Practice by city · November 2026
Corporate & M&A in Atlanta: lateral monitor
Lawyers who changed firm in Corporate & M&A in Atlanta over the last 12 months, set against the practice and the city as a whole.
The last 12 months: November 2025 to October 2026
- 25
- Lateral moves, 12 monthsNovember 2025 to October 2026
- -48.0%
- Year on yearSettled 12-month windows
- 24.0%
- Partner share of moves
- 102
- Lateral moves, three yearsThree years to October 2026
What the data show
In the Sartori & Partners lateral record, 25 lawyers joined a new firm in Corporate & M&A in Atlanta from November 2025 to October 2026, 0.9% of the practice's moves. On settled windows the count went from 50 to 26, down 48.0% year on year. That trails the wider market, which moved +9.0%.
| Measure | Here | Corporate & M&A | Atlanta | Market |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Partner share of moves | 24.0% | 29.9% | 24.9% | 27.7% |
| Counsel share of moves | 24.0% | 11.3% | 15.2% | 12.7% |
| Associate share of moves | 52.0% | 57.7% | 57.4% | 58.5% |
| Moved up a level | 20.0% | 12.4% | 12.7% | 12.9% |
| Changed city (three years) | 19.5% | 22.5% | 16.4% | 21.6% |
| Hired by firms of 1,000+ lawyers | 44.0% | 62.6% | 41.4% | 53.6% |
| Year on year | fell (-48.0%) | rose (+15.8%) | flat (-10.4%) | rose (+9.0%) |
12 months to October 2026 unless the row says three years; a row switches to three years for every column when this page's 12-month value is not published. A dash is a value we do not publish. Flat means a change under 5% or inside the noise of the two counts.
Against the Corporate & M&A practice as a whole, the widest gap is the share hired by firms of 1,000+ lawyers, which is lower here: 44.0% against 62.6%. Set against all moves in Atlanta, the counsel share stands out most: 24.0% here against 15.2%, above it. Year on year it fell while the Corporate & M&A practice as a whole rose.
Over the three years to October 2026, 102 lawyers moved in Corporate & M&A in Atlanta, 30 of them partners (29.4%). They joined 32 different firms. 11.8% stepped up a level on the move and 19.5% changed city, against 12.3% and 21.6% across the market over the same three years. 64.8% came from firms with 1,000+ lawyers.
- Partner24.0%
- Counsel24.0%
- Associate52.0%
Partners account for 24.0% of movers, near the market's 27.7%. 20.0% of movers stepped up a level when they changed firm, against 12.9% for the market.
- 1,000+ lawyers44.0%
- 400-999 lawyers40.0%
The 12-month firm table is below our naming threshold, so this part reads the three years to October 2026. Lateral hires in Corporate & M&A in Atlanta were spread across 32 firms. Ten firms account for 62.5% of arrivals, against 12.2% across the market: concentrated. First on the hiring table is Gunderson Dettmer Stough Villeneuve Franklin & Hachigian, with arrivals in the 11-20 band.
- 1,000+ lawyers64.8%
- 400-999 lawyers10.2%
- 150-399 lawyers12.5%
- under 150 lawyers12.5%
The practice accounts for 10.5% of all lateral moves in Atlanta. Over the three years to October 2026, 60.8% of movers came from another firm in Atlanta itself.
For a firm planning a hire in Corporate & M&A in Atlanta, a quieter market means fewer competing processes but also fewer people already in motion: plan on direct approach.
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 | Gunderson Dettmer Stough Villeneuve Franklin & Hachigian | 11-20 |
| 2 | Burr & Forman | 6-10 |
| 3 | Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough | 6-10 |
| 4 | Smith Gambrell & Russell | 3-5 |
| 5 | Taft Stettinius & Hollister | 3-5 |
| 6 | Seyfarth Shaw | 3-5 |
| 7 | Eversheds Sutherland | 3-5 |
| 8 | King & Spalding | 3-5 |
| 9 | Alston & Bird | 3-5 |
Deals in Corporate & M&A in Atlanta
Sartori & Partners data count 277 dated deals in Corporate & M&A in Atlanta in the 12 months to October 2026 and 712 over the three years to October 2026.
M&A work is involved in 83.3% of them and Private equity in 6.5%.
By client industry, Technology & Software comes first with 12.8%.
King & Spalding ranks first among advising firms over the period, in the 61-100 band.
| Rank | Firm | Deals (band) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | King & Spalding | 61-100 |
| 2 | Troutman Pepper Locke | 61-100 |
| 3 | Alston & Bird | 61-100 |
| 4 | Jones Day | 61-100 |
| 5 | Greenberg Traurig | 41-60 |
| 6 | Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough | 21-40 |
| 7 | Eversheds Sutherland | 21-40 |
| 8 | Reed Smith | 21-40 |
| 9 | Baker & Hostetler | 21-40 |
| 10 | DLA Piper | 21-40 |
Time to partner in Corporate & M&A in Atlanta
59 lawyers were promoted to partner in Corporate & M&A in Atlanta over five years, according to Sartori & Partners data.
The median time from first year of practice to partner is 9.0 years, with the middle half between 9.0 years and 11.0 years, against a market median of 10.0 years. 86.8% made partner within 12 years.
These figures rest on 53 promotions.
Specialities in Corporate & M&A in Atlanta
Over the three years to October 2026, Private M&A was involved in 51.0% of moves in Corporate & M&A in Atlanta, then Venture Capital & Startups with 26.5%.
Related monitors and reports
Other practices in Atlanta
Corporate & M&A in other cities
Hiring in this market
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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