Corporate & M&A: lateral market monitor

Reports

• Boston M&A Lateral Hiring Runs Through Firms of 1,000+ Lawyers

  Boston corporate and M&A laterals join the largest firms far more often than M&A laterals elsewhere or Boston laterals in general. The pattern holds over 3 years, and the deal work behind it leans on biotech, software and venture clients.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Chicago M&A Lateral Hiring Rose 49.4% While the City Held Flat

  Corporate and M&A hiring in Chicago rose 49.4% on the year, ahead of the practice as a whole and of a city where total hiring held flat. Partner moves into Chicago M&A rose 61.9%, from 21 to 34.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Corporate M&A Deals in 2026: 74.6% M&A, Tech the Largest Client

  M&A is 74.6% of corporate deal work and technology is the largest client sector at 14.0%, 2.1 times its share of all deals. Corporate deals rose 9.5% while corporate lateral hiring rose 15.8%: firms are hiring ahead of the work.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Corporate M&A Lateral Hiring Rose 15.8%, Faster Than the Market

  Corporate and M&A lateral hiring rose 15.8% against 9.0% for the whole market, and partner hiring kept pace at 12.2%. The practice also sends more of its lawyers in-house than litigation does.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Corporate M&A Path to Partner: Fast Track, Thin Pipeline

  Corporate and M&A promotes faster than the market, with a median of 9.0 years to partner against 10.0 years, yet makes only 0.75 partners for each lateral partner it hires. Since May 2026 its moves to companies have equaled 20.1% of its lateral moves, drawn from the bench those promotions need.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Dallas M&A Laterals Skew to Partners Who Arrive Already Made

  Dallas takes an ordinary share of corporate and M&A lateral moves but an outsized share of the M&A partners who move. Those partners mostly held the title before they changed firms: few Dallas M&A laterals stepped up on the way in.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Houston M&A Is Energy M&A: Oil and Gas on 28.5% of Deals

  Oil and gas clients sit on 28.5% of Houston M&A deals over 3 years, 9.5 times their share of the practice's deals over 12 months. Houston M&A lateral hiring rose 51.7%, in step with the city.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• London M&A Is an Associate Market: 63.5% of Lateral Moves

  London Corporate and M&A hiring runs on associates: 63.5% of lateral moves, against 57.7% for the practice as a whole and 60.4% for London. Counsel are only 8.2% of moves, and just 9.2% brought a step up in title.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Los Angeles M&A Partner Track: Faster Than the City Around It

  Los Angeles M&A lawyers reach partner sooner than the city's lawyers overall: 31.8% made it within 8 years, against 18.3% across Los Angeles and 29.5% across the M&A practice. The city's slow partner track is not an M&A problem.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• New York M&A Lateral Hiring: Ten Firms Take 35.5% of Moves

  A short list of large firms does most of the lateral buying in New York M&A. The ten most active hirers took 35.5% of moves, against 21.6% for the practice as a whole and 21.5% for New York, and firms of 1,000+ lawyers took 73.7%.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Paris M&A Hiring Fell 29.7% as the Practice Rose 15.8%

  Corporate and M&A lateral hiring in Paris dropped to 71 moves from 101 while the practice grew market-wide. The deal work did not go away: Paris M&A lawyers were on 652 deals in 12 months.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• San Francisco M&A Hiring: Venture Deals Are 24.3% of the Work

  San Francisco M&A lawyers do venture work at a rate New York does not approach: venture and growth deals are 24.3% of their deals over 3 years, against 7.5% in New York M&A, and technology clients sit on 31.3% of them against 15.3%.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Washington M&A Partner Hires Stayed at 31 While the City's Rose

  Partner hiring in Washington corporate and M&A stood still at 31 lateral partners against 31 a year earlier, while partner hiring across Washington rose 18.2% and across M&A rose 12.2%. Most of the city's partner demand sits in litigation, investigations and government work.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026