Practice monitor · November 2026
Capital Markets: lateral market monitor
Lawyers who changed firm in Capital Markets 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
- 609
- Lateral moves, 12 monthsNovember 2025 to October 2026
- +6.7%
- Year on yearSettled 12-month windows
- 31.5%
- Partner share of moves
- 201
- Firms that hired
What the data show
Sartori & Partners data show 609 lateral moves in Capital Markets from November 2025 to October 2026, 4.3% of all lateral moves we tracked. On settled windows the count went from 571 to 609 (+6.7%), a change inside the noise of the two counts, so we read it as flat.
With partners at 31.5% of arrivals, the mix is in line with the market's 27.7%. On settled windows partner moves alone went from 183 to 185 (+1.1%), which we read as flat. A step up in title came with 15.1% of moves (market 12.9%).
Latest: 51 in Oct 26
Show the numbers
| Month | Value |
|---|---|
| Nov 24 | 41 |
| Dec 24 | 26 |
| Jan 25 | 54 |
| Feb 25 | 52 |
| Mar 25 | 48 |
| Apr 25 | 47 |
| May 25 | 43 |
| Jun 25 | 46 |
| Jul 25 | 49 |
| Aug 25 | 37 |
| Sep 25 | 77 |
| Oct 25 | 51 |
| Nov 25 | 38 |
| Jan 26 | 60 |
| Feb 26 | 53 |
| Mar 26 | 62 |
| Apr 26 | 46 |
| May 26 | 53 |
| Jun 26 | 62 |
| Jul 26 | 43 |
| Aug 26 | 51 |
| Sep 26 | 75 |
| Oct 26 | 51 |
The newest months read low: start dates are confirmed with a delay.
201 firms hired at least one lateral in Capital Markets in the window. The ten firms at the head of the hiring table took 25.0% of arrivals (12.9% market-wide), so hiring here is moderately concentrated. Latham & Watkins ranks first by lateral arrivals, in the 21-40 band.
- Partner31.5%
- Counsel11.5%
- Associate56.5%
New York ranks first among destination cities with 25.0% of arrivals, followed by London (11.0%). 23.8% of movers also changed city, against 20.5% market-wide.
Group moves were 3.0% of the total (market 1.5%). Over the last 6 months, 47 lawyers left for an in-house role: 14 for every 100 lateral moves, against 13.1 market-wide.
With volume in Capital Markets holding level, a hire depends on a specific reason to move, which a firm has to put in front of the candidate.
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 | Latham & Watkins | 21-40 |
| 2 | White & Case | 11-20 |
| 3 | Greenberg Traurig | 11-20 |
| 4 | Cooley | 11-20 |
| 5 | Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe | 11-20 |
| 6 | Hogan Lovells Cadwalader | 11-20 |
| 7 | Sidley Austin | 11-20 |
| 8 | Willkie Farr & Gallagher | 11-20 |
| 9 | Simpson Thacher & Bartlett | 11-20 |
| 10 | Sullivan & Cromwell | 11-20 |
| Rank | Firm | Moves (band) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe | 6-10 |
| 2 | Greenberg Traurig | 6-10 |
| 3 | Simpson Thacher & Bartlett | 3-5 |
| 4 | Mayer Brown | 3-5 |
| 5 | White & Case | 3-5 |
| 6 | Baker McKenzie | 3-5 |
| 7 | Dentons | 3-5 |
| 8 | Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison | 3-5 |
| 9 | Norton Rose Fulbright | 3-5 |
| 10 | Proskauer Rose | 3-5 |
Related monitors and reports
Capital Markets by city
- New York152 moves
- London67 moves
- Hong Kong25 moves
- San Francisco22 moves
Specialities in Capital Markets
Related monitors
Other practices
- Litigation & Disputes
- Corporate & M&A
- Banking & Finance
- Employment & Labor
- Real Estate
- Private Equity
- Intellectual Property
- Product Liability & Torts
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- Restructuring & Insolvency
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- Financial Services Regulatory
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- Shipping & Maritime
- Family
Overlapping practices
- Corporate & M&A56.7% overlap
- Banking & Finance29.1% overlap
- Private Equity15.6% overlap
- Funds & Investment Management4.4% overlap
- Restructuring & Insolvency4.1% overlap
- Tax3.6% overlap
Hiring in this market
Reports
- Capital Markets Deals 2026: Two Client Pillars, a Flat Partner Bench
Capital markets work rests on banks and pharma, at 1.9 and 2.0 times their shares of all deals. Deal counts rose 10.0% while lateral partner hiring in the practice held flat (+1.1%).
November 11, 2026 · November 2026 - Capital Markets Lateral Hiring 2026: The Practice That Changes City
Capital markets lawyers relocate more than their peers: 23.8% of movers changed city, against 20.5% market-wide. New York draws 25.0% of arrivals at an index of 169, yet it sent out slightly more lawyers than it took in, while overall volume stayed flat.
November 11, 2026 · November 2026 - Capital Markets Path to Partner: 80.1% Promoted Within 12 Years
Capital markets lawyers make partner sooner than most: 80.1% within 12 years against 75.4%, on an average track of 10.5 years against 11.1 years. Firms still promote 0.75 partners for each lateral partner they hire, close to the market's 0.79.
November 11, 2026 · November 2026 - London Capital Markets Hiring: Debt-Led, More Mobile Than the City
London capital markets laterals changed city in 18.5% of moves, more than London's 15.2% but less than the practice's 23.8%. The work they bring is debt: London's index for debt capital markets moves is 240, against 102 for equity offerings.
November 11, 2026 · November 2026 - New York Capital Markets Hiring Tilts to IPO and Reporting Lawyers
New York takes a far larger share of public company reporting and IPO lawyer moves than of capital markets moves overall, with indexes of 227 and 181 against 169. Those hires also stay local: 7.5% changed city, against 23.8% across the 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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