 2026: No Firm Stands Clear of the Field

  Real estate deal work has no dominant adviser: the first two firms sit in the 41-60 band of deals advised and the other eight in 21-40. Real estate deals rose 10.3% while real estate partner hiring held flat (-8.6%).

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Real Estate Finance Counsel in 2026: Two Partner Markets Pull Apart

  Banking and finance partners changed firms more often, 604 against 546, while partners focused on real estate moved less, 413 against 471. Property companies, whose deals carry a finance lawyer 9.6% of the time, buy from both markets at once.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Regulatory and Antitrust Deals: European Firms Hold Four of the Top 10

  Regulatory and antitrust is the smallest deal type on record, and its adviser list does not mirror the deal market: a European firm ranks first and four of the top 10 are European. The count fell 19.2% on settled windows while antitrust partner hiring held steady.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• REIT and Property Capital Markets Counsel: 4.7% of the Bench's Deals

  Property companies need capital markets lawyers on 27.4% of their deals, yet real estate is the client sector on only 4.7% of capital markets deals, against 13.8% for banks and 13.7% for pharma and biotech. To its capital markets firm, a REIT is a small client.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Renewable Energy Project Counsel in 2026: Deals Outgrow the Bench

  Power and renewables deals rose 27.6% on settled 12-month windows, while the count of power-focused lawyers who changed firms held flat (-5.5%). The projects practice already puts 57.1% of its deals into this one sector, so the extra work lands on teams that are not getting bigger through hiring.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Renewables Finance Counsel in 2026: Power Is the Second Client Sector

  Power and renewables are the banking and finance practice's second client sector, on 7.8% of its deals after banks at 17.8%. Seen from the sector, finance lawyers sit on 12.0% of power deals, alongside projects, corporate and capital markets teams.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Restructuring Deals Fell in 2026 While the Deal Market Rose

  Restructuring and insolvency shrank while every deal type with a larger record grew: it fell 10.4% while all dated deals rose 10.6%. Firms hired into the fall anyway, and restructuring lateral partner hires rose 21.1%.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Semiconductor Capital Markets in 2026: Deals Up, Partner Hiring Flat

  Electronics and semiconductor deals rose 33.9% year on year while capital markets lateral partner hiring held flat (+1.1%). Capital markets lawyers sit on 52.5% of the sector's deals, so a chip issuer competes for partner time in a lateral market that did not grow.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Semiconductor M&A Counsel in 2026: Hong Kong Ahead of San Francisco

  Lawyers in Hong Kong worked on 14.9% of electronics and semiconductor deals, more than San Francisco at 12.8%, and Beijing makes the same city list. Corporate and M&A lawyers sit on 29.0% of the sector's deals, second to capital markets lawyers at 52.5%.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Sponsor Finance Counsel in 2026: On Just 6.0% of Sponsor Deals

  Finance lawyers appear on 6.0% of sponsor deals, a thinner share than on bank, power or real estate deals. Sponsors still account for 6.6% of the finance practice's own deals, so a sponsor buys from a bench whose main work lies elsewhere.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Sports IP Counsel in 2026: 33.1% of Sports Deals, 2.1% of IP's

  Intellectual property is the practice sports companies lean on most: IP lawyers sat on 33.1% of the sector's deals. Seen from the IP side, sports was 2.1% of the practice's deals, so a sports client is a small account on a busy bench.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Tech Capital Markets in 2026: A Flat Sector Beside a Rising Practice

  Technology companies' deal flow held flat (+4.6%) in a year when the capital markets practice rose 10.0%. Capital markets lawyers sit on 24.0% of tech deals against 53.1% of pharma deals, so a tech issuer hires a bench whose growth comes from elsewhere.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Tech Companies' IP Counsel in 2026: IP Lawyers on Just 11.3% of Deals

  Technology and software is the client sector on 7.0% of intellectual property deals, second of the twelve sectors listed, yet IP lawyers worked on only 11.3% of the sector's own deals, against 31.9% in consumer goods, 29.5% in food and 26.3% in media. In tech, IP is a minority bench beside corporate lawyers, who sat on 47.8% of the sector's deals.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Tech Company Finance Counsel in 2026: Clients Come Back Less Often

  Technology and software companies spread 3,279 deals across 1,713 clients, a lower return rate than banks, pharma or the finance practice's own clients. Finance lawyers worked on 3.8% of technology deals.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Telecom Capital Markets Counsel in 2026: Sector Specialists Move More

  More telecom-focused lawyers changed firms this year: the count rose 33.3%, while capital markets lateral hiring held flat (+6.7%). Capital markets lawyers sit on 35.6% of telecom deals, more than any other practice.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Telecom M&A Counsel in 2026: A Bench That Rarely Changes City

  Lawyers who focus on telecommunications changed city on 8.3% of their moves, against 21.2% of corporate and M&A lateral moves. Corporate lawyers sit on 31.9% of telecom deals, so the M&A bench a company can hire is usually the one already in place.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Transportation Capital Markets Counsel in 2026: Movers Go Mid-Size

  Capital markets lawyers sit on 23.9% of transportation deals, yet the transportation lawyers who change firms mostly land below the largest size class: 39.0% joined firms of 1,000+ lawyers, against 69.1% of capital markets lateral moves.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Utility Capital Markets Counsel in 2026: Big Tickets, Repeat Clients

  Utilities bring the largest disclosed tickets of the sectors compared here, a median of $802.5 million against $660 million for banks and $500 million in power, and 377 clients produced 949 deals in 12 months. Capital markets lawyers worked on 62.3% of them.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Utility M&A Counsel in 2026: A Smaller Share of Deals Than the Market

  Corporate and M&A lawyers worked on 16.2% of utility, water and waste deals, 7.1 points under their share of all dated deals, while capital markets lawyers were on 62.3%. In this sector the issuance team is hired first and the M&A team second.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Venture and Growth Deals in 2026: Small Tickets, Specialist Firms

  Venture and growth rounds carry a median disclosed value of $55.1 million against $1,200 million in M&A, and they publish a value far more often. Its ten most active advisers are headed by firms built around emerging companies, and five of those ten are absent from the M&A top 10.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Where Tech M&A Gets Done in 2026: A Bay Area Bench Sponsors Use Less

  18.1% of technology deals were handled with lawyers in San Francisco, against 11.2% of sponsor deals, and Palo Alto and Silicon Valley carry rows of their own. Corporate and M&A lawyers work on 47.8% of the sector's deals, against 23.3% across the market.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Who Borrows: Banks Are 2.4 Times Their Market Share in Lending

  Bank lending work follows banks and real assets: banks and financial institutions sit on 16.8% of lending deals against 7.1% of all deals. Lending work rose 11.4% and lateral banking partner hiring rose 10.6%, almost in step.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026