Practice by city · November 2026
Litigation & Disputes in Kansas City: lateral monitor
Lawyers who changed firm in Litigation & Disputes in Kansas City over the last 12 months, set against the practice and the city as a whole.
The last 12 months: November 2025 to October 2026
- 22
- Lateral moves, 12 monthsNovember 2025 to October 2026
- -15.4%
- Year on yearSettled 12-month windows
- 75
- Lateral moves, three yearsThree years to October 2026
What the data show
From November 2025 to October 2026, Sartori & Partners recorded 22 lateral moves in Litigation & Disputes in Kansas City, 0.4% of the practice's moves. On settled windows the count went from 26 to 22 (-15.4%), a change inside the noise of the two counts, so we read it as flat.
| Measure | Here | Litigation & Disputes | Kansas City | Market |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Partner share of moves (three years) | 18.7% | 27.3% | 21.4% | 26.9% |
| Counsel share of moves (three years) | 18.7% | 13.4% | 17.0% | 12.1% |
| Associate share of moves | 63.6% | 57.7% | 65.8% | 58.5% |
| Moved up a level | 22.7% | 13.4% | 15.8% | 12.9% |
| Changed city (three years) | 25.0% | 20.3% | 21.4% | 21.6% |
| Hired by firms of 1,000+ lawyers (three years) | 31.4% | 43.5% | 35.2% | 52.5% |
| Year on year | flat (-15.4%) | rose (+7.5%) | flat (+5.3%) | 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 A dash is a value we do not publish.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.
Against the Litigation & Disputes practice as a whole, the widest gap is the share hired by firms of 1,000+ lawyers over three years, which is lower here: 31.4% against 43.5%. Set against all moves in Kansas City, the share who moved up a level stands out most: 22.7% here against 15.8%, above it. Year on year it held flat while the Litigation & Disputes practice as a whole rose.
Over the three years to October 2026, 75 lawyers moved in Litigation & Disputes in Kansas City. They joined 28 different firms. 20.0% stepped up a level on the move and 25.0% changed city, against 12.3% and 21.6% across the market over the same three years. 46.9% came from firms with 1,000+ lawyers.
- Partner18.7%
- Counsel18.7%
- Associate62.7%
The 12-month firm table is below our naming threshold, so this part reads the three years to October 2026. Lateral hires in Litigation & Disputes in Kansas City were spread across 28 firms. The ten firms at the head of the hiring table took 67.6% of arrivals (12.2% market-wide), so hiring here is concentrated. Shook, Hardy & Bacon ranks first by lateral arrivals, in the 11-20 band.
- 400-999 lawyers55.0%
- 150-399 lawyers25.0%
The practice accounts for 57.9% of all lateral moves in Kansas City. Over the three years to October 2026, 56.0% of movers came from another firm in Kansas City itself.
- 1,000+ lawyers46.9%
- 150-399 lawyers31.2%
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 | Shook, Hardy & Bacon | 11-20 |
| 2 | Spencer Fane | 6-10 |
| 3 | Lathrop GPM | 6-10 |
| 4 | Dentons | 6-10 |
| 5 | Husch Blackwell | 3-5 |
| 6 | Sandberg Phoenix & Von Gontard | 3-5 |
| 7 | Littler Mendelson | 3-5 |
| 8 | Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith | 3-5 |
Time to partner in Litigation & Disputes in Kansas City
37 lawyers were promoted to partner in Litigation & Disputes in Kansas City 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 8.0 years and 11.0 years, against a market median of 10.0 years. 83.3% made partner within 12 years.
These figures rest on 36 promotions.
Specialities in Litigation & Disputes in Kansas City
Over the three years to October 2026, Commercial Litigation was involved in 36.0% of moves in Litigation & Disputes in Kansas City.
Related monitors and reports
Litigation & Disputes in other cities
- New York
- Los Angeles
- Washington, DC
- Chicago
- London
- San Francisco
- Dallas
- Miami
- Philadelphia
- Houston
- Atlanta
- Boston
- Seattle
- Denver
- San Diego
- Minneapolis
- Paris
- Nashville
- Tampa
- Austin
- Toronto
- Manchester
- Sydney
- Raleigh
- Detroit
- Charlotte
- Cleveland
- Phoenix
- Dubai
- Bristol
- Orlando
- Pittsburgh
- Portland
- New Orleans
- Wilmington
- Amsterdam
- Montreal
- St. Louis
- Brussels
- Newark
- Melbourne
- Sacramento
- Indianapolis
- Columbus
- Brisbane
- Calgary
- Leeds
- Jacksonville
- Las Vegas
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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