Litigation & Disputes: lateral market monitor

Reports

• Atlanta Litigation Laterals 2026: A Local Market, Smaller Buyers

  Atlanta litigation is hired from inside Atlanta: 8.8% of moves came with a change of city, against 19.6% for litigation across the practice and 17.2% for Atlanta as a whole. The buyers are smaller too: firms of 1,000+ lawyers took 30.2% of the moves, against 43.3% across litigation.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Boston Litigation: 46 Open Roles, More Than Houston or Seattle

  Boston firm career pages listed 46 open litigation roles on the data date, against 29 in Houston and 31 in Seattle. Completed hiring held flat, the practice weighs less in the city than in the market, and firms of 150-399 lawyers buy an outsized share.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Chicago Litigation Partner Moves Fell While the Market Held Flat

  Lateral partner moves in Chicago litigation fell from 84 to 63 while the city's litigation moves at every level held flat. Promotion is the other way in: 70 Chicago litigators made partner from June 2025 to May 2026, a separate window from the lateral figures.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Dallas Litigation Hires in Teams as Partner Moves Rose 90.3%

  Dallas litigation hires in teams: 9.0% of its lateral moves were part of a group, against 2.0% for litigation across the practice and 5.5% for Dallas as a whole. Partner moves rose 90.3% while litigation partners across the practice held flat (+0.9%).

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Denver Litigators Make Partner Later: 68.0% Within 12 Years

  Litigators promoted to partner in Denver took a median 11.0 years, against 10.0 years for the city's partners, and the lateral partner hiring that could close the gap held flat at 26 against 32.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Houston Litigation Hiring 2026: Small Firms Supply, Midsize Firms Gain

  Over three years, 25.5% of Houston litigation laterals with a known former firm came from firms under 150 lawyers, and only 11.4% joined one. Firms of 400-999 lawyers took 29.0% of the hires after supplying 14.4%.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• In Philadelphia Litigation, a Lateral Move Is Often a Step Up

  Philadelphia litigators who change firms join at a higher title more often than litigators across the practice, 17.3% against 13.4%, and more often than the city's lawyers in general. The buyers fit the pattern: fewer firms of 1,000+ lawyers, more midsize and small firms with room to offer the next rung.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Litigation Laterals in 2026: Midsize Firms Take a Bigger Share

  Litigation laterals land below the largest firms: firms of 1,000+ lawyers take 43.3% of moves against 53.6% market-wide, and with 928 hiring firms the top 10 take only 12.0%.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Litigation Law Firms in Paris: An Associate-Heavy Lateral Market

  Paris litigation hires associates first: 73.2% of its lateral moves, against 57.7% across the practice. Volume fell 32.2% while all Paris practices fell 20.5%, and firms of 1,000+ lawyers took 76.4% of the hires.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Litigation Matters in 2026: No Client Industry Tops 5.7%

  Recorded litigation matters are scattered across hundreds of clients and dozens of industries: banks, the largest client group, appear in only 5.7%. Matters rose 9.3% on settled windows, in step with litigation hiring, which rose 7.5%.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Litigation Path to Partner in 2026: Same Median, Longer Tail

  Litigation is the market's largest partner class, at 41.3% of promotions, and it promotes at the market's own make-or-buy balance. The difference is the slow end: the slowest quarter of litigation partners needs 13.0 years or more, against 12.0 years.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Los Angeles Lateral Hiring Runs on Litigation and Class Actions

  Litigation is involved in 59.4% of Los Angeles lateral moves, an index of 149 against the market, and class actions are a focus for 27.9% of the litigators who moved, against 12.3% in New York.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Making Partner in London Litigation: 12.0 years Against 11.0 years

  London promotes its litigators later than its other lawyers: 10.7% reach partner within 8 years, against 18.7% across the city's practices. Litigation is also a small part of London lateral hiring, with an index of 47 against the market.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Miami Litigation Partner Hiring Runs Through a Short List of Firms

  Sartori & Partners data show 47 litigation partners joined Miami firms laterally in 12 months, and most of them went to a handful of buyers. Partner hiring here is tighter than across the practice and tighter than in Miami as a whole, while more of the movers come from other cities than in litigation elsewhere.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Minneapolis Litigation Hiring: Counsel Take 23.3% of Moves

  Minneapolis litigation hires counsel at 1.6 times the practice rate: 23.3% of lateral moves against 14.4%. Volume rose 76.5% on the settled 12-month windows, while litigation across the practice rose 7.5%.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Nashville Litigation: Few Firms Hire, Small Firms Supply the Laterals

  Nashville litigation hiring sits with very few buyers: 22 firms hired 55 lateral lawyers, and the ten most active took 78.2% of the moves against 12.0% across the practice. The talent comes from a wider base, with small firms an unusually large source.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• New York Litigation Hires Like Litigation, Not Like New York

  New York litigators move on the pattern of litigation everywhere, not the city's big-firm one: firms of 1,000+ lawyers take 43.8% of them against 62.6% for New York as a whole, and smaller firms pick up the difference.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• San Diego Litigation Hiring Leans on Class Action Lawyers

  Class actions are the focus of 25.6% of San Diego litigation laterals over three years, level with commercial litigation at 26.9%, and San Diego's index on class action hiring, 459, is the highest of any city with published figures. 23.2% of the city's litigation moves changed city, with Los Angeles the largest outside source.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• San Francisco Litigation Hiring Held Flat as the City Rose 30.1%

  Lateral moves into San Francisco litigation groups held flat on the year, while the city's lateral market rose 30.1% and litigation across the practice rose 7.5%. The partner hiring that did happen sat with few firms.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Seattle Litigation Hiring Rose 50.0%, Far Faster Than the Practice

  Seattle litigation hiring rose 50.0% in a year, while litigation across the practice rose 7.5% and Seattle as a whole held flat (+18.0%). Firms of 1,000+ lawyers absorbed 67.3% of the moves, against 43.3% across litigation.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Tampa Litigation Hiring 2026: Midsize Firms Take the Laterals

  Litigation in Tampa is hired by firms of 400-999 lawyers and 150-399 lawyers, which took 63.2% of the city's litigation laterals over three years. The largest firms, which take 43.3% of litigation moves overall, take 13.2% here.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Washington Litigation Hires Partners Like Washington, Not Litigation

  Washington litigators move on the city's level mix, not the practice's: partners are 38.6% of the flow against 27.4% for litigation across the market, and team moves run at 5.5% against 2.0%.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026