New York Construction Hiring Fell in 2026 as the City Grew

Sartori & Partners data show that firms recruiting construction lawyers New York-based had fewer moves to work with this year, in a city where lateral hiring overall grew. Construction lateral hiring in New York fell 27.8% in the settled 12 months, to 70 moves from 97. The fall belongs to New York alone: the practice held its volume elsewhere, and the city's other practices took more lawyers than a year earlier.

Across all practices, lateral hiring by New York firms rose 11.9% over the same windows, from 1,862 to 2,084 moves. Construction across the practice held flat (-1.8%), with 851 moves against 867 the year before. So the decline is neither a practice-wide slowdown nor a weak city: New York's lateral demand went to other practices. Each settled window holds one January, the month when start dates cluster across the market. For construction across the practice, January 2026 alone carried 12.1% of the newer window, and January 2025 sits in the older one, so the comparison is like for like.

By calendar year the New York count peaked at 108 in 2024 and eased to 91 in 2025; 2026 holds 66 through October. For a hiring partner this means fewer construction lawyers changing firms in New York. A search should expect a shorter list of active candidates than a year ago, and more approaches to lawyers who are not looking.

New York is still the largest city for construction moves, with 72 of the practice's 844 in 12 months. Yet that is only 8.5% of them, while New York takes 14.8% of all lateral moves. The over-index figure compares a city's share of construction moves with its share of the whole market: New York sits at 58, Houston at 221 and Denver at 262. Inside New York, construction holds 3.5% of lateral moves, the smallest share of any practice listed in the city's figures. The weight is also slipping: New York held 10.4% of construction moves over three years and 8.5% in the last 12 months.

The pool is also mostly local. Over three years 69.0% of New York construction arrivals had left a firm in New York, and in the last 12 months only 11.1% of movers also changed city, against 21.9% across the practice. A firm that needs construction depth in New York will find it mostly among lawyers already practicing in the city. Relocation from Houston or Denver, where the practice over-indexes, is the exception in this data and needs a longer runway.

In the Sartori & Partners lateral database, firms of 150-399 lawyers took 39.6% of New York construction arrivals over three years, against 34.6% for firms of 1,000+ lawyers. That inverts the city's pattern: across New York, firms of 1,000+ lawyers took 59.9% of all arrivals in the same period and firms of 150-399 lawyers 15.4%. The last 12 months keep the same shape, with mid-size firms at 36.6% of construction arrivals, 2.8 times their city-wide share of 13.0%.

Hiring is also concentrated. The ten most active hirers took 36.4% of New York construction hires over three years, against 16.1% for the ten most active construction hirers across the practice. On the supply side the spread is wider: among moves where the size of the firm left is known, firms under 150 lawyers supplied 26.1% of New York construction movers, against 10.0% across the city.

For a firm of 1,000+ lawyers building a New York construction group, the rivals for the same candidates are most often mid-size firms, and the candidates often sit in smaller firms. The pitch that works is platform and client reach; matching an offer from a peer of the same size is rarely the contest. Only 49 firms hired construction lawyers in New York in 12 months, so a short list of competitors decides most outcomes.

Partner hiring did not track the total with any certainty. Lateral partner moves into New York construction held flat (-23.3%), at 23 against 30, a gap that counts this small can show by chance; the reading is flat. Of the 27 fewer moves in the settled window, 7 were partners, so most of the drop sits below partner level. Partners make up 34.7% of New York construction moves in 12 months, against 28.3% for the city and 32.0% for construction across the practice.

Moves are rarely a step in title: 11.1% of New York construction movers joined at a higher title, against 16.8% across the practice. Growing partners from within is also slower here. Construction lawyers in New York reached partnership after a median 11.0 years of practice, against 10.0 years for all New York lawyers, and 14.5% made it within 8 years against 20.3% city-wide. A firm short of a construction partner in New York will usually wait longer to promote one than to hire one, and the partner market has kept its volume while the junior ranks thinned.

Over three years, lawyers whose own focus is construction disputes made 44.3% of New York construction moves, against 10.7% for construction contracts lawyers. The practice leans the same way everywhere: across the practice, 79.4% of construction moves in 12 months were also recorded under litigation and disputes. A front-end construction lawyer who drafts and negotiates contracts is the scarcer profile in New York, and a search for one should start wider and run longer than a search for a disputes lawyer.

Sartori & Partners figures point to four practical steps. First, size the market honestly: New York firms made 72 construction lateral hires in 12 months, a small pool by the city's standards, and the settled count fell while the city grew. Second, recruit where the movers are: firms of 150-399 lawyers and firms under 150 lawyers, which supplied 29.9% and 26.1% of the movers whose former firm size is known, and lawyers already in New York, since only 11.1% of movers changed city. Third, treat partner searches as unchanged in difficulty, because partner moves held at 23 in the settled window against 30, a flat reading. Fourth, expect the thinnest supply below partner level, where most of the decline sits, and budget more direct approaches for associate and counsel roles.