Practice by city · November 2026
Banking & Finance in Houston: lateral monitor
Lawyers who changed firm in Banking & Finance in Houston over the last 12 months, set against the practice and the city as a whole.
The last 12 months: November 2025 to October 2026
- 48
- Lateral moves, 12 monthsNovember 2025 to October 2026
- +91.7%
- Year on yearSettled 12-month windows
- 39.6%
- Partner share of moves
- 32
- Firms that hired
What the data show
Sartori & Partners data show 48 lateral moves in Banking & Finance in Houston from November 2025 to October 2026, 2.4% of the practice's moves. On settled windows the count went from 24 to 46, up 91.7% year on year. It outpaced the market's own change of +9.0%.
| Measure | Here | Banking & Finance | Houston | Market |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Partner share of moves | 39.6% | 30.8% | 29.6% | 27.7% |
| Counsel share of moves | 14.6% | 12.7% | 10.3% | 12.7% |
| Associate share of moves | 45.8% | 55.8% | 59.5% | 58.5% |
| Moved up a level | 12.5% | 13.1% | 9.1% | 12.9% |
| Changed city | 14.6% | 20.4% | 16.8% | 20.5% |
| Hired by firms of 1,000+ lawyers | 63.0% | 63.8% | 58.9% | 53.6% |
| Year on year | rose (+91.7%) | rose (+14.1%) | rose (+51.1%) | 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 A dash is a value we do not publish.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.
Set against the Banking & Finance practice as a whole, the associate share stands out most: 45.8% here against 55.8%, below it. Against all moves in Houston, the widest gap is the associate share, which is lower here: 45.8% against 59.5%. Year on year it moved with the Banking & Finance practice as a whole: both rose.
Over the three years to October 2026, 103 lawyers moved in Banking & Finance in Houston, 43 of them partners (41.7%). They joined 51 different firms. 10.7% stepped up a level on the move and 15.7% changed city, against 12.3% and 21.6% across the market over the same three years. 47.0% came from firms with 1,000+ lawyers.
- Partner39.6%
- Counsel14.6%
- Associate45.8%
At 39.6%, the partner share of arrivals sits above the market's 27.7%. A step up in title came with 12.5% of moves (market 12.9%).
- 1,000+ lawyers63.0%
- 400-999 lawyers23.9%
The 12-month firm table is below our naming threshold, so this part reads the three years to October 2026. Lateral hires in Banking & Finance in Houston were spread across 51 firms. The ten firms at the head of the hiring table took 38.8% of arrivals (12.2% market-wide), so hiring here is concentrated. Simpson Thacher & Bartlett ranks first by lateral arrivals, in the 6-10 band.
- 1,000+ lawyers47.0%
- 400-999 lawyers26.0%
- 150-399 lawyers11.0%
- under 150 lawyers16.0%
The practice accounts for 14.5% of all lateral moves in Houston. Over the three years to October 2026, 68.0% of movers came from another firm in Houston itself. 14.6% of movers also changed city, against 20.5% market-wide.
There were 25 open roles in Banking & Finance in Houston on law-firm career pages on November 11, 2026.
A firm recruiting in Banking & Finance in Houston is buying into a rising, partner-heavy flow, so the strongest candidates will hear from more than one firm.
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 | Simpson Thacher & Bartlett | 6-10 |
| 2 | Clifford Chance | 3-5 |
| 3 | Paul Hastings | 3-5 |
| 4 | Troutman Pepper Locke | 3-5 |
| 5 | White & Case | 3-5 |
| 6 | Womble Bond Dickinson | 3-5 |
| 7 | Kirkland & Ellis | 3-5 |
| 8 | Bradley Arant Boult Cummings | 3-5 |
| 9 | Hunton Andrews Kurth | 3-5 |
| 10 | Vinson & Elkins | 3-5 |
Deals in Banking & Finance in Houston
Sartori & Partners data count 131 dated deals in Banking & Finance in Houston in the 12 months to October 2026 and 314 over the three years to October 2026.
Banking & lending work is involved in 45.5% of them and Leveraged & acquisition finance in 25.5%.
By client industry, Oil & Gas comes first with 21.0%.
Latham & Watkins ranks first among advising firms over the period, in the 41-60 band.
| Rank | Firm | Deals (band) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Latham & Watkins | 41-60 |
| 2 | Simpson Thacher & Bartlett | 41-60 |
| 3 | Kirkland & Ellis | 41-60 |
| 4 | Paul Hastings | 21-40 |
| 5 | Vinson & Elkins | 11-20 |
| 6 | White & Case | 11-20 |
| 7 | Willkie Farr & Gallagher | 11-20 |
| 8 | Baker Botts | 11-20 |
| 9 | Sidley Austin | 11-20 |
| 10 | Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher | 6-10 |
Time to partner in Banking & Finance in Houston
38 lawyers were promoted to partner in Banking & Finance in Houston over five years, according to Sartori & Partners data.
The median time from first year of practice to partner is 10.0 years, with the middle half between 9.0 years and 11.0 years, against a market median of 10.0 years. 85.7% made partner within 12 years.
These figures rest on 35 promotions.
Specialities in Banking & Finance in Houston
Over the three years to October 2026, Corporate Lending was involved in 30.1% of moves in Banking & Finance in Houston, then Acquisition & Leveraged Finance with 25.2%.
Related monitors and reports
Other practices in Houston
Banking & Finance 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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