London M&A Is an Associate Market: 63.5% of Lateral Moves

Sartori & Partners data show that London corporate associate lateral moves set the shape of the city's M&A market. Over the last 12 months, associates were 63.5% of Corporate and M&A lateral moves into London, against 57.7% in M&A across the market and 60.4% for London at all practices. Counsel were only 8.2%. Few moves changed the lawyer's title: 9.2% were a step up, against 12.4% for the practice as a whole. And while M&A moves across the market rose 15.8%, the London count held flat (-3.7%). For a firm hiring in London corporate, the market is deep at associate level, thin in the middle and sparing with new titles.

In the Sartori & Partners lateral database, London M&A counted 193 associate moves over 12 months, out of 304 moves in all. The associate share sits 5.8 points above M&A across the market and 3.1 points above London at all practices. Partners were 27.0% of the London M&A moves, against 29.9% for the practice and 29.3% for the city. The extra associate weight comes out of both the partner and the counsel tiers.

Against the city, the gap is recent. Over 3 years, associates were 62.3% of London M&A moves and 62.3% of all London moves, close to level. In the last 12 months the city's partner share reached 29.3%, from 27.7% over 3 years, while London M&A kept its associate share. London as a whole tilted toward partner hiring; its M&A practice did not.

For a hiring firm, the London corporate pool is widest at associate level. A firm that needs a mid-level or senior associate is shopping in the busiest part of the market, so the risk is competing offers, not a shortage of names. Speed of decision matters more than reach.

Counsel made 25 of the London M&A lateral moves, 8.2% of the total. Across the practice the counsel share was 11.3%, and for London at all practices 9.1%. London M&A sits 3.1 points below its practice on this tier but only 0.9 points below its city. Most of the gap is a London trait, not an M&A one: many London firms use the counsel title less than US firms do, so fewer lawyers carry it into a move.

Looking outside London rarely fills the gap. Only 15.1% of London M&A movers changed city, against 21.2% across the practice and 15.2% for London at all practices. A firm that wants a London M&A counsel should not wait for one to come to market. The workable routes are a senior associate hired with a stated path to counsel, or an internal promotion planned a year ahead.

Only 9.2% of London M&A lateral moves were a step up, meaning the lawyer joined at a higher title than the one left. Across the practice the share was 12.4%, and for London at all practices 11.5%. Over 3 years the London M&A figure was 10.4%, so the low rate is a pattern, not a one-year dip. The associate weight does not explain it by itself: a partner cannot step up, so a market with fewer partners in motion has more candidates for a higher title, not fewer. London M&A associates simply tend to change firm at the title they already hold.

Promotion at home is the other route up, and in London M&A it comes earlier than in the city as a whole. Of the London M&A lawyers made partner over the last 5 years, 27.5% got there within 8 years of starting practice, against 18.7% for London at all practices. London M&A made 64 partners between June 2025 and May 2026. This measure is set against London rather than the practice as a whole, because countries count the first year of practice differently.

So a London M&A associate who moves is usually buying a different platform at the same title, and the hiring firm wins on the work, the team and the pay. A firm that can offer a credible step up, or show a short and clear road to partnership, holds an argument that few rival offers carry.

London M&A counted 324 lateral moves in the earlier settled 12-month window and 312 in the later one, a flat change of -3.7%. Over the same windows M&A across the market rose 15.8%, from 2,532 to 2,933, and London at all practices held flat (-2.5%). Partner moves in London M&A held flat (-9.7%), 93 and then 84, while partner moves across the practice rose 12.2%.

London remains a large M&A market. It holds 10.4% of the practice's lateral moves over 12 months, against 11.8% over 3 years, and its index against the market is 113. Inside the city, M&A is 23.3% of all lateral moves, an index of 113.

The growth in M&A hiring happened in other cities. In London the pool of movers is about the size it was a year ago, and it is mostly associates. A firm that sizes a London search on the practice-wide growth figure will overestimate the number of candidates it can reach.

Firms of 1,000+ lawyers took 79.9% of London M&A movers, against 62.6% for the practice as a whole and 68.5% for London at all practices. Firms of 400-999 lawyers took 13.5% in London M&A, against 19.6% across the practice and 24.2% in London. Sartori & Partners records show 91 firms hiring at least one London M&A lateral over 12 months.

The largest platforms are where London M&A associates land. A firm of 400-999 lawyers takes a smaller slice of London M&A movers than of London movers overall, so it competes for the same associates against much larger rivals and needs a sharper reason to move than salary alone.

First, plan London corporate hiring around associates. They are 63.5% of the moves, more than in the practice as a whole at 57.7% or in London at 60.4%. A firm with associate openings is fishing where the fish are, but against the most rival offers, so the offer should be ready before the first interview.

Second, treat counsel as a role to build. At 8.2% of London M&A moves, against 11.3% across the practice, counsel rarely come to market; hiring a senior associate with a defined route to that title is the realistic plan.

Third, use the title and the partnership timetable as levers. Only 9.2% of moves were a step up, against 12.4% across the practice and 11.5% in London. Sartori & Partners data show 27.5% of London M&A partners promoted over 5 years reached partner within 8 years, a pace a firm can point to when it competes for a mid-level associate.

Fourth, do not size a London search on the practice's growth. M&A across the market rose 15.8%, but London M&A held flat, 324 and then 312 on settled windows. The candidate pool is steady, associate-heavy and local.