New York Litigation Hires Like Litigation, Not Like New York

Sartori & Partners data show that the New York litigation lateral market follows the shape of litigation hiring across the market, not the shape of New York. Firms of 1,000+ lawyers took 43.8% of the litigators who joined a New York firm in the 12 months to October 2026. Across every practice in the city the figure is 62.6%; for the practice as a whole it is 43.3%. A litigation group recruiting in Manhattan is therefore up against a broader mix of firm sizes than the city's reputation suggests: 244 firms hired at least one New York litigator in the period.

Measured against its own city, New York litigation is a different market. On the share taken by the largest firms, the gap between New York litigation and the city is 18.8 points. Measured against its own practice, it is 0.5 points, close to nothing. The city average is pulled toward the biggest platforms by transactional work that New York holds in unusual depth: banking and finance hiring in the city carries an index of 146 against the market, capital markets 169, funds 183. Litigation does not ride that pull.

For a hiring partner the consequence is a benchmark question. A firm that judges its New York litigation recruiting against the city's big-firm averages will misread its own position; the right yardstick is litigation elsewhere, where the size split is nearly the same as in Manhattan.

The midsize band is where New York litigation stands out most. Firms of 150-399 lawyers took 22.3% of New York litigation laterals, against 13.0% for the city and 18.2% for the practice as a whole. Firms of under 150 lawyers took 15.5%, against 10.1% citywide and 12.8% in litigation across the market. The exception sits just below the top: firms of 400-999 lawyers took 18.3%, above the city's 14.3% but 7.4 points short of the practice-wide 25.7%.

A midsize firm hiring a New York litigator is competing in its own weight class more often than the city numbers imply. The firm of 400-999 lawyers is the one that should expect a thinner showing here than in its other offices, and should plan longer searches or a sharper pitch in Manhattan.

Over three years, 18.7% of New York litigation laterals left a firm of under 150 lawyers, while 14.3% joined one. Litigation as a whole shows the same outflow, 15.9% out against 11.5% in. New York as a whole shows much less of it: 10.0% out against 9.5% in. Firms of 150-399 lawyers run the other way in New York litigation, the origin of 18.7% of moves and the destination of 23.4%. The largest firms send out slightly more than they take in, 47.6% out against 44.3% in.

Each share counts the moves where the firm size is known on that side. The reading for a recruiting partner is direct: the small-firm litigation bench in New York gives up more candidates than it takes in, and midsize firms are the ones converting it.

In the Sartori & Partners lateral database, New York is still the largest city for litigation laterals, with 733 moves in 12 months. Its weight is another matter. Litigation is involved in 35.2% of New York lateral moves against 39.9% of moves across the market, an index of 88. Seen from the practice side, New York holds 13.0% of litigation moves against 14.8% of all moves. Los Angeles, by contrast, over-indexes in litigation at 148.

Under-weight does not mean small. It means a litigation group in New York usually sits inside an office whose hiring is set by deal work, and a candidate will ask where litigation ranks in that office. Firms that can answer with a clear litigation plan for the city have an argument that the largest platforms often cannot make.

The firms most active in New York litigation hiring reflect the size split. The ten most active hirers took 14.5% of New York litigation laterals, against 21.5% for the city's top 10 across all practices and 12.0% for litigation's top 10 across the market. The list opens with Hinshaw & Culbertson and Linklaters, each in the 11-20 band of hires, and the same band holds the next two.

No single hirer sets the terms in this market. For a firm planning a New York litigation hire, the rival offer is as likely to come from a national or midsize firm as from a global platform, and compensation benchmarks should be drawn from that mixed field.

New York litigation hiring held flat (+2.6%) over the latest settled 12 months, with 711 moves against 693 a year earlier. New York as a whole rose 11.9%, from 1,862 to 2,084 moves, and litigation as a whole rose 7.5%, from 5,281 to 5,679. Of the 222 extra New York moves, litigation accounted for 18. Partner hiring in New York litigation held flat (-7.3%), at 190 against 205.

The city's growth went to other practices. For a litigation hirer that means no rising tide to wait for: candidates are moving at last year's pace, and a search started now faces the same supply it would have faced a year ago.

Set the benchmark at litigation, not at the city. Sartori & Partners data put the share of New York litigation laterals going to firms of 1,000+ lawyers within 0.5 points of the figure for litigation as a whole and far from the New York mix, so plans and pay comparisons built on city-wide big-firm figures will mislead. The search is also local: 11.0% of New York litigation laterals changed city, against 19.6% for litigation across the market and 10.9% for New York overall. Three practical steps follow. Recruit from the small-firm bench, which supplies more New York litigators than it hires. If you are a midsize firm, price your offer against your own weight class, which is winning here. If you are a firm of 400-999 lawyers, expect a narrower foothold in New York litigation than in the practice elsewhere and budget time accordingly.