Practice monitor · November 2026
Health Care: lateral market monitor
Lawyers who changed firm in Health Care 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
- 419
- Lateral moves, 12 monthsNovember 2025 to October 2026
- +14.5%
- Year on yearSettled 12-month windows
- 36.3%
- Partner share of moves
- 205
- Firms that hired
What the data show
In the Sartori & Partners lateral record, 419 lawyers joined a new firm in Health Care from November 2025 to October 2026, 3.0% of all lateral moves we tracked. Year on year, on windows that end a month early, the count grew 14.5% (379 to 434). The market as a whole moved +9.0%, so this flow outpaced it.
At 36.3%, the partner share of arrivals sits above the market's 27.7%. On settled windows partner moves alone went from 150 to 160 (+6.7%), a change inside the noise of the two counts, so we read it as flat. A step up in title came with 13.6% of moves (market 12.9%).
Latest: 28 in Oct 26
Show the numbers
| Month | Value |
|---|---|
| Nov 24 | 22 |
| Jan 25 | 30 |
| Feb 25 | 28 |
| Mar 25 | 26 |
| Apr 25 | 47 |
| May 25 | 30 |
| Jun 25 | 29 |
| Jul 25 | 34 |
| Aug 25 | 50 |
| Sep 25 | 35 |
| Oct 25 | 43 |
| Nov 25 | 24 |
| Jan 26 | 37 |
| Feb 26 | 34 |
| Mar 26 | 37 |
| Apr 26 | 33 |
| May 26 | 44 |
| Jun 26 | 48 |
| Jul 26 | 44 |
| Aug 26 | 45 |
| Sep 26 | 30 |
| Oct 26 | 28 |
The newest months read low: start dates are confirmed with a delay.
205 firms hired at least one lateral in Health Care in the window. Ten firms account for 25.0% of arrivals, against 12.9% across the market: moderately concentrated. Bass, Berry & Sims ranks first by lateral arrivals, in the 11-20 band.
- Partner36.3%
- Counsel11.5%
- Associate50.1%
Washington, DC ranks first among destination cities with 12.6% of arrivals, followed by New York (7.6%). 17.3% of movers also changed city, against 20.5% market-wide.
In-house roles drew 44 lawyers in the last 6 months, 18.4 per 100 lateral moves (market 13.1).
A firm recruiting in Health Care 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 | Bass, Berry & Sims | 11-20 |
| 2 | Polsinelli | 11-20 |
| 3 | Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani | 11-20 |
| 4 | Holland & Knight | 11-20 |
| 5 | Crowell & Moring | 6-10 |
| 6 | Hall Render Killian Heath & Lyman | 6-10 |
| 7 | King & Spalding | 6-10 |
| 8 | Greenberg Traurig | 6-10 |
| 9 | Epstein Becker & Green | 6-10 |
| 10 | Barnes & Thornburg | 6-10 |
| Rank | Firm | Moves (band) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Polsinelli | 6-10 |
| 2 | King & Spalding | 6-10 |
| 3 | Epstein Becker & Green | 6-10 |
| 4 | Bass, Berry & Sims | 6-10 |
| 5 | Barnes & Thornburg | 3-5 |
| 6 | Greenberg Traurig | 3-5 |
| 7 | Holland & Knight | 3-5 |
| 8 | WilmerHale | 3-5 |
| 9 | Dentons | 3-5 |
| 10 | Cozen O'Connor | 3-5 |
Related monitors and reports
Health Care by city
- Washington, DC53 moves
- New York32 moves
- Chicago21 moves
- Los Angeles20 moves
Specialities in Health Care
Related monitors
Other practices
- Litigation & Disputes
- Corporate & M&A
- Banking & Finance
- Employment & Labor
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- Private Equity
- Intellectual Property
- Product Liability & Torts
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Overlapping practices
- Litigation & Disputes31.5% overlap
- Corporate & M&A21.2% overlap
- White Collar, Investigations & Criminal13.1% overlap
- Private Equity7.9% overlap
- Technology, Data & Privacy5.7% overlap
- Public Law & Government5.5% overlap
- Product Liability & Torts4.8% overlap
Hiring in this market
Reports
- Health Care Deals 2026: M&A Is 30.6% of the Matters on Record
Health care work is transactional as much as contentious: M&A is 30.6% of 258 recorded matters and healthcare providers sit in 71.7% of them. The matter count held flat (+2.1%) while lateral hiring into the practice rose 14.5%.
November 11, 2026 · November 2026 - Health Care Lateral Hiring in 2026: Growth Below the Partner Line
Health care laterals rose 14.5% on settled windows, faster than the market's 9.0%, yet partner moves stayed flat. The partner market that remains is concentrated: the top 10 hirers take 34.0% of partner moves, and Washington indexes at 225.
November 11, 2026 · November 2026 - Health Care Path to Partner 2026: Buying Is the Default
Health care associates make partner on the market's clock, a median of 10.0 years, and lateral partner hiring was flat. Neither explains why firms promote only 0.52 partners per lateral partner hire, against 0.79: buying is how the practice adds partners.
November 11, 2026 · November 2026 - Washington Health Care Hiring Rose 68.8%, Led by Partners
Health care lateral hiring in Washington rose 68.8%, against 14.5% across the practice and 12.4% across the city. Partners took 52.8% of the moves, and ten firms took 50.9% of the hires.
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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