Practice by city · November 2026
Litigation & Disputes in Melbourne: lateral monitor
Lawyers who changed firm in Litigation & Disputes in Melbourne over the last 12 months, set against the practice and the city as a whole.
The last 12 months: November 2025 to October 2026
- 27
- Lateral moves, 12 monthsNovember 2025 to October 2026
- +15.4%
- Year on yearSettled 12-month windows
- 22.2%
- Partner share of moves
- 84
- Lateral moves, three yearsThree years to October 2026
What the data show
From November 2025 to October 2026, Sartori & Partners recorded 27 lateral moves in Litigation & Disputes in Melbourne, 0.5% of the practice's moves. On settled windows the count went from 26 to 30 (+15.4%), a change inside the noise of the two counts, so we read it as flat.
| Measure | Here | Litigation & Disputes | Melbourne | Market |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Partner share of moves | 22.2% | 27.4% | 25.0% | 27.7% |
| Counsel share of moves | 29.6% | 14.4% | 29.2% | 12.7% |
| Associate share of moves | 48.1% | 57.7% | 45.8% | 58.5% |
| Moved up a level (three years) | 14.3% | 13.2% | 12.7% | 12.3% |
| Changed city (three years) | 15.9% | 20.3% | 18.5% | 21.6% |
| Hired by firms of 1,000+ lawyers | 51.9% | 43.3% | 45.8% | 53.6% |
| Year on year | flat (+15.4%) | rose (+7.5%) | flat (-5.7%) | 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 A dash is a value we do not publish.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.
Against the Litigation & Disputes practice as a whole, the widest gap is the counsel share, which is higher here: 29.6% against 14.4%. Set against all moves in Melbourne, the share hired by firms of 1,000+ lawyers stands out most: 51.9% here against 45.8%, above it. Year on year it held flat while the Litigation & Disputes practice as a whole rose.
Over the three years to October 2026, 84 lawyers moved in Litigation & Disputes in Melbourne, 26 of them partners (31.0%). They joined 25 different firms. 14.3% stepped up a level on the move and 15.9% changed city, against 12.3% and 21.6% across the market over the same three years. 33.8% came from firms with 1,000+ lawyers.
- Partner22.2%
- Counsel29.6%
- Associate48.1%
At 22.2%, partners are a smaller slice of arrivals than in the market as a whole (27.7%).
- 1,000+ lawyers51.9%
- 400-999 lawyers25.9%
- under 150 lawyers22.2%
The 12-month firm table is below our naming threshold, so this part reads the three years to October 2026. 25 firms hired at least one lateral in Litigation & Disputes in Melbourne in the window. Ten firms account for 73.2% of arrivals, against 12.2% across the market: concentrated. Kennedys Law ranks first by lateral arrivals, in the 11-20 band.
- 1,000+ lawyers33.8%
- 400-999 lawyers25.7%
- 150-399 lawyers12.2%
- under 150 lawyers28.4%
The practice accounts for 56.2% of all lateral moves in Melbourne. Over the three years to October 2026, 63.1% of movers came from another firm in Melbourne itself.
For a firm planning a hire in Litigation & Disputes in Melbourne, 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 | Kennedys Law | 11-20 |
| 2 | Corrs Chambers Westgarth | 6-10 |
| 3 | Ashurst Perkins Coie | 6-10 |
| 4 | Jones Day | 6-10 |
| 5 | DLA Piper | 3-5 |
| 6 | Norton Rose Fulbright | 3-5 |
| 7 | Holman Fenwick Willan | 3-5 |
| 8 | K & L Gates | 3-5 |
| 9 | Mills Oakley | 3-5 |
Time to partner in Litigation & Disputes in Melbourne
26 lawyers were promoted to partner in Litigation & Disputes in Melbourne over five years, according to Sartori & Partners data.
Specialities in Litigation & Disputes in Melbourne
Over the three years to October 2026, Commercial Litigation was involved in 27.4% of moves in Litigation & Disputes in Melbourne.
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
- Sacramento
- Indianapolis
- Columbus
- Brisbane
- Calgary
- Leeds
- Kansas City
- 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].
For law firm leaders
Planning a partner hire in this market?
We run retained partner searches using the same data behind this page.