Intellectual Property in London: 4.1% of Moves, Led by Brands

Sartori & Partners data show that the pool of intellectual property lawyers London firms hire from is small for a city of London's weight. Intellectual property accounts for 4.1% of lateral moves into London over 12 months, an index of 55 against the practice's share of the whole market. Seen from the other side, London carries 5.2% of the practice's lateral moves, while it carries 9.2% of moves across all practices. The lawyers who do move in London lean toward brands and copyright rather than patents, arrive mostly as associates, and rarely move at counsel level.

Across the whole market, intellectual property holds 7.4% of lateral moves, but only 4.1% of London's. Among the practices listed for London, banking and finance runs at an index of 178 and private equity at 144. Intellectual property sits at 55, close to litigation at 46 and employment at 42. London's lateral market is built around finance and transactional work; the practices that mainly serve operating businesses sit below their market weight.

The practice's own city list gives the same picture from the other direction. Measured as London's share of intellectual property moves against its share of all moves, the index is 56, against 292 for San Francisco and 235 for Boston. London recorded 54 intellectual property moves over 12 months, against 143 in New York.

The under-weight cuts both ways for a hiring firm. Fewer London firms compete for the same intellectual property lawyer than for a finance or private equity lawyer, but fewer candidates are in motion at any time. A search that would yield a long list in banking yields a short one here, and the shortlist should be built from lawyers who are not yet looking.

On settled 12-month windows, Sartori & Partners figures show London intellectual property moves held flat (-1.8%), at 56 and then 55. The practice across all cities held flat (+7.2%), from 987 to 1,058. London at all practices held flat (-2.5%), from 1,387 to 1,353.

Calendar years sit in a narrow band. London intellectual property moves numbered 50 in 2024 and 45 in 2025, and 2026 had reached 50 by October. Nothing in the series points to a wave of departures or a sudden shortage.

A steady count means a London intellectual property hire should be planned on the size of last year's market. No surge of candidates is coming, and the supply is not drying up either. Timelines from recent searches remain a fair guide to the next one.

Over 3 years, the Sartori & Partners lateral database records 155 intellectual property moves into London. Trademarks and brands is the largest speciality among them at 23.2%, with copyright close behind at 21.9%. Patent litigation follows at 18.7% and patent work in life sciences and chemistry at 14.8%.

The matters on record point the other way. Pharma and biotech clients appear in 49.1% of the 110 London intellectual property matters on record over 3 years, close to half of them, and disputes and investigations make up 36.4%. These counts include court and trademark-office records, so they measure matters on record, not revenue. The visible footprint of London intellectual property work is heavy in life sciences and disputes, while the lawyers who change firms are more often brand and copyright specialists.

Only Mishcon de Reya and Simmons & Simmons appear both on this list and among the most active London hirers further down. For a firm building a London patent bench, this is the thin seam: patent lawyers move less often than brand lawyers, and much of the patent work on record sits with firms that are not the busiest London recruiters. A London patent search should plan to approach lawyers who are settled, not wait for those already in motion.

Associates were 62.6% of London intellectual property arrivals over 3 years, against 49.9% across the practice and 62.3% for London at all practices. Partners were 31.0%, against 33.5% in the practice. The real gap is at counsel level: counsel were 4.5% of London arrivals, against 11.8% across the practice and 8.5% in London overall.

The London mix follows the city more than the practice, and its counsel gap is wider than the city's own. Step-up moves are also less common: 11.0% of London intellectual property movers joined at a higher title over 3 years, against 12.5% across the practice and 11.1% for London overall.

A firm that wants a senior non-partner intellectual property lawyer in London will find very few counsel moving. The workable routes are a senior associate ready for a counsel title, or a partner from a smaller firm who wants a larger platform. Associate hiring, by contrast, draws on the deepest part of the pool.

Over 3 years, 60.0% of London intellectual property movers joined firms of 1,000+ lawyers and 35.3% joined firms of 400-999 lawyers, against 46.8% and 27.6% across the practice. Where they came from is more mixed: 14.2% left firms of under 150 lawyers, against 11.1% across the practice and 8.9% for London at all practices.

Hiring is also concentrated. The top 10 hirers took 37.0% of individual London intellectual property hires over 3 years, against 12.5% for the practice and 21.4% for London overall.

The pool is local as well. Over 3 years, 64.5% of London intellectual property movers came from inside London, and 15.3% changed city, against 18.5% across the practice. Smaller London firms and boutiques are a real source of intellectual property talent, more so than in the city's other practices, and a firm outside the top 10 should expect to meet the same rivals on most searches.

First, size the search to the market. Intellectual property is 4.1% of London's lateral moves, and the count was 55 on the latest settled window, steady against the year before. A London search will return a shorter list than the city's overall size suggests, so start earlier and widen the net to lawyers who are not looking.

Second, decide which bench you are building. Brand and copyright lawyers, at 23.2% and 21.9% of movers over 3 years, are the more available hires. Patent litigators, at 18.7%, are fewer, while life sciences clients sit on 49.1% of the matters on record.

Third, plan around a missing counsel tier. With counsel at 4.5% of arrivals over 3 years, a senior non-partner hire usually means stepping an associate up on arrival or bringing in a partner. Fourth, recruit beyond the largest firms: 14.2% of movers came from firms of under 150 lawyers, though most joined firms of 1,000+ lawyers.