Practice by city · November 2026
Corporate & M&A in Montreal: lateral monitor
Lawyers who changed firm in Corporate & M&A in Montreal over the last 12 months, set against the practice and the city as a whole.
The last 12 months: November 2025 to October 2026
- 33
- Lateral moves, 12 monthsNovember 2025 to October 2026
- 18.2%
- Partner share of moves
- 58
- Lateral moves, three yearsThree years to October 2026
What the data show
Sartori & Partners data show 33 lateral moves in Corporate & M&A in Montreal from November 2025 to October 2026, 1.1% of the practice's moves.
| Measure | Here | Corporate & M&A | Montreal | Market |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Partner share of moves | 18.2% | 29.9% | 17.6% | 27.7% |
| Counsel share of moves | - | 11.3% | 9.4% | 12.7% |
| Associate share of moves | 75.8% | 57.7% | 71.8% | 58.5% |
| Moved up a level | 15.2% | 12.4% | 11.8% | 12.9% |
| Changed city | - | 21.2% | - | 20.5% |
| Hired by firms of 1,000+ lawyers | 29.0% | 62.6% | 29.1% | 53.6% |
| Year on year | - | rose (+15.8%) | rose (+45.8%) | 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 A dash is a value we do not publish.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: 29.0% against 62.6%. Set against all moves in Montreal, the associate share stands out most: 75.8% here against 71.8%, above it.
- Partner18.2%
- Associate75.8%
Over the three years to October 2026, 58 lawyers moved in Corporate & M&A in Montreal. 34.0% came from firms with 1,000+ lawyers.
- 1,000+ lawyers29.0%
- 400-999 lawyers38.7%
- 150-399 lawyers32.3%
The partner share is 18.2%, below the market's 27.7%, so most movers are associates and counsel. 15.2% of movers stepped up a level when they changed firm, against 12.9% for the market.
- 1,000+ lawyers34.0%
- 400-999 lawyers38.0%
- 150-399 lawyers12.0%
- under 150 lawyers16.0%
The 12-month firm table is below our naming threshold, so this part reads the three years to October 2026. The ten firms at the head of the hiring table took 84.2% of arrivals (12.2% market-wide), so hiring here is concentrated. First on the hiring table is Fasken Martineau DuMoulin, with arrivals in the 6-10 band.
The practice accounts for 38.8% of all lateral moves in Montreal. Over the three years to October 2026, 65.5% of movers came from another firm in Montreal 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 | Fasken Martineau DuMoulin | 6-10 |
| 2 | BCF Business Law | 6-10 |
| 3 | Stikeman Elliott | 6-10 |
| 4 | McCarthy Tétrault | 3-5 |
| 5 | Norton Rose Fulbright | 3-5 |
| 6 | Dentons | 3-5 |
| 7 | Osler Hoskin & Harcourt | 3-5 |
Deals in Corporate & M&A in Montreal
Sartori & Partners data count 120 dated deals in Corporate & M&A in Montreal in the 12 months to October 2026 and 292 over the three years to October 2026.
M&A work is involved in 87.0% of them.
By client industry, Technology & Software comes first with 13.7%.
Fasken Martineau DuMoulin ranks first among advising firms over the period, in the 101-150 band.
| Rank | Firm | Deals (band) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fasken Martineau DuMoulin | 101-150 |
| 2 | Miller Thomson | 21-40 |
| 3 | Langlois Lawyers | 21-40 |
| 4 | Borden Ladner Gervais | 21-40 |
| 5 | Stikeman Elliott | 21-40 |
| 6 | Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg | 11-20 |
| 7 | Norton Rose Fulbright | 11-20 |
| 8 | Gowling WLG | 6-10 |
| 9 | McCarthy Tétrault | 3-5 |
| 10 | Dentons | 3-5 |
Time to partner in Corporate & M&A in Montreal
48 lawyers were promoted to partner in Corporate & M&A in Montreal over five years, according to Sartori & Partners data.
The median time from first year of practice to partner is 8.0 years, with the middle half between 8.0 years and 9.0 years, against a market median of 10.0 years. 100.0% made partner within 12 years.
These figures rest on 38 promotions.
Specialities in Corporate & M&A in Montreal
Over the three years to October 2026, Private M&A was involved in 50.0% of moves in Corporate & M&A in Montreal.
Related monitors and reports
Other practices in Montreal
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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