Practice by city · November 2026
Corporate & M&A in Philadelphia: lateral monitor
Lawyers who changed firm in Corporate & M&A in Philadelphia 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
- +61.9%
- Year on yearSettled 12-month windows
- 18.8%
- Partner share of moves
- 81
- Lateral moves, three yearsThree years to October 2026
What the data show
Sartori & Partners data show 32 lateral moves in Corporate & M&A in Philadelphia from November 2025 to October 2026, 1.1% of the practice's moves. Measured on settled 12-month windows, 34 moves against 21 the year before, the count rose 61.9%. That runs ahead of the wider market, which moved +9.0%.
| Measure | Here | Corporate & M&A | Philadelphia | Market |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Partner share of moves | 18.8% | 29.9% | 25.9% | 27.7% |
| Counsel share of moves | - | 11.3% | 10.7% | 12.7% |
| Associate share of moves | 81.2% | 57.7% | 61.5% | 58.5% |
| Moved up a level (three years) | 6.2% | 11.4% | 11.5% | 12.3% |
| Changed city | 34.6% | 21.2% | 22.1% | 20.5% |
| Hired by firms of 1,000+ lawyers | 61.3% | 62.6% | 39.6% | 53.6% |
| Year on year | rose (+61.9%) | rose (+15.8%) | rose (+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 A dash is a value we do not publish.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.
Set against the Corporate & M&A practice as a whole, the associate share stands out most: 81.2% here against 57.7%, above it. Set against all moves in Philadelphia, the share hired by firms of 1,000+ lawyers stands out most: 61.3% here against 39.6%, above it. Year on year it moved with the Corporate & M&A practice as a whole: both rose.
Over the three years to October 2026, 81 lawyers moved in Corporate & M&A in Philadelphia, 27 of them partners (33.3%). They joined 31 different firms. 6.2% stepped up a level on the move and 25.4% changed city, against 12.3% and 21.6% across the market over the same three years. 66.7% came from firms with 1,000+ lawyers.
- Partner18.8%
- Associate81.2%
At 18.8%, partners are a smaller slice of arrivals than in the market as a whole (27.7%).
- 1,000+ lawyers61.3%
- 150-399 lawyers16.1%
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 Philadelphia were spread across 31 firms. Ten firms account for 62.2% of arrivals, against 12.2% across the market: concentrated. Kirkland & Ellis ranks first by lateral arrivals, in the 6-10 band.
- 1,000+ lawyers66.7%
- 400-999 lawyers13.0%
- 150-399 lawyers8.7%
- under 150 lawyers11.6%
The practice accounts for 11.9% of all lateral moves in Philadelphia. Over the three years to October 2026, 58.0% of movers came from another firm in Philadelphia itself. A change of city came with 34.6% of moves (market 20.5%).
A rising, associate-led flow in Corporate & M&A in Philadelphia favors firms that build teams from below; a partner search here needs a longer runway.
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 | Stevens & Lee | 6-10 |
| 3 | Goodwin Procter | 6-10 |
| 4 | Holland & Knight | 3-5 |
| 5 | Dechert | 3-5 |
| 6 | Blank Rome | 3-5 |
| 7 | Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath | 3-5 |
| 8 | Flaster Greenberg | 3-5 |
| 9 | Hogan Lovells Cadwalader | 3-5 |
Deals in Corporate & M&A in Philadelphia
Sartori & Partners data count 326 dated deals in Corporate & M&A in Philadelphia in the 12 months to October 2026 and 745 over the three years to October 2026.
M&A work is involved in 85.8% of them and Private equity in 5.5%.
By client industry, Pharma & Biotech comes first with 13.8%.
Troutman Pepper Locke ranks first among advising firms over the period, in the 61-100 band.
| Rank | Firm | Deals (band) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Troutman Pepper Locke | 61-100 |
| 2 | Dechert | 61-100 |
| 3 | Goodwin Procter | 61-100 |
| 4 | Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath | 61-100 |
| 5 | Morgan, Lewis & Bockius | 41-60 |
| 6 | Blank Rome | 41-60 |
| 7 | Holland & Knight | 41-60 |
| 8 | DLA Piper | 21-40 |
| 9 | Hogan Lovells Cadwalader | 21-40 |
| 10 | Greenberg Traurig | 21-40 |
Time to partner in Corporate & M&A in Philadelphia
26 lawyers were promoted to partner in Corporate & M&A in Philadelphia 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. 96.0% made partner within 12 years.
These figures rest on 25 promotions.
Specialities in Corporate & M&A in Philadelphia
Over the three years to October 2026, Private M&A was involved in 51.9% of moves in Corporate & M&A in Philadelphia.
Related monitors and reports
Up one level
Other practices in Philadelphia
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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