Practice by city · November 2026
Banking & Finance in Los Angeles: lateral monitor
Lawyers who changed firm in Banking & Finance in Los Angeles over the last 12 months, set against the practice and the city as a whole.
The last 12 months: November 2025 to October 2026
- 67
- Lateral moves, 12 monthsNovember 2025 to October 2026
- +15.3%
- Year on yearSettled 12-month windows
- 34.3%
- Partner share of moves
- 47
- Firms that hired
What the data show
From November 2025 to October 2026, Sartori & Partners recorded 67 lateral moves in Banking & Finance in Los Angeles, 3.4% of the practice's moves. On settled windows the count went from 59 to 68 (+15.3%), a change inside the noise of the two counts, so we read it as flat.
| Measure | Here | Banking & Finance | Los Angeles | Market |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Partner share of moves | 34.3% | 30.8% | 27.9% | 27.7% |
| Counsel share of moves | 16.4% | 12.7% | 13.9% | 12.7% |
| Associate share of moves | 49.3% | 55.8% | 57.4% | 58.5% |
| Moved up a level | 11.9% | 13.1% | 13.8% | 12.9% |
| Changed city | 14.5% | 20.4% | 16.4% | 20.5% |
| Hired by firms of 1,000+ lawyers | 53.0% | 63.8% | 47.0% | 53.6% |
| Year on year | flat (+15.3%) | rose (+14.1%) | rose (+21.0%) | 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 A dash is a value we do not publish.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 share hired by firms of 1,000+ lawyers stands out most: 53.0% here against 63.8%, below it. Against all moves in Los Angeles, the widest gap is the associate share, which is lower here: 49.3% against 57.4%. Year on year it held flat while the Banking & Finance practice as a whole rose.
Over the three years to October 2026, 189 lawyers moved in Banking & Finance in Los Angeles, 68 of them partners (36.0%). They joined 85 different firms. 12.2% stepped up a level on the move and 14.6% changed city, against 12.3% and 21.6% across the market over the same three years. 64.1% came from firms with 1,000+ lawyers.
- Partner34.3%
- Counsel16.4%
- Associate49.3%
This is a partner market: 34.3% of movers were partners, against 27.7% market-wide. A step up in title came with 11.9% of moves (market 12.9%).
- 1,000+ lawyers53.0%
- 400-999 lawyers27.3%
- 150-399 lawyers13.6%
The 12-month firm table is below our naming threshold, so this part reads the three years to October 2026. 85 firms hired at least one lateral in Banking & Finance in Los Angeles in the window. Ten firms account for 30.1% of arrivals, against 12.2% across the market: concentrated. First on the hiring table is Paul Hastings, with arrivals in the 6-10 band.
- 1,000+ lawyers64.1%
- 400-999 lawyers24.1%
- 150-399 lawyers4.7%
- under 150 lawyers7.1%
The practice accounts for 9.4% of all lateral moves in Los Angeles. Over the three years to October 2026, 70.9% of movers came from another firm in Los Angeles itself. A change of city came with 14.5% of moves (market 20.5%).
There were 43 open roles in Banking & Finance in Los Angeles on law-firm career pages on November 11, 2026.
For a firm planning a hire in Banking & Finance in Los Angeles, a flat market means candidates are not being pulled by a wave: the case for a move has to come from the platform.
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 | 6-10 |
| 2 | Allen Matkins | 6-10 |
| 3 | O'Melveny & Myers | 6-10 |
| 4 | Holland & Knight | 6-10 |
| 5 | Kirkland & Ellis | 6-10 |
| 6 | Mayer Brown | 6-10 |
| 7 | DLA Piper | 6-10 |
| 8 | Latham & Watkins | 3-5 |
| 9 | Milbank | 3-5 |
| 10 | Nixon Peabody | 3-5 |
Deals in Banking & Finance in Los Angeles
Sartori & Partners data count 145 dated deals in Banking & Finance in Los Angeles in the 12 months to October 2026 and 374 over the three years to October 2026.
Leveraged & acquisition finance work is involved in 35.3% of them and Banking & lending in 33.2%.
By client industry, Financial Sponsors comes first with 9.9%.
Latham & Watkins ranks first among advising firms over the period, in the 151-250 band.
| Rank | Firm | Deals (band) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Latham & Watkins | 151-250 |
| 2 | Kirkland & Ellis | 11-20 |
| 3 | Paul Hastings | 11-20 |
| 4 | White & Case | 11-20 |
| 5 | Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison | 11-20 |
| 6 | Simpson Thacher & Bartlett | 6-10 |
| 7 | Proskauer Rose | 6-10 |
| 8 | Foley & Lardner | 6-10 |
| 9 | A&O Shearman | 6-10 |
| 10 | Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe | 6-10 |
Time to partner in Banking & Finance in Los Angeles
44 lawyers were promoted to partner in Banking & Finance in Los Angeles 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 8.0 years and 12.0 years, against a market median of 10.0 years. 83.7% made partner within 12 years.
These figures rest on 43 promotions.
Specialities in Banking & Finance in Los Angeles
Over the three years to October 2026, Corporate Lending was involved in 18.5% of moves in Banking & Finance in Los Angeles, then Acquisition & Leveraged Finance with 18.0%.
Related monitors and reports
Up one level
Other practices in Los Angeles
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].
For law firm leaders
Planning a partner hire in this market?
We run retained partner searches using the same data behind this page.