Practice monitor · November 2026
Banking & Finance: lateral market monitor
Lawyers who changed firm in Banking & Finance over the last 12 months: how many, at what level, where they went and which firms hired them.
The last 12 months: November 2025 to October 2026
- 1,964
- Lateral moves, 12 monthsNovember 2025 to October 2026
- +14.1%
- Year on yearSettled 12-month windows
- 30.8%
- Partner share of moves
- 391
- Firms that hired
What the data show
In the Sartori & Partners lateral record, 1,964 lawyers joined a new firm in Banking & Finance from November 2025 to October 2026, 13.9% of all lateral moves we tracked. On settled windows the count went from 1,766 to 2,015, up 14.1% year on year. That runs ahead of the wider market, which moved +9.0%.
The level mix sits close to the market: partners are 30.8% of arrivals, against 27.7% market-wide. Year on year, on windows that end a month early, partner moves alone grew 10.6% (546 to 604). A step up in title came with 13.1% of moves (market 12.9%).
Latest: 131 in Oct 26
Show the numbers
| Month | Value |
|---|---|
| Nov 24 | 122 |
| Dec 24 | 75 |
| Jan 25 | 221 |
| Feb 25 | 155 |
| Mar 25 | 142 |
| Apr 25 | 145 |
| May 25 | 151 |
| Jun 25 | 137 |
| Jul 25 | 111 |
| Aug 25 | 111 |
| Sep 25 | 235 |
| Oct 25 | 182 |
| Nov 25 | 121 |
| Dec 25 | 94 |
| Jan 26 | 243 |
| Feb 26 | 187 |
| Mar 26 | 176 |
| Apr 26 | 161 |
| May 26 | 182 |
| Jun 26 | 154 |
| Jul 26 | 166 |
| Aug 26 | 163 |
| Sep 26 | 186 |
| Oct 26 | 131 |
The newest months read low: start dates are confirmed with a delay.
391 firms hired at least one lateral in Banking & Finance in the window. The ten firms at the head of the hiring table took 19.9% of arrivals (12.9% market-wide), so hiring here is moderately concentrated. First on the hiring table is Paul Hastings, with arrivals in the 41-60 band.
- Partner30.8%
- Counsel12.7%
- Associate55.8%
By city, New York comes first (21.5% of arrivals), then London (16.4%). A change of city came with 20.4% of moves (market 20.5%).
1.2% of moves came as part of a group, against 1.5% market-wide. Over the last 6 months, 125 lawyers left for an in-house role: 12.7 for every 100 lateral moves, against 13.1 market-wide.
For a firm hiring in Banking & Finance, a rising market means candidates have options: move quickly once a shortlist exists.
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.
| Rank | Firm | Moves (band) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Paul Hastings | 41-60 |
| 2 | Latham & Watkins | 41-60 |
| 3 | Sidley Austin | 41-60 |
| 4 | Kirkland & Ellis | 41-60 |
| 5 | DLA Piper | 21-40 |
| 6 | Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe | 21-40 |
| 7 | Simpson Thacher & Bartlett | 21-40 |
| 8 | Mayer Brown | 21-40 |
| 9 | Greenberg Traurig | 21-40 |
| 10 | Milbank | 21-40 |
| Rank | Firm | Moves (band) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | DLA Piper | 11-20 |
| 2 | Mayer Brown | 11-20 |
| 3 | Sidley Austin | 11-20 |
| 4 | Paul Hastings | 11-20 |
| 5 | Womble Bond Dickinson | 11-20 |
| 6 | Kirkland & Ellis | 11-20 |
| 7 | King & Spalding | 11-20 |
| 8 | Norton Rose Fulbright | 11-20 |
| 9 | Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe | 11-20 |
| 10 | Greenberg Traurig | 11-20 |
Related monitors and reports
Banking & Finance by city
Specialities in Banking & Finance
Related monitors
Other practices
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Overlapping practices
- Real Estate25.5% overlap
- Corporate & M&A18.6% overlap
- Restructuring & Insolvency13.0% overlap
- Projects & Infrastructure12.4% overlap
- Capital Markets9.0% overlap
- Private Equity8.6% overlap
- Litigation & Disputes6.5% overlap
- Funds & Investment Management4.8% overlap
Hiring in this market
Reports
- Banking and Finance Deals 2026: The Most Transparent Deal Flow
Banking and finance deals publish a value 1.6 times as often as capital markets deals, at a median of $545 million. Lending leads the mix, and deal counts rose 12.1% while lateral hiring in the practice rose 14.1%.
November 11, 2026 · November 2026 - Banking and Finance Lateral Hiring 2026: A New York-London Market
Banking and finance hiring runs on two cities. New York takes 21.5% of moves at an index of 145 and London 16.4% at 177, while Washington (50) and Los Angeles (67) sit well below their market weight.
November 11, 2026 · November 2026 - Banking and Finance Path to Partner: Bought More Often Than Made
Banking and finance promotes 0.57 lawyers to partner for each lateral partner it hires, against 0.79 across all practices, on a median track of 10.0 years that matches the market. The top 10 partner hirers take 25.1% of its partner moves.
November 11, 2026 · November 2026 - Charlotte Banking & Finance Laterals: Few Hirers, Mostly Associates
In Charlotte, 23 firms made the banking and finance lateral hires of the last 12 months, and a short list of them took most of the moves. Associates were 67.7% of those moves, against 55.8% across the practice.
November 11, 2026 · November 2026 - Chicago Banking & Finance: 29.0% of Laterals Changed City
Chicago finance laterals relocate more often than finance laterals elsewhere or Chicago laterals in other practices: 29.0% changed city, and associates made 70.1% of the moves. Chicago offices still supplied at least 61.5% of arrivals over 3 years.
November 11, 2026 · November 2026 - London Banking & Finance Hiring Held Flat as the Practice Rose 14.1%
Banking and finance moves into London were flat year on year, while finance moves across the market rose 14.1% and New York finance rose 28.5%. London still takes 16.4% of all finance moves, so the pause sits in a market that stays large.
November 11, 2026 · November 2026 - Los Angeles Finance Deals Tilt to Leveraged Finance at 35.3%
Leveraged and acquisition finance carried 35.3% of Los Angeles finance deals over 3 years, against 23.4% across the practice over 12 months, where banking and lending leads at 44.5%. Financial sponsors are the city's largest client industry on those deals.
November 11, 2026 · November 2026 - New York Finance Partner Hiring Rose 32.7% as the City Held Flat
Finance partner moves into New York rose 32.7% while partner hiring across the city was flat and finance partners across the market rose 10.6%. Partners are 34.8% of finance moves into the city, against 28.3% of all New York moves.
November 11, 2026 · November 2026 - Washington Finance Hiring: 18.2% of Laterals Stepped Up in Title
Washington banking and finance laterals step up a title and arrive with a team more often than finance laterals in other cities or Washington laterals in other practices: 18.2% moved up and 9.1% came as a group. Both happen in a city where finance is a minor practice.
November 11, 2026 · November 2026
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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