Practice by city · November 2026
Corporate & M&A in Austin: lateral monitor
Lawyers who changed firm in Corporate & M&A in Austin over the last 12 months, set against the practice and the city as a whole.
The last 12 months: November 2025 to October 2026
- 23
- Lateral moves, 12 monthsNovember 2025 to October 2026
- 21.7%
- Partner share of moves
- 54
- Lateral moves, three yearsThree years to October 2026
What the data show
In the Sartori & Partners lateral record, 23 lawyers joined a new firm in Corporate & M&A in Austin from November 2025 to October 2026, 0.8% of the practice's moves.
| Measure | Here | Corporate & M&A | Austin | Market |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Partner share of moves | 21.7% | 29.9% | 27.4% | 27.7% |
| Counsel share of moves | - | 11.3% | 13.2% | 12.7% |
| Associate share of moves | 78.3% | 57.7% | 58.5% | 58.5% |
| Moved up a level | - | 12.4% | 12.3% | 12.9% |
| Changed city (three years) | 35.6% | 22.5% | 32.2% | 21.6% |
| Hired by firms of 1,000+ lawyers | 61.9% | 62.6% | 47.0% | 53.6% |
| Year on year | - | rose (+15.8%) | flat (+11.1%) | 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 A dash is a value we do not publish.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 associate share, which is higher here: 78.3% against 57.7%. Set against all moves in Austin, the associate share stands out most: 78.3% here against 58.5%, above it.
- Partner21.7%
- Associate78.3%
Over the three years to October 2026, 54 lawyers moved in Corporate & M&A in Austin. They joined 28 different firms. 77.8% came from firms with 1,000+ lawyers.
- 1,000+ lawyers61.9%
- 400-999 lawyers33.3%
The partner share is 21.7%, below the market's 27.7%, so most movers are associates and counsel.
- 1,000+ lawyers77.8%
- 400-999 lawyers17.8%
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 Austin were spread across 28 firms. Ten firms account for 59.3% of arrivals, against 12.2% across the market: concentrated. Kirkland & Ellis ranks first by lateral arrivals, in the 6-10 band.
There were 21 open roles in Corporate & M&A in Austin on law-firm career pages on November 11, 2026.
The practice accounts for 21.7% of all lateral moves in Austin. Over the three years to October 2026, 53.7% of movers came from another firm in Austin itself.
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 | Kirkland & Ellis | 6-10 |
| 2 | DLA Piper | 3-5 |
| 3 | Jackson Walker | 3-5 |
| 4 | Norton Rose Fulbright | 3-5 |
| 5 | Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman | 3-5 |
| 6 | Vinson & Elkins | 3-5 |
Deals in Corporate & M&A in Austin
Sartori & Partners data count 403 dated deals in Corporate & M&A in Austin in the 12 months to October 2026 and 989 over the three years to October 2026.
M&A work is involved in 75.1% of them and Venture & growth in 10.0%.
By client industry, Technology & Software comes first with 20.9%.
Kirkland & Ellis ranks first among advising firms over the period, in the 151-250 band.
| Rank | Firm | Deals (band) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kirkland & Ellis | 151-250 |
| 2 | Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati | 151-250 |
| 3 | Latham & Watkins | 101-150 |
| 4 | Vinson & Elkins | 61-100 |
| 5 | DLA Piper | 41-60 |
| 6 | Gunderson Dettmer Stough Villeneuve Franklin & Hachigian | 41-60 |
| 7 | Morrison & Foerster | 21-40 |
| 8 | Baker Botts | 21-40 |
| 9 | Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman | 21-40 |
| 10 | Haynes and Boone | 21-40 |
Specialities in Corporate & M&A in Austin
Over the three years to October 2026, Private M&A was involved in 48.1% of moves in Corporate & M&A in Austin, then Venture Capital & Startups with 37.0%.
Related monitors and reports
Other practices in Austin
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].
For law firm leaders
Planning a partner hire in this market?
We run retained partner searches using the same data behind this page.