Practice by city · November 2026
Corporate & M&A in Milan: lateral monitor
Lawyers who changed firm in Corporate & M&A in Milan over the last 12 months, set against the practice and the city as a whole.
The last 12 months: November 2025 to October 2026
- 32
- Lateral moves, 12 monthsNovember 2025 to October 2026
- -17.9%
- Year on yearSettled 12-month windows
- 25.0%
- Partner share of moves
- 108
- Lateral moves, three yearsThree years to October 2026
What the data show
From November 2025 to October 2026, Sartori & Partners recorded 32 lateral moves in Corporate & M&A in Milan, 1.1% of the practice's moves. On settled windows the count went from 39 to 32 (-17.9%), a change inside the noise of the two counts, so we read it as flat.
| Measure | Here | Corporate & M&A | Milan | Market |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Partner share of moves | 25.0% | 29.9% | 22.8% | 27.7% |
| Counsel share of moves | 15.6% | 11.3% | 15.8% | 12.7% |
| Associate share of moves | 59.4% | 57.7% | 61.4% | 58.5% |
| Moved up a level (three years) | 8.3% | 11.4% | 9.8% | 12.3% |
| Changed city (three years) | 8.9% | 22.5% | 11.9% | 21.6% |
| Hired by firms of 1,000+ lawyers | 83.9% | 62.6% | 83.0% | 53.6% |
| Year on year | flat (-17.9%) | rose (+15.8%) | fell (-24.5%) | 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 A dash is a value we do not publish.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 higher here: 83.9% against 62.6%. Against all moves in Milan, the widest gap is the share who changed city over three years, which is lower here: 8.9% against 11.9%. Year on year it held flat while the Corporate & M&A practice as a whole rose.
Over the three years to October 2026, 108 lawyers moved in Corporate & M&A in Milan, 31 of them partners (28.7%). They joined 31 different firms. 8.3% stepped up a level on the move and 8.9% changed city, against 12.3% and 21.6% across the market over the same three years. 69.2% came from firms with 1,000+ lawyers.
- Partner25.0%
- Counsel15.6%
- Associate59.4%
Partners account for 25.0% of movers, near the market's 27.7%.
- 1,000+ lawyers69.2%
- 400-999 lawyers15.4%
- under 150 lawyers10.3%
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 Milan were spread across 31 firms. Ten firms account for 66.7% of arrivals, against 12.2% across the market: concentrated. First on the hiring table is Ropes & Gray, with arrivals in the 6-10 band.
The practice accounts for 31.7% of all lateral moves in Milan. Over the three years to October 2026, 66.7% of movers came from another firm in Milan itself.
For a firm planning a hire in Corporate & M&A in Milan, 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 | Ropes & Gray | 6-10 |
| 2 | Hogan Lovells Cadwalader | 6-10 |
| 3 | McDermott Will & Schulte | 6-10 |
| 4 | Linklaters | 6-10 |
| 5 | DWF | 6-10 |
| 6 | Eversheds Sutherland | 3-5 |
| 7 | DLA Piper | 3-5 |
| 8 | White & Case | 3-5 |
| 9 | A&O Shearman | 3-5 |
| 10 | Ashurst Perkins Coie | 3-5 |
Deals in Corporate & M&A in Milan
Sartori & Partners data count 190 dated deals in Corporate & M&A in Milan in the 12 months to October 2026 and 439 over the three years to October 2026.
M&A work is involved in 81.5% of them and Private equity in 5.7%.
By client industry, Power & Renewables comes first with 11.6%.
Hogan Lovells Cadwalader ranks first among advising firms over the period, in the 41-60 band.
| Rank | Firm | Deals (band) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hogan Lovells Cadwalader | 41-60 |
| 2 | White & Case | 41-60 |
| 3 | Latham & Watkins | 21-40 |
| 4 | Osborne Clarke | 21-40 |
| 5 | DWF | 21-40 |
| 6 | Baker McKenzie | 21-40 |
| 7 | Clifford Chance | 21-40 |
| 8 | Watson Farley & Williams | 21-40 |
| 9 | Freshfields | 11-20 |
| 10 | Linklaters | 11-20 |
Time to partner in Corporate & M&A in Milan
21 lawyers were promoted to partner in Corporate & M&A in Milan over five years, according to Sartori & Partners data.
Specialities in Corporate & M&A in Milan
Over the three years to October 2026, Private M&A was involved in 46.3% of moves in Corporate & M&A in Milan.
Related monitors and reports
Other practices in Milan
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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