Monthly edition
Lateral market, July 2026
The lateral market in July 2026: how many lawyers changed firm, at what level, in which practices and cities, and what else moved that month.
The last 12 months: November 2025 to October 2026
- 1,194
- Lateral moves in the month
- +20.2%
- Against the same month last year
- 165
- Moves to in-house roles
- 4,386
- Dated deals
What the data show
July 2026 brought 1,194 lateral moves in the Sartori & Partners record. The same month a year earlier had 993, a change of +20.2%, up on the year.
Year to date, the count stands at 9,033 against 8,126 for the same months last year (+11.2%, up). Partner moves year to date: 2,574, against 2,350 a year earlier. Over the same months, 28,964 dated deals were recorded.
- Partner26.0%
- Counsel14.0%
- Associate58.6%
Partners were 26.0% of the month's movers and associates 58.6%, against 28.0% in the same month last year. 20.3% of the month's movers also changed city.
By practice, Litigation & Disputes was involved in 39.5% of moves and Corporate & M&A in 20.3%. By city, New York came first with 16.2%, then London with 8.5%.
In the same month, 165 lawyers left private practice for an in-house role, 4,386 dated deals were recorded and 10 office openings were announced.
- 1,000+ lawyers53.8%
- 400-999 lawyers20.6%
- 150-399 lawyers13.7%
- under 150 lawyers11.9%
The chart of July across the years shows where this month sits against the same month in earlier years, without the season in the way.
Related monitors and reports
Hiring in this market
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
Planning a partner hire in this market?
We run retained partner searches using the same data behind this page.