Practice by city · November 2026
Employment & Labor in Seattle: lateral monitor
Lawyers who changed firm in Employment & Labor in Seattle over the last 12 months, set against the practice and the city as a whole.
The last 12 months: November 2025 to October 2026
- 37
- Lateral moves, 12 monthsNovember 2025 to October 2026
- +13.9%
- Year on yearSettled 12-month windows
- 24.3%
- Partner share of moves
- 20
- Firms that hired
What the data show
Sartori & Partners data show 37 lateral moves in Employment & Labor in Seattle from November 2025 to October 2026, 2.4% of the practice's moves. On settled windows the count went from 36 to 41 (+13.9%), a change inside the noise of the two counts, so we read it as flat.
| Measure | Here | Employment & Labor | Seattle | Market |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Partner share of moves | 24.3% | 22.4% | 30.1% | 27.7% |
| Counsel share of moves | 21.6% | 15.2% | 14.1% | 12.7% |
| Associate share of moves | 54.1% | 61.6% | 55.1% | 58.5% |
| Moved up a level | 13.5% | 13.5% | 9.6% | 12.9% |
| Changed city (three years) | 13.8% | 21.5% | 22.2% | 21.6% |
| Hired by firms of 1,000+ lawyers | 62.9% | 46.9% | 65.6% | 53.6% |
| Year on year | flat (+13.9%) | rose (+6.9%) | flat (+18.0%) | 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 A dash is a value we do not publish.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 Employment & Labor practice as a whole, the widest gap is the share hired by firms of 1,000+ lawyers, which is higher here: 62.9% against 46.9%. Set against all moves in Seattle, the share who changed city over three years stands out most: 13.8% here against 22.2%, below it. Year on year it held flat while the Employment & Labor practice as a whole rose.
Over the three years to October 2026, 101 lawyers moved in Employment & Labor in Seattle, 25 of them partners (24.8%). They joined 33 different firms. 13.9% stepped up a level on the move and 13.8% changed city, against 12.3% and 21.6% across the market over the same three years. 60.9% came from firms with 1,000+ lawyers.
- Partner24.3%
- Counsel21.6%
- Associate54.1%
With partners at 24.3% of arrivals, the mix is in line with the market's 27.7%. 13.5% of movers stepped up a level when they changed firm, against 12.9% for the market.
- 1,000+ lawyers62.9%
- 400-999 lawyers37.1%
The 12-month firm table is below our naming threshold, so this part reads the three years to October 2026. 33 firms hired at least one lateral in Employment & Labor in Seattle in the window. The ten firms at the head of the hiring table took 65.9% of arrivals (12.2% market-wide), so hiring here is concentrated. Seyfarth Shaw ranks first by lateral arrivals, in the 11-20 band.
- 1,000+ lawyers60.9%
- 400-999 lawyers17.2%
- 150-399 lawyers12.5%
- under 150 lawyers9.4%
The practice accounts for 23.7% of all lateral moves in Seattle. Over the three years to October 2026, 74.3% of movers came from another firm in Seattle itself.
For a firm planning a hire in Employment & Labor in Seattle, 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 | Seyfarth Shaw | 11-20 |
| 2 | Ogletree Deakins | 6-10 |
| 3 | Littler Mendelson | 6-10 |
| 4 | Davis Wright Tremaine | 6-10 |
| 5 | Jackson Lewis | 6-10 |
| 6 | Buchalter | 3-5 |
| 7 | Fisher & Phillips | 3-5 |
| 8 | Ballard Spahr | 3-5 |
| 9 | Miller Nash | 3-5 |
| 10 | Wilson Elser Moskowitz Edelman & Dicker | 3-5 |
Specialities in Employment & Labor in Seattle
Over the three years to October 2026, Employment Litigation was involved in 74.3% of moves in Employment & Labor in Seattle, then Discrimination & Harassment with 57.4%.
Related monitors and reports
Up one level
Other practices in Seattle
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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