Aerospace and Defense Deals Outpaced Capital Markets Work in 2026

A general counsel lining up capital markets lawyers for defense companies is hiring into a sector that is growing far faster than the practice it needs. Sartori & Partners data show aerospace and defense deals rose 50.7% year on year, from 432 to 651 in the settled 12-month windows. Capital markets deals across every sector rose 10.0%, from 11,838 to 13,024. The sector's growth rate is 5.1 times the practice's. Capital markets lawyers worked on 36.5% of the sector's deals in 12 months, second only to corporate and M&A lawyers. For a defense issuer, the open question is not whether the work exists but whether the partners who know the sector have room on their calendars.

Both counts moved the same way; the difference is speed. The aerospace and defense count went from 432 deals to 651, a rise of 50.7%. The capital markets practice went from 11,838 deals to 13,024, a rise of 10.0%, close to the 10.6% rise for all dated deals, which went from 43,590 to 48,216. The practice therefore grew at about the pace of the whole deal market, while the defense sector grew 5.1 times as fast as the practice. Electronics and semiconductors, a sector where capital markets lawyers are on most deals, rose 33.9% over the same windows, from 601 to 805: quick, yet slower than defense. The sector figures count every deal in the sector, whatever the practice, and they are matters on record, not revenue. There is no separate trend for capital markets work on defense deals alone, so this is a comparison of sector against practice. For the client, faster sector growth means more defense issuers calling on the same capital markets partners. Open the conversation with counsel before the offering timetable is fixed.

Corporate and M&A lawyers worked on 42.2% of aerospace and defense deals in 12 months, and capital markets lawyers on 36.5%. Both shares sit above the market. Across all dated deals, corporate lawyers were on 23.3% and capital markets lawyers on 26.4%, so the corporate gap is 18.9 points and the capital markets gap 10.1 points. One deal can involve several practices, so these shares overlap and are never added together. The order is reversed in electronics and semiconductors, where capital markets lawyers were on 52.5% of deals and corporate lawyers on 29.0%. By deal label, capital markets deals were 34.9% of the defense sector's deals and M&A deals 27.5%. A defense company raising money will often meet lawyers who also handle the sector's M&A, and the two teams frequently share a matter. Name the lead practice in the engagement letter and ask how the capital markets partner and the corporate partner divide the work.

Lawyers in New York worked on 42.3% of aerospace and defense deals with a known lawyer location, and lawyers in Washington on 26.7%. In electronics and semiconductors, Washington's share was 15.7%, a gap of 11.0 points. London comes next for defense at 17.3%, ahead of San Francisco at 9.2%. A deal can count in several cities, so each share says where the work was done and the shares are never added. The Washington weight also shows in lateral moves. In the Sartori & Partners lateral record, 53.3% of lawyers with an aerospace and defense focus who changed firms over 3 years joined in Washington. Defense issuers face export-control and national security questions that are handled in Washington. When a capital markets team is proposed from New York, ask which Washington lawyers will sit on the deal and how early they join.

Lateral hiring in capital markets held flat (+6.7%), at 609 moves against 571 in the settled windows. These are lawyers changing firms, not deals, and they cover the practice in every sector. Set beside the deal counts, the pattern is uneven: defense deals rose 50.7% and the practice's deals rose 10.0%, while lateral movement in the practice did not grow by more than chance would give. Associates were 56.5% of capital markets moves and partners 31.5%, so most of the movement is below partner level. Among lawyers who list an aerospace and defense focus, moves held flat (+21.4%), at 34 against 28. Flat hiring is not offered here as a cause of anything; it describes the bench the sector draws on. If defense deal flow keeps outrunning lateral supply, the same partners carry more mandates. Ask the proposed lead how many live offerings they are running and who staffs the work beneath them.

No firm list ranks capital markets work on defense deals alone. The sector list ranks firms on all aerospace and defense deal work, in every practice, and the practice list ranks firms on capital markets deals in every sector. Four names are on both: Latham & Watkins, Davis Polk & Wardwell, Clifford Chance and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett. The other six on the sector list are Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, Kirkland & Ellis, Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton, Goodwin Procter, Jones Day and Fenwick & West. Each firm is shown as a rank and a band of deals advised, not an exact count: the first firm on the sector list sits in the 41-60 band, and the first on the capital markets list, Davis Polk & Wardwell, in the 701-1200 band. A defense company assembling a panel can start with the overlap, firms with volume in both the sector and the practice, then ask every candidate for its own record of aerospace and defense offerings in the past 12 months.

First, book early. Aerospace and defense deals rose 50.7% while capital markets deals rose 10.0%, so sector demand is gaining on the practice that serves it. Second, expect two practices at the table: corporate lawyers are on 42.2% of the sector's deals and capital markets lawyers on 36.5%, so settle who leads before work starts. Third, check the Washington bench, which worked on 26.7% of defense deals. Fourth, start a panel with the four firms on both lists and test each one's defense offering record. Fifth, ask about staffing below partner, because capital markets lateral hiring held flat (+6.7%) while the sector grew. Sartori & Partners builds these figures from public law-firm announcements, firm websites and professional profiles, checked monthly.