Practice by city · November 2026
Corporate & M&A in Dallas: lateral monitor
Lawyers who changed firm in Corporate & M&A in Dallas over the last 12 months, set against the practice and the city as a whole.
The last 12 months: November 2025 to October 2026
- 73
- Lateral moves, 12 monthsNovember 2025 to October 2026
- +28.3%
- Year on yearSettled 12-month windows
- 42.5%
- Partner share of moves
- 39
- Firms that hired
What the data show
Sartori & Partners data show 73 lateral moves in Corporate & M&A in Dallas from November 2025 to October 2026, 2.5% of the practice's moves. On settled windows the count went from 60 to 77 (+28.3%), a change inside the noise of the two counts, so we read it as flat.
| Measure | Here | Corporate & M&A | Dallas | Market |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Partner share of moves | 42.5% | 29.9% | 32.2% | 27.7% |
| Counsel share of moves (three years) | 6.3% | 10.2% | 12.1% | 12.1% |
| Associate share of moves | 53.4% | 57.7% | 54.2% | 58.5% |
| Moved up a level | 8.2% | 12.4% | 11.3% | 12.9% |
| Changed city | 14.5% | 21.2% | 14.0% | 20.5% |
| Hired by firms of 1,000+ lawyers | 53.5% | 62.6% | 46.5% | 53.6% |
| Year on year | flat (+28.3%) | rose (+15.8%) | rose (+28.2%) | 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 A dash is a value we do not publish.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 partner share, which is higher here: 42.5% against 29.9%. Against all moves in Dallas, the widest gap is the partner share, which is higher here: 42.5% against 32.2%. Year on year it held flat while the Corporate & M&A practice as a whole rose.
Over the three years to October 2026, 175 lawyers moved in Corporate & M&A in Dallas, 73 of them partners (41.7%). They joined 64 different firms. 10.9% stepped up a level on the move and 19.1% changed city, against 12.3% and 21.6% across the market over the same three years. 54.4% came from firms with 1,000+ lawyers.
- Partner42.5%
- Associate53.4%
This is a partner market: 42.5% of movers were partners, against 27.7% market-wide. On settled windows partner moves alone went from 25 to 30 (+20.0%), a change inside the noise of the two counts, so we read it as flat. 8.2% of movers stepped up a level when they changed firm, against 12.9% for the market.
- 1,000+ lawyers53.5%
- 400-999 lawyers21.1%
- 150-399 lawyers12.7%
- under 150 lawyers12.7%
Lateral hires in Corporate & M&A in Dallas were spread across 39 firms. The ten firms at the head of the hiring table took 46.5% of arrivals (12.9% market-wide), so hiring here is concentrated. Norton Rose Fulbright ranks first by lateral arrivals, in the 6-10 band.
- 1,000+ lawyers54.4%
- 400-999 lawyers32.5%
- 150-399 lawyers6.2%
- under 150 lawyers6.9%
The practice accounts for 21.2% of all lateral moves in Dallas. Over the three years to October 2026, 72.6% of movers came from another firm in Dallas itself. 14.5% of movers also changed city, against 20.5% market-wide.
For a firm planning a hire in Corporate & M&A in Dallas, a flat market means candidates are not being pulled by a wave: the case for a move has to come from the platform.
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 | Norton Rose Fulbright | 6-10 |
| 2 | Willkie Farr & Gallagher | 3-5 |
| 3 | Dechert | 3-5 |
| 4 | Munsch Hardt, Kopf & Harr | 3-5 |
| 5 | Massumi & Consoli | 3-5 |
| 6 | Vinson & Elkins | 3-5 |
| 7 | Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher | 3-5 |
| 8 | Winston Taylor | 3-5 |
| Rank | Firm | Moves (band) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Willkie Farr & Gallagher | 6-10 |
| 2 | Munsch Hardt, Kopf & Harr | 3-5 |
| 3 | Bradley Arant Boult Cummings | 3-5 |
| 4 | Holland & Knight | 3-5 |
| 5 | Massumi & Consoli | 3-5 |
| 6 | Jackson Walker | 3-5 |
Deals in Corporate & M&A in Dallas
Sartori & Partners data count 600 dated deals in Corporate & M&A in Dallas in the 12 months to October 2026 and 1,529 over the three years to October 2026.
M&A work is involved in 79.1% of them and Private equity in 9.6%.
By client industry, Oil & Gas comes first with 20.7%.
Kirkland & Ellis ranks first among advising firms over the period, in the 251-400 band.
| Rank | Firm | Deals (band) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kirkland & Ellis | 251-400 |
| 2 | Vinson & Elkins | 101-150 |
| 3 | Sidley Austin | 61-100 |
| 4 | Haynes and Boone | 61-100 |
| 5 | Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher | 61-100 |
| 6 | Baker Botts | 61-100 |
| 7 | Holland & Knight | 61-100 |
| 8 | Hunton Andrews Kurth | 41-60 |
| 9 | Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld | 41-60 |
| 10 | O'Melveny & Myers | 41-60 |
Time to partner in Corporate & M&A in Dallas
55 lawyers were promoted to partner in Corporate & M&A in Dallas 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 10.0 years, against a market median of 10.0 years. 84.6% made partner within 12 years.
These figures rest on 52 promotions.
Specialities in Corporate & M&A in Dallas
Over the three years to October 2026, Private M&A was involved in 46.3% of moves in Corporate & M&A in Dallas, then Joint Ventures with 19.4%.
Related monitors and reports
Other practices in Dallas
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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