Practice monitor · November 2026
Projects & Infrastructure: lateral market monitor
Lawyers who changed firm in Projects & Infrastructure over the last 12 months: how many, at what level, where they went and which firms hired them.
The last 12 months: November 2025 to October 2026
- 523
- Lateral moves, 12 monthsNovember 2025 to October 2026
- +1.3%
- Year on yearSettled 12-month windows
- 38.6%
- Partner share of moves
- 170
- Firms that hired
What the data show
From November 2025 to October 2026, Sartori & Partners recorded 523 lateral moves in Projects & Infrastructure, 3.7% of all lateral moves we tracked. On settled windows the count went from 530 to 537 (+1.3%), which we read as flat. That trails the wider market, which moved +9.0%.
This is a partner market: 38.6% of movers were partners, against 27.7% market-wide. On settled windows partner moves alone went from 182 to 212 (+16.5%), a change inside the noise of the two counts, so we read it as flat. 15.1% of movers stepped up a level when they changed firm, against 12.9% for the market.
Latest: 40 in Oct 26
Show the numbers
| Month | Value |
|---|---|
| Nov 24 | 37 |
| Dec 24 | 22 |
| Jan 25 | 70 |
| Feb 25 | 57 |
| Mar 25 | 40 |
| Apr 25 | 38 |
| May 25 | 43 |
| Jun 25 | 51 |
| Jul 25 | 38 |
| Aug 25 | 20 |
| Sep 25 | 64 |
| Oct 25 | 54 |
| Nov 25 | 31 |
| Dec 25 | 31 |
| Jan 26 | 61 |
| Feb 26 | 41 |
| Mar 26 | 44 |
| Apr 26 | 46 |
| May 26 | 56 |
| Jun 26 | 49 |
| Jul 26 | 32 |
| Aug 26 | 47 |
| Sep 26 | 45 |
| Oct 26 | 40 |
The newest months read low: start dates are confirmed with a delay.
Lateral hires in Projects & Infrastructure were spread across 170 firms. Ten firms account for 27.4% of arrivals, against 12.9% across the market: moderately concentrated. First on the hiring table is White & Case, with arrivals in the 11-20 band.
- Partner38.6%
- Counsel12.2%
- Associate48.4%
London ranks first among destination cities with 13.6% of arrivals, followed by New York (11.7%). A change of city came with 22.3% of moves (market 20.5%).
Group moves were 1.0% of the total (market 1.5%). In-house roles drew 48 lawyers in the last 6 months, 17.8 per 100 lateral moves (market 13.1).
With volume in Projects & Infrastructure 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 | 11-20 |
| 2 | Kirkland & Ellis | 11-20 |
| 3 | Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe | 11-20 |
| 4 | Norton Rose Fulbright | 11-20 |
| 5 | Latham & Watkins | 11-20 |
| 6 | Milbank | 11-20 |
| 7 | Baker Botts | 11-20 |
| 8 | DLA Piper | 11-20 |
| 9 | CMS | 11-20 |
| 10 | Ashurst Perkins Coie | 11-20 |
| Rank | Firm | Moves (band) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mayer Brown | 6-10 |
| 2 | Kirkland & Ellis | 6-10 |
| 3 | Ashurst Perkins Coie | 6-10 |
| 4 | Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe | 3-5 |
| 5 | Addleshaw Goddard | 3-5 |
| 6 | Sidley Austin | 3-5 |
| 7 | Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld | 3-5 |
| 8 | Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison | 3-5 |
| 9 | Norton Rose Fulbright | 3-5 |
| 10 | Eversheds Sutherland | 3-5 |
Related monitors and reports
Projects & Infrastructure by city
- London71 moves
- New York61 moves
- Houston50 moves
- Washington, DC33 moves
Specialities in Projects & Infrastructure
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Overlapping practices
- Banking & Finance46.7% overlap
- Corporate & M&A24.3% overlap
- Construction14.9% overlap
- Real Estate12.4% overlap
- Regulatory & Compliance10.7% overlap
- Environment & Sustainability9.8% overlap
- Litigation & Disputes8.4% overlap
- Private Equity7.6% overlap
Hiring in this market
Reports
- Houston Projects Hiring Rose 100.0% as the Practice Held Flat
Lateral hiring into Houston projects and infrastructure rose 100.0% in a year when hiring across the practice held flat (+1.3%) and Houston as a whole rose 51.1%. The deal record behind it is led by power and renewables work, on 48.6% of its three-year deals.
November 11, 2026 · November 2026 - London Projects Hiring: Outsized Share, Flat Partner Line in 2026
London carries far more projects hiring than its size predicts, an index of 147, and its projects laterals are more partner-heavy than the city's market. Partner hiring held flat in London and across the practice alike, and London's part of the practice's partner moves slipped from 18.1% to 15.1%.
November 11, 2026 · November 2026 - New York Projects Hiring 2026: Partners Take 44.3% of Lateral Moves
New York projects and infrastructure hires partners at a far higher rate than the city around it, and 90.2% of its lateral moves land at firms of 1,000+ lawyers.
November 11, 2026 · November 2026 - Projects and Infrastructure Deals 2026: Power and Renewables Lead
Power and renewables clients appear in 57.1% of projects and infrastructure deals, 13.9 times their share of the whole market, and 70.4% of the work is project finance. Deals rose 26.2% on settled windows while lateral hiring held flat (+1.3%).
November 11, 2026 · November 2026 - Projects and Infrastructure Lateral Hiring 2026: A Partner Market
Projects firms are hiring partners, not teams. Partners make up 38.6% of moves against 27.7% market-wide, but partner moves held flat (+16.5%) and the practice as a whole held flat (+1.3%) while the market grew. Houston hires at an index of 409.
November 11, 2026 · November 2026 - Projects and Infrastructure Partners 2026: Made Late, Hired Instead
Projects and infrastructure lawyers reach partner later than the market: 66.9% within 12 years, against 75.4%. Firms fill the gap from outside, promoting 0.54 for each lateral partner hired (market 0.79), while lateral partner moves in the practice held flat (+16.5%), a gap inside the noise at these counts.
November 11, 2026 · November 2026
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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