Practice by city · November 2026

Private Equity in Milan: lateral monitor

Lawyers who changed firm in Private Equity in Milan over the last 12 months, set against the practice and the city as a whole.

Hire legal talent Partner recruiting
01 The numbers

The last 12 months: November 2025 to October 2026

21
Lateral moves, 12 monthsNovember 2025 to October 2026
0.0%
Year on yearSettled 12-month windows
33.3%
Partner share of moves
58
Lateral moves, three yearsThree years to October 2026
02 Reading the data

What the data show

Sartori & Partners data show 21 lateral moves in Private Equity in Milan from November 2025 to October 2026, 1.7% of the practice's moves. On settled windows the count went from 22 to 22 (0.0%), which we read as flat. The market as a whole moved +9.0%, so this flow lagged it.

Private Equity in Milan against Private Equity, Milan and the market
MeasureHerePrivate EquityMilanMarket
Partner share of moves33.3%38.1%22.8%27.7%
Counsel share of moves-11.2%15.8%12.7%
Associate share of moves52.4%50.1%61.4%58.5%
Moved up a level (three years)13.8%12.6%9.8%12.3%
Changed city-21.1%12.8%20.5%
Hired by firms of 1,000+ lawyers95.2%71.6%83.0%53.6%
Year on yearflat (0.0%)rose (+14.9%)fell (-24.5%)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 A dash is a value we do not publish.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 share hired by firms of 1,000+ lawyers, which is higher here: 95.2% against 71.6%. Against all moves in Milan, the widest gap is the share hired by firms of 1,000+ lawyers, which is higher here: 95.2% against 83.0%. Year on year it held flat while the Private Equity practice as a whole rose.

Private Equity in Milan: lateral moves by year

2026 runs to October.

Over the three years to October 2026, 58 lawyers moved in Private Equity in Milan, 23 of them partners (39.7%). They joined 23 different firms. 62.8% came from firms with 1,000+ lawyers.

This is a partner market: 33.3% of movers were partners, against 27.7% market-wide.

The 12-month firm table is below our naming threshold, so this part reads the three years to October 2026. 23 firms hired at least one lateral in Private Equity in Milan in the window. Ten firms account for 70.7% of arrivals, against 12.2% across the market: concentrated. First on the hiring table is Ropes & Gray, with arrivals in the 6-10 band.

The practice accounts for 20.8% of all lateral moves in Milan. Over the three years to October 2026, 60.3% of movers came from another firm in Milan itself.

With volume in Private Equity in Milan holding level, a hire depends on a specific reason to move, which a firm has to put in front of the candidate.

03 Firms

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.

Firms ranked by lateral arrivals, three years to October 2026
RankFirmMoves (band)
1Ropes & Gray6-10
2McDermott Will & Schulte6-10
3Hogan Lovells Cadwalader3-5
4Eversheds Sutherland3-5
5Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe3-5
6White & Case3-5
04 Demand

Deals in Private Equity in Milan

Sartori & Partners data count 44 over the three years to October 2026.

Private equity work is involved in 59.1% of them.

By client industry, Financial Sponsors comes first with 81.8%.

Latham & Watkins ranks first among advising firms over the period, in the 6-10 band.

Advising firms ranked by deals, three years to October 2026
RankFirmDeals (band)
1Latham & Watkins6-10
2White & Case6-10
3Ropes & Gray6-10
4Clifford Chance3-5

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.