Practice by city · November 2026
Intellectual Property in Boston: lateral monitor
Lawyers who changed firm in Intellectual Property in Boston over the last 12 months, set against the practice and the city as a whole.
The last 12 months: November 2025 to October 2026
- 64
- Lateral moves, 12 monthsNovember 2025 to October 2026
- +34.8%
- Year on yearSettled 12-month windows
- 37.5%
- Partner share of moves
- 30
- Firms that hired
What the data show
Sartori & Partners data show 64 lateral moves in Intellectual Property in Boston from November 2025 to October 2026, 6.1% of the practice's moves. On settled windows the count went from 46 to 62 (+34.8%), a change inside the noise of the two counts, so we read it as flat.
| Measure | Here | Intellectual Property | Boston | Market |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Partner share of moves | 37.5% | 34.4% | 26.6% | 27.7% |
| Counsel share of moves | 7.8% | 11.4% | 12.9% | 12.7% |
| Associate share of moves | 42.2% | 49.7% | 57.5% | 58.5% |
| Moved up a level (three years) | 8.6% | 12.5% | 10.8% | 12.3% |
| Changed city | 9.4% | 15.9% | 14.6% | 20.5% |
| Hired by firms of 1,000+ lawyers | 59.0% | 48.6% | 57.9% | 53.6% |
| Year on year | flat (+34.8%) | flat (+7.2%) | rose (+23.7%) | 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 A dash is a value we do not publish.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: 59.0% here against 48.6%, above it. Set against all moves in Boston, the associate share stands out most: 42.2% here against 57.5%, below it. Year on year it moved with the Intellectual Property practice as a whole: both flat.
Over the three years to October 2026, 151 lawyers moved in Intellectual Property in Boston, 49 of them partners (32.5%). They joined 53 different firms. 8.6% stepped up a level on the move and 14.6% changed city, against 12.3% and 21.6% across the market over the same three years. 69.0% came from firms with 1,000+ lawyers.
- Partner37.5%
- Counsel7.8%
- Associate42.2%
At 37.5%, the partner share of arrivals sits above the market's 27.7%.
- 1,000+ lawyers59.0%
- 400-999 lawyers11.5%
- 150-399 lawyers29.5%
Lateral hires in Intellectual Property in Boston were spread across 30 firms. The ten firms at the head of the hiring table took 61.5% of arrivals (12.9% market-wide), so hiring here is concentrated. First on the hiring table is Merchant & Gould, with arrivals in the 6-10 band.
- 1,000+ lawyers69.0%
- 400-999 lawyers11.5%
- 150-399 lawyers15.9%
The practice accounts for 17.5% of all lateral moves in Boston. Over the three years to October 2026, 69.5% of movers came from another firm in Boston itself. 9.4% of movers also changed city, against 20.5% market-wide.
18.8% of moves came as part of a group, against 1.5% market-wide.
There were 85 open roles in Intellectual Property in Boston on law-firm career pages on November 11, 2026.
For a firm planning a hire in Intellectual Property in Boston, 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 | Merchant & Gould | 6-10 |
| 2 | White & Case | 3-5 |
| 3 | Morrison & Foerster | 3-5 |
| 4 | Morgan, Lewis & Bockius | 3-5 |
| Rank | Firm | Moves (band) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Merchant & Gould | 6-10 |
Deals in Intellectual Property in Boston
Sartori & Partners data count 231 dated deals in Intellectual Property in Boston in the 12 months to October 2026 and 605 over the three years to October 2026.
Disputes & investigations work is involved in 68.6% of them and Other in 12.6%.
By client industry, Pharma & Biotech comes first with 34.9%.
Wolf, Greenfield & Sacks ranks first among advising firms over the period, in the 61-100 band.
| Rank | Firm | Deals (band) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wolf, Greenfield & Sacks | 61-100 |
| 2 | Ropes & Gray | 41-60 |
| 3 | Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati | 41-60 |
| 4 | Cooley | 21-40 |
| 5 | McCarter & English | 21-40 |
| 6 | Goodwin Procter | 21-40 |
| 7 | Day Pitney | 21-40 |
| 8 | Foley Hoag | 21-40 |
| 9 | Finnegan Henderson Farabow Garrett & Dunner | 21-40 |
| 10 | Nutter McClennen & Fish | 21-40 |
Time to partner in Intellectual Property in Boston
56 lawyers were promoted to partner in Intellectual Property in Boston over five years, according to Sartori & Partners data.
The median time from first year of practice to partner is 9.0 years, with the middle half between 7.0 years and 11.0 years, against a market median of 10.0 years. 84.6% made partner within 12 years.
These figures rest on 52 promotions.
Specialities in Intellectual Property in Boston
Over the three years to October 2026, Patent Prosecution was involved in 37.1% of moves in Intellectual Property in Boston, then Patent: Life Sciences & Chemistry with 31.1%.
Related monitors and reports
Up one level
Other practices in Boston
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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