Practice by city · November 2026

Antitrust & Competition in Brussels: lateral monitor

Lawyers who changed firm in Antitrust & Competition in Brussels over the last 12 months, set against the practice and the city as a whole.

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01 The numbers

The last 12 months: November 2025 to October 2026

44
Lateral moves, 12 monthsNovember 2025 to October 2026
0.0%
Year on yearSettled 12-month windows
22.7%
Partner share of moves
25
Firms that hired
02 Reading the data

What the data show

From November 2025 to October 2026, Sartori & Partners recorded 44 lateral moves in Antitrust & Competition in Brussels, 10.8% of the practice's moves. On settled 12-month windows the count showed no clear change: 42 against 42 (0.0%). The market as a whole moved +9.0%, so this flow lagged it.

Antitrust & Competition in Brussels against Antitrust & Competition, Brussels and the market
MeasureHereAntitrust & CompetitionBrusselsMarket
Partner share of moves22.7%32.4%24.0%27.7%
Counsel share of moves (three years)5.3%11.6%7.2%12.1%
Associate share of moves70.5%55.0%66.9%58.5%
Moved up a level (three years)7.0%12.2%8.7%12.3%
Changed city19.0%19.3%27.5%20.5%
Hired by firms of 1,000+ lawyers88.6%66.1%74.4%53.6%
Year on yearflat (0.0%)flat (+7.7%)flat (-1.6%)rose (+9.0%)

12 months to October 2026 unless the row says three years; a row switches to three years for every column when this page's 12-month value is not published. A dash is a value we do not publish. Flat means a change under 5% or inside the noise of the two counts.

Against the Antitrust & Competition practice as a whole, the widest gap is the share hired by firms of 1,000+ lawyers, which is higher here: 88.6% against 66.1%. Set against all moves in Brussels, the share hired by firms of 1,000+ lawyers stands out most: 88.6% here against 74.4%, above it. Year on year it moved with the Antitrust & Competition practice as a whole: both flat.

Antitrust & Competition in Brussels: lateral moves by year

2026 runs to October.

Over the three years to October 2026, 114 lawyers moved in Antitrust & Competition in Brussels. They joined 46 different firms. 7.0% stepped up a level on the move and 25.5% changed city, against 12.3% and 21.6% across the market over the same three years. 82.2% came from firms with 1,000+ lawyers.

The partner share is 22.7%, below the market's 27.7%, so most movers are associates and counsel.

The 12-month firm table is below our naming threshold, so this part reads the three years to October 2026. Lateral hires in Antitrust & Competition in Brussels were spread across 46 firms. Ten firms account for 49.5% of arrivals, against 12.2% across the market: concentrated. Kirkland & Ellis ranks first by lateral arrivals, in the 11-20 band.

The practice accounts for 36.4% of all lateral moves in Brussels. Over the three years to October 2026, 69.3% of movers came from another firm in Brussels itself. 19.0% of movers also changed city, against 20.5% market-wide.

11.4% of moves came as part of a group, against 1.5% market-wide.

For a firm planning a hire in Antitrust & Competition in Brussels, a flat market means candidates are not being pulled by a wave: the case for a move has to come from the platform.

03 Firms

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.

Firms ranked by lateral arrivals, three years to October 2026
RankFirmMoves (band)
1Kirkland & Ellis11-20
2Latham & Watkins6-10
3Norton Rose Fulbright3-5
4Covington & Burling3-5
5Davis Polk & Wardwell3-5
6Sidley Austin3-5
7Freshfields3-5
8Ashurst Perkins Coie3-5
9Baker Botts3-5
10O'Melveny & Myers3-5
04 Demand

Deals in Antitrust & Competition in Brussels

Sartori & Partners data count 43 dated deals in Antitrust & Competition in Brussels in the 12 months to October 2026 and 111 over the three years to October 2026.

Regulatory & antitrust work is involved in 47.7% of them and Disputes & investigations in 29.7%.

By client industry, Technology & Software comes first with 27.0%.

Latham & Watkins ranks first among advising firms over the period, in the 6-10 band.

Share of deals involving each deal type, three years to October 2026
Advising firms ranked by deals, three years to October 2026
RankFirmDeals (band)
1Latham & Watkins6-10
2Slaughter and May6-10
3Freshfields6-10
4Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen & Hamilton6-10
5Gleiss Lutz6-10
6Clifford Chance6-10
7Linklaters6-10
8Jones Day6-10
9White & Case6-10
10Morrison & Foerster3-5
05 Promotions

Time to partner in Antitrust & Competition in Brussels

39 lawyers were promoted to partner in Antitrust & Competition in Brussels over five years, according to Sartori & Partners data.

06 Specialities

Specialities in Antitrust & Competition in Brussels

Over the three years to October 2026, Merger Control was involved in 71.1% of moves in Antitrust & Competition in Brussels, then Abuse of Dominance with 41.2%.

Share of moves involving each speciality, three years to October 2026
07 Explore

Related monitors and reports

Other practices in Brussels

Antitrust & Competition in other cities

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].

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