Practice by city · November 2026
Intellectual Property in Atlanta: lateral monitor
Lawyers who changed firm in Intellectual Property in Atlanta over the last 12 months, set against the practice and the city as a whole.
The last 12 months: November 2025 to October 2026
- 24
- Lateral moves, 12 monthsNovember 2025 to October 2026
- 0.0%
- Year on yearSettled 12-month windows
- 33.3%
- Partner share of moves
- 67
- Lateral moves, three yearsThree years to October 2026
What the data show
From November 2025 to October 2026, Sartori & Partners recorded 24 lateral moves in Intellectual Property in Atlanta, 2.3% of the practice's moves. Year on year the count held level (24 to 24 on settled windows, 0.0%). It fell behind the market's own change of +9.0%.
| Measure | Here | Intellectual Property | Atlanta | Market |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Partner share of moves | 33.3% | 34.4% | 24.9% | 27.7% |
| Counsel share of moves (three years) | 7.5% | 11.8% | 13.9% | 12.1% |
| Associate share of moves | 37.5% | 49.7% | 57.4% | 58.5% |
| Moved up a level (three years) | 7.5% | 12.5% | 12.1% | 12.3% |
| Changed city (three years) | 16.0% | 18.5% | 16.4% | 21.6% |
| Hired by firms of 1,000+ lawyers | 26.1% | 48.6% | 41.4% | 53.6% |
| Year on year | flat (0.0%) | flat (+7.2%) | flat (-10.4%) | 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 A dash is a value we do not publish.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 Intellectual Property practice as a whole, the share hired by firms of 1,000+ lawyers stands out most: 26.1% here against 48.6%, below it. Against all moves in Atlanta, the widest gap is the associate share, which is lower here: 37.5% against 57.4%. Year on year it moved with the Intellectual Property practice as a whole: both flat.
Over the three years to October 2026, 67 lawyers moved in Intellectual Property in Atlanta, 25 of them partners (37.3%). They joined 34 different firms. 7.5% stepped up a level on the move and 16.0% changed city, against 12.3% and 21.6% across the market over the same three years. 62.3% came from firms with 1,000+ lawyers.
- Partner33.3%
- Associate37.5%
This is a partner market: 33.3% of movers were partners, against 27.7% market-wide.
- 1,000+ lawyers26.1%
- 400-999 lawyers26.1%
- 150-399 lawyers34.8%
The 12-month firm table is below our naming threshold, so this part reads the three years to October 2026. Lateral hires in Intellectual Property in Atlanta were spread across 34 firms. The ten firms at the head of the hiring table took 57.6% of arrivals (12.2% market-wide), so hiring here is concentrated. Bradley Arant Boult Cummings ranks first by lateral arrivals, in the 6-10 band.
- 1,000+ lawyers62.3%
- 150-399 lawyers11.3%
- under 150 lawyers18.9%
The practice accounts for 10.1% of all lateral moves in Atlanta. Over the three years to October 2026, 62.7% of movers came from another firm in Atlanta itself.
For a firm planning a hire in Intellectual Property in Atlanta, 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 | Bradley Arant Boult Cummings | 6-10 |
| 2 | Buchalter | 6-10 |
| 3 | Ballard Spahr | 3-5 |
| 4 | Smith Gambrell & Russell | 3-5 |
| 5 | Alston & Bird | 3-5 |
Deals in Intellectual Property in Atlanta
Sartori & Partners data count 331 dated deals in Intellectual Property in Atlanta in the 12 months to October 2026 and 885 over the three years to October 2026.
Disputes & investigations work is involved in 97.9% of them.
By client industry, Technology & Software comes first with 17.7%.
Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton ranks first among advising firms over the period, in the 251-400 band.
| Rank | Firm | Deals (band) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton | 251-400 |
| 2 | Greenberg Traurig | 151-250 |
| 3 | Finnegan Henderson Farabow Garrett & Dunner | 101-150 |
| 4 | Troutman Pepper Locke | 41-60 |
| 5 | Seyfarth Shaw | 41-60 |
| 6 | Alston & Bird | 21-40 |
| 7 | Bradley Arant Boult Cummings | 11-20 |
| 8 | Taft Stettinius & Hollister | 6-10 |
| 9 | Buchalter | 6-10 |
| 10 | Eversheds Sutherland | 6-10 |
Time to partner in Intellectual Property in Atlanta
32 lawyers were promoted to partner in Intellectual Property in Atlanta over five years, according to Sartori & Partners data.
The median time from first year of practice to partner is 10.0 years, with the middle half between 8.5 years and 11.5 years, against a market median of 10.0 years. 83.9% made partner within 12 years.
These figures rest on 31 promotions.
Specialities in Intellectual Property in Atlanta
Over the three years to October 2026, Patent Prosecution was involved in 38.8% of moves in Intellectual Property in Atlanta, then Trademarks & Brands with 32.8%.
Related monitors and reports
Up one level
Other practices in Atlanta
Intellectual Property 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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