Practice by city · November 2026
Employment & Labor in San Diego: lateral monitor
Lawyers who changed firm in Employment & Labor in San Diego over the last 12 months, set against the practice and the city as a whole.
The last 12 months: November 2025 to October 2026
- 41
- Lateral moves, 12 monthsNovember 2025 to October 2026
- +30.3%
- Year on yearSettled 12-month windows
- 22.0%
- Partner share of moves
- 24
- Firms that hired
What the data show
In the Sartori & Partners lateral record, 41 lawyers joined a new firm in Employment & Labor in San Diego from November 2025 to October 2026, 2.7% of the practice's moves. On settled windows the count went from 33 to 43 (+30.3%), a change inside the noise of the two counts, so we read it as flat.
| Measure | Here | Employment & Labor | San Diego | Market |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Partner share of moves | 22.0% | 22.4% | 27.8% | 27.7% |
| Counsel share of moves (three years) | 13.5% | 13.8% | 14.9% | 12.1% |
| Associate share of moves | 68.3% | 61.6% | 57.1% | 58.5% |
| Moved up a level (three years) | 10.8% | 12.4% | 14.9% | 12.3% |
| Changed city | 32.0% | 20.6% | 27.5% | 20.5% |
| Hired by firms of 1,000+ lawyers | 43.6% | 46.9% | 46.3% | 53.6% |
| Year on year | flat (+30.3%) | rose (+6.9%) | flat (+8.5%) | 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 A dash is a value we do not publish.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 Employment & Labor practice as a whole, the share who changed city stands out most: 32.0% here against 20.6%, above it. Set against all moves in San Diego, the associate share stands out most: 68.3% here against 57.1%, above it. Year on year it held flat while the Employment & Labor practice as a whole rose.
Over the three years to October 2026, 111 lawyers moved in Employment & Labor in San Diego, 25 of them partners (22.5%). They joined 37 different firms. 10.8% stepped up a level on the move and 26.5% changed city, against 12.3% and 21.6% across the market over the same three years. 47.6% came from firms with 1,000+ lawyers.
- Partner22.0%
- Associate68.3%
The partner share is 22.0%, below the market's 27.7%, so most movers are associates and counsel.
- 1,000+ lawyers43.6%
- 400-999 lawyers33.3%
- 150-399 lawyers20.5%
The 12-month firm table is below our naming threshold, so this part reads the three years to October 2026. 37 firms hired at least one lateral in Employment & Labor in San Diego in the window. The ten firms at the head of the hiring table took 63.0% of arrivals (12.2% market-wide), so hiring here is concentrated. Constangy Brooks Smith & Prophete ranks first by lateral arrivals, in the 6-10 band.
- 1,000+ lawyers47.6%
- 400-999 lawyers33.3%
- 150-399 lawyers15.9%
The practice accounts for 32.5% of all lateral moves in San Diego. Over the three years to October 2026, 55.0% of movers came from another firm in San Diego itself. A change of city came with 32.0% of moves (market 20.5%).
For a firm planning a hire in Employment & Labor in San Diego, 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 | Constangy Brooks Smith & Prophete | 6-10 |
| 2 | Jackson Lewis | 6-10 |
| 3 | Littler Mendelson | 6-10 |
| 4 | Ogletree Deakins | 6-10 |
| 5 | Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani | 6-10 |
| 6 | Fisher & Phillips | 6-10 |
| 7 | Hahn Loeser & Parks | 6-10 |
| 8 | Quarles & Brady | 3-5 |
| 9 | Atkinson, Andelson, Loya, Ruud & Romo | 3-5 |
| 10 | Greenberg Traurig | 3-5 |
Time to partner in Employment & Labor in San Diego
27 lawyers were promoted to partner in Employment & Labor in San Diego over five years, according to Sartori & Partners data.
The median time from first year of practice to partner is 12.0 years, with the middle half between 10.0 years and 15.0 years, against a market median of 10.0 years. 59.3% made partner within 12 years.
These figures rest on 27 promotions.
Specialities in Employment & Labor in San Diego
Over the three years to October 2026, Employment Litigation was involved in 85.6% of moves in Employment & Labor in San Diego, then Wage & Hour with 67.6%.
Related monitors and reports
Up one level
Other practices in San Diego
Employment & Labor 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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