Construction Lateral Hiring 2026: A Flat Practice in a Rising Market

The construction law lateral market spent the past year standing still while the rest of the profession moved. Sartori & Partners data show 844 construction lawyers joining a new firm in the 12 months to October 2026, 6.0% of all lateral moves and the 9th largest practice by volume. On the settled windows, construction hiring held flat (-1.8%). Lateral moves across all practices rose 9.0% over the same months. For a firm planning a construction hire, that gap sets the terms: the pool is no deeper than last year, and the hiring that does take place runs through smaller firms and different cities than the market at large.

The settled windows end in September so that late start dates can arrive. Construction moves numbered 851 in the latest window and 867 in the one before, a gap of 16 moves that sits inside the noise: the count held flat. Across all practices the same windows show 13,128 moves climbing to 14,305, an increase of 9.0%. Construction kept its volume but took no part in the growth.

The neighbors split. Hiring in real estate, a practice that 16.8% of construction movers also work in, rose 7.9% on the same basis. Hiring in projects and infrastructure, the other practice that shares the building site, held flat (+1.3%). Construction sits with the projects lawyers, not with the real estate lawyers whose market picked up.

Calendar years confirm the pattern. Sartori & Partners counted 872 construction moves in 2022, 799 in 2023, 913 in 2024 and 887 in 2025, with 733 through October 2026. Market volume went from 10,875 in 2023 to 13,237 in 2025. Construction has moved inside a narrow band for four calendar years. A firm should plan its next construction search on the supply it sees today, not on a wave of candidates that the record gives no sign of.

Partner hiring followed the practice. The construction partner count held flat (-4.7%), 262 in the settled window against 275 the year before. Partner moves across all practices rose 8.4% over the same months, from 3,558 to 3,858.

Partners account for 32.0% of construction moves in the last 12 months, against 27.7% market-wide, and associates for 52.4% against 58.5%. A steady partner line therefore shapes this practice more than an associate-heavy one. Team hires are rare: 0.7% of construction moves came as part of a group joining the same firm in the same quarter, against 1.5% across the market. Construction partners move one at a time. A firm building a construction bench should budget for a series of single hires, each found and closed on its own, rather than one team move that fills the gap.

Firms of 1,000+ lawyers took 34.0% of construction laterals in the past 12 months, against 53.6% across all practices, a gap of 19.6 points. At the other end, firms of under 150 lawyers took 16.1% of construction moves, against 9.7% market-wide. The middle carries the rest: the 400-999 lawyers class took 27.0% and the 150-399 lawyers class 22.9%.

The neighbors make the contrast sharper. Projects and infrastructure sends 71.1% of its laterals to firms of 1,000+ lawyers and real estate 44.0%. Every practice larger than construction by volume relies more on the biggest firms; only a few smaller, more local practices rely less. Contractor disputes, claims and site-level advice are work that regional and mid-size firms win and staff. For a large firm, that means its construction candidates often hold competing offers from firms a fraction of its size, and its pitch has to answer the rate and conflict questions those firms do not face. For a mid-size firm, it means the competition for construction talent is a fair fight.

In the Sartori & Partners lateral database, New York is still the largest single destination for construction lawyers, with 72 moves, but its index of 58 means it takes well under its usual share. London sits at 74. Houston, with 5.2% of construction moves, carries an index of 221, and Denver, with 3.1%, an index of 262. Miami (149) and Atlanta (161) also hire above the market rate.

Relocation will not close the gap for a firm hiring elsewhere: 21.9% of construction movers also changed city, close to the 20.5% seen across all practices. Most construction lawyers stay in the market they know. A firm that wants a construction partner in Texas, Colorado or the Southeast should search there, and a firm that searches only New York and London covers a thinner slice of the pool than it would in most practices.

Construction laterals step up a title on the way out more often than most: 16.8% joined at a higher title than the one they left, against 12.9% market-wide. Real estate stands at 13.6% and projects and infrastructure at 15.1%. The pool also overlaps heavily with disputes work: 79.4% of construction movers also practice litigation and disputes, so a construction search competes with every firm hiring trial lawyers.

The title is the lever. A firm that can offer the step from counsel to partner, or from associate to counsel, has an argument in construction that carries more weight than in most practices. A firm that cannot should expect its candidates to weigh that missing step against compensation, and should know that a rival offering the title may win even at a lower figure.

Sartori & Partners data point to four practical choices for law-firm leaders. First, plan on a pool that is not growing: construction hiring held flat (-1.8%) while the market rose 9.0%, so a construction search will not get easier because hiring elsewhere is busy. Second, budget for single hires: team moves make up 0.7% of construction moves. Third, look beyond the biggest firms for candidates and expect them as rivals for offers, since firms of under 150 lawyers took 16.1% of construction laterals. Fourth, go where the hiring is: Houston and Denver index at 221 and 262, and a title step offered up front changes more conversations here than in most practices.