Practice monitor · November 2026
Funds & Investment Management: lateral market monitor
Lawyers who changed firm in Funds & Investment Management over the last 12 months: how many, at what level, where they went and which firms hired them.
The last 12 months: November 2025 to October 2026
- 594
- Lateral moves, 12 monthsNovember 2025 to October 2026
- +23.7%
- Year on yearSettled 12-month windows
- 36.7%
- Partner share of moves
- 159
- Firms that hired
What the data show
Sartori & Partners data show 594 lateral moves in Funds & Investment Management from November 2025 to October 2026, 4.2% of all lateral moves we tracked. Year on year, on windows that end a month early, the count grew 23.7% (507 to 627). The market as a whole moved +9.0%, so this flow outpaced it.
At 36.7%, the partner share of arrivals sits above the market's 27.7%. On settled windows partner moves alone went from 165 to 214, up 29.7% year on year. A step up in title came with 11.4% of moves (market 12.9%).
Latest: 43 in Oct 26
Show the numbers
| Month | Value |
|---|---|
| Nov 24 | 33 |
| Jan 25 | 55 |
| Feb 25 | 38 |
| Mar 25 | 49 |
| Apr 25 | 34 |
| May 25 | 35 |
| Jun 25 | 51 |
| Jul 25 | 48 |
| Aug 25 | 33 |
| Sep 25 | 66 |
| Oct 25 | 76 |
| Nov 25 | 40 |
| Dec 25 | 26 |
| Jan 26 | 79 |
| Feb 26 | 65 |
| Mar 26 | 56 |
| Apr 26 | 56 |
| May 26 | 36 |
| Jun 26 | 50 |
| Jul 26 | 53 |
| Aug 26 | 23 |
| Sep 26 | 67 |
| Oct 26 | 43 |
The newest months read low: start dates are confirmed with a delay.
Lateral hires in Funds & Investment Management were spread across 159 firms. The ten firms at the head of the hiring table took 34.0% of arrivals (12.9% market-wide), so hiring here is concentrated. First on the hiring table is Kirkland & Ellis, with arrivals in the 21-40 band.
- Partner36.7%
- Counsel11.1%
- Associate51.7%
By city, New York comes first (27.1% of arrivals), then London (15.2%). A change of city came with 20.4% of moves (market 20.5%).
Over the last 6 months, 34 lawyers left for an in-house role: 12.5 for every 100 lateral moves, against 13.1 market-wide.
A firm recruiting in Funds & Investment Management is buying into a rising, partner-heavy flow, so the strongest candidates will hear from more than one firm.
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 | 21-40 |
| 2 | Proskauer Rose | 21-40 |
| 3 | Simpson Thacher & Bartlett | 21-40 |
| 4 | Ropes & Gray | 21-40 |
| 5 | Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher | 11-20 |
| 6 | DLA Piper | 11-20 |
| 7 | Paul Hastings | 11-20 |
| 8 | Sidley Austin | 11-20 |
| 9 | Weil Gotshal & Manges | 11-20 |
| 10 | White & Case | 11-20 |
| Rank | Firm | Moves (band) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Paul Hastings | 6-10 |
| 2 | DLA Piper | 6-10 |
| 3 | Sidley Austin | 6-10 |
| 4 | Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher | 6-10 |
| 5 | Weil Gotshal & Manges | 6-10 |
| 6 | Simmons & Simmons | 6-10 |
| 7 | Proskauer Rose | 6-10 |
| 8 | White & Case | 6-10 |
| 9 | Willkie Farr & Gallagher | 6-10 |
| 10 | Greenberg Traurig | 3-5 |
Related monitors and reports
Funds & Investment Management by city
- New York161 moves
- London90 moves
- Washington, DC31 moves
- Paris30 moves
- Boston29 moves
- Chicago23 moves
- Luxembourg20 moves
Specialities in Funds & Investment Management
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Overlapping practices
- Corporate & M&A31.3% overlap
- Private Equity26.6% overlap
- Banking & Finance16.0% overlap
- Tax12.0% overlap
- Real Estate6.7% overlap
- Financial Services Regulatory5.1% overlap
- Capital Markets4.5% overlap
Hiring in this market
Reports
- Funds Deals 2026: Work Flat, Lateral Hiring Up 23.7%
Funds deal flow held flat (+2.8%) on settled windows while lateral hiring into the practice rose 23.7% and partner hiring rose 29.7%. The deals are large, at a median disclosed $1,100 million, and fund formation is 39.1% of them.
November 11, 2026 · November 2026 - Funds Lateral Hiring in 2026: The Moves Follow the Fund Domiciles
Funds lateral moves over-index where funds are domiciled: Luxembourg at 1,065 against the market, Paris at 276, Boston at 189. Firms of 1,000+ lawyers take 75.8% of the hires, against 53.6% market-wide.
November 11, 2026 · November 2026 - Funds Partner Promotions: A Quick Track That Still Buys Partners
Funds and investment management lawyers clear the partnership vote sooner than the market: 79.4% within 12 years against 75.4%. Yet firms promoted only 0.58 funds partners for each lateral partner they hired, against 0.79 market-wide, and lateral partner moves in the practice rose 29.7%.
November 11, 2026 · November 2026 - London Funds Lateral Market 2026: Top 10 Hirers Take 56.7%
In London funds and investment management, a short list of firms does most of the lateral hiring: the top 10 took 56.7% of moves, against 34.0% for the practice as a whole and 22.8% for London. Associates make up 62.2% of the market.
November 11, 2026 · November 2026 - New York Funds Laterals: 7.9% Changed City, Against 20.4%
Funds lawyers who joined New York firms changed city far less often than funds lawyers across the practice, and less often than New York's own lateral market. The cell still grew faster than both: the bench is home-grown, and it is getting busier.
November 11, 2026 · November 2026
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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