Practice by city · November 2026
Private Equity in Frankfurt: lateral monitor
Lawyers who changed firm in Private Equity in Frankfurt over the last 12 months, set against the practice and the city as a whole.
The last 12 months: November 2025 to October 2026
- 21
- Lateral moves, 12 monthsNovember 2025 to October 2026
- -11.5%
- Year on yearSettled 12-month windows
- 33.3%
- Partner share of moves
- 74
- Lateral moves, three yearsThree years to October 2026
What the data show
Sartori & Partners data show 21 lateral moves in Private Equity in Frankfurt from November 2025 to October 2026, 1.7% of the practice's moves. On settled windows the count went from 26 to 23 (-11.5%), a change inside the noise of the two counts, so we read it as flat.
| Measure | Here | Private Equity | Frankfurt | Market |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Partner share of moves | 33.3% | 38.1% | 20.8% | 27.7% |
| Counsel share of moves (three years) | 12.2% | 10.0% | 10.7% | 12.1% |
| Associate share of moves | 52.4% | 50.1% | 66.3% | 58.5% |
| Moved up a level (three years) | 8.1% | 12.6% | 9.4% | 12.3% |
| Changed city (three years) | 18.5% | 22.0% | 28.6% | 21.6% |
| Hired by firms of 1,000+ lawyers | 76.2% | 71.6% | 78.8% | 53.6% |
| Year on year | flat (-11.5%) | rose (+14.9%) | flat (-8.1%) | 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 A dash is a value we do not publish.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 Private Equity practice as a whole, the widest gap is the partner share, which is lower here: 33.3% against 38.1%. Against all moves in Frankfurt, the widest gap is the associate share, which is lower here: 52.4% against 66.3%. Year on year it held flat while the Private Equity practice as a whole rose.
Over the three years to October 2026, 74 lawyers moved in Private Equity in Frankfurt. They joined 38 different firms. 8.1% stepped up a level on the move and 18.5% changed city, against 12.3% and 21.6% across the market over the same three years. 81.4% came from firms with 1,000+ lawyers.
- Partner33.3%
- Associate52.4%
This is a partner market: 33.3% of movers were partners, against 27.7% market-wide.
- 1,000+ lawyers81.4%
- 400-999 lawyers12.9%
The 12-month firm table is below our naming threshold, so this part reads the three years to October 2026. 38 firms hired at least one lateral in Private Equity in Frankfurt in the window. Ten firms account for 53.4% of arrivals, against 12.2% across the market: concentrated. White & Case ranks first by lateral arrivals, in the 6-10 band.
The practice accounts for 20.8% of all lateral moves in Frankfurt. Over the three years to October 2026, 71.6% of movers came from another firm in Frankfurt itself.
With volume in Private Equity in Frankfurt holding level, a hire depends on a specific reason to move, which a firm has to put in front of the candidate.
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 | White & Case | 6-10 |
| 2 | Kirkland & Ellis | 6-10 |
| 3 | Latham & Watkins | 3-5 |
| 4 | Ashurst Perkins Coie | 3-5 |
| 5 | Weil Gotshal & Manges | 3-5 |
| 6 | Milbank | 3-5 |
| 7 | Bird & Bird | 3-5 |
| 8 | Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher | 3-5 |
Deals in Private Equity in Frankfurt
Sartori & Partners data count 102 dated deals in Private Equity in Frankfurt in the 12 months to October 2026 and 276 over the three years to October 2026.
Private equity work is involved in 50.4% of them and M&A in 9.8%.
By client industry, Financial Sponsors comes first with 83.7%.
Latham & Watkins ranks first among advising firms over the period, in the 41-60 band.
| Rank | Firm | Deals (band) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Latham & Watkins | 41-60 |
| 2 | Freshfields | 21-40 |
| 3 | Milbank | 11-20 |
| 4 | Linklaters | 11-20 |
| 5 | Clifford Chance | 11-20 |
| 6 | McDermott Will & Schulte | 11-20 |
| 7 | White & Case | 11-20 |
| 8 | Noerr | 11-20 |
| 9 | Willkie Farr & Gallagher | 11-20 |
| 10 | CMS | 11-20 |
Related monitors and reports
Other practices in Frankfurt
Private Equity in other cities
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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