Practice monitor · November 2026
Real Estate: lateral market monitor
Lawyers who changed firm in Real Estate 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
- 1,497
- Lateral moves, 12 monthsNovember 2025 to October 2026
- +7.9%
- Year on yearSettled 12-month windows
- 28.9%
- Partner share of moves
- 448
- Firms that hired
What the data show
Sartori & Partners data show 1,497 lateral moves in Real Estate from November 2025 to October 2026, 10.6% of all lateral moves we tracked. On settled windows the count went from 1,409 to 1,520, up 7.9% year on year. It tracks the market's own change of +9.0%.
Partners account for 28.9% of movers, near the market's 27.7%. On settled windows partner moves alone went from 476 to 435 (-8.6%), a change inside the noise of the two counts, so we read it as flat. A step up in title came with 13.6% of moves (market 12.9%).
Latest: 98 in Oct 26
Show the numbers
| Month | Value |
|---|---|
| Nov 24 | 82 |
| Dec 24 | 74 |
| Jan 25 | 167 |
| Feb 25 | 101 |
| Mar 25 | 123 |
| Apr 25 | 137 |
| May 25 | 128 |
| Jun 25 | 130 |
| Jul 25 | 99 |
| Aug 25 | 100 |
| Sep 25 | 149 |
| Oct 25 | 121 |
| Nov 25 | 94 |
| Dec 25 | 69 |
| Jan 26 | 175 |
| Feb 26 | 136 |
| Mar 26 | 124 |
| Apr 26 | 138 |
| May 26 | 150 |
| Jun 26 | 120 |
| Jul 26 | 123 |
| Aug 26 | 121 |
| Sep 26 | 149 |
| Oct 26 | 98 |
The newest months read low: start dates are confirmed with a delay.
448 firms hired at least one lateral in Real Estate in the window. Ten firms account for 16.4% of arrivals, against 12.9% across the market: moderately concentrated. First on the hiring table is Greenberg Traurig, with arrivals in the 41-60 band.
- Partner28.9%
- Counsel14.6%
- Associate56.4%
New York ranks first among destination cities with 14.0% of arrivals, followed by London (10.1%). 20.4% of movers also changed city, against 20.5% market-wide.
0.7% of moves came as part of a group, against 1.5% market-wide. In-house roles drew 86 lawyers in the last 6 months, 11.3 per 100 lateral moves (market 13.1).
For a firm hiring in Real Estate, a rising market means candidates have options: move quickly once a shortlist exists.
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 | Greenberg Traurig | 41-60 |
| 2 | Dentons | 21-40 |
| 3 | Polsinelli | 21-40 |
| 4 | DLA Piper | 21-40 |
| 5 | Holland & Knight | 21-40 |
| 6 | Addleshaw Goddard | 21-40 |
| 7 | Kirkland & Ellis | 11-20 |
| 8 | CMS | 11-20 |
| 9 | Mayer Brown | 11-20 |
| 10 | Pinsent Masons | 11-20 |
| Rank | Firm | Moves (band) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Greenberg Traurig | 11-20 |
| 2 | Dentons | 6-10 |
| 3 | White & Case | 6-10 |
| 4 | Benesch Friedlander Coplan & Aronoff | 6-10 |
| 5 | Spencer Fane | 6-10 |
| 6 | Addleshaw Goddard | 6-10 |
| 7 | Mayer Brown | 6-10 |
| 8 | Shutts & Bowen | 3-5 |
| 9 | Kirkland & Ellis | 3-5 |
| 10 | Ashurst Perkins Coie | 3-5 |
Related monitors and reports
Real Estate by city
- New York209 moves
- London151 moves
- Los Angeles75 moves
- Chicago56 moves
- Dallas42 moves
- Miami38 moves
- Washington, DC33 moves
- Boston32 moves
- Atlanta29 moves
- Houston26 moves
- Philadelphia25 moves
- San Francisco25 moves
- Denver24 moves
- Manchester23 moves
- Charlotte21 moves
- Paris21 moves
Specialities in Real Estate
Related monitors
Other practices
- Litigation & Disputes
- Corporate & M&A
- Banking & Finance
- Employment & Labor
- Private Equity
- Intellectual Property
- Product Liability & Torts
- Construction
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- Insurance & Reinsurance
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- Funds & Investment Management
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- White Collar, Investigations & Criminal
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- Private Client & Estates
- Public Law & Government
- Pensions, Benefits & Executive Compensation
- Financial Services Regulatory
- International Arbitration & Public International Law
- Immigration
- Commercial Contracts
- International Trade & National Security
- Shipping & Maritime
- Family
Overlapping practices
- Banking & Finance33.4% overlap
- Litigation & Disputes19.4% overlap
- Corporate & M&A13.4% overlap
- Construction9.5% overlap
- Restructuring & Insolvency4.7% overlap
- Private Equity4.7% overlap
- Projects & Infrastructure4.3% overlap
- Environment & Sustainability4.3% overlap
Hiring in this market
Reports
- Asset Managers and Funds on 12.3% of London Real Estate Deals
London real estate work leans on investor clients far more than New York's does. Lateral hiring into the London cell held flat (-10.1%) while hiring in the practice as a whole rose 7.9%.
November 11, 2026 · November 2026 - Chicago Real Estate Hiring: Counsel Are 17.9% of Laterals
Chicago real estate hiring leans on the counsel tier: 17.9% of laterals against 14.6% across the practice, while partners are a thinner 23.2% against 28.9%. Smaller firms and finance-minded lawyers shape the rest.
November 11, 2026 · November 2026 - Los Angeles Real Estate Lateral Hiring in 2026: A Home-Grown Market
Los Angeles real estate groups hire lawyers who already practice in the city: fewer of their laterals changed city than real estate laterals across the practice or Los Angeles laterals overall, and a small group of firms takes a large share of the hires.
November 11, 2026 · November 2026 - New York Real Estate Hiring Rose 28.4% as Partner Moves Held Flat
Real estate lateral moves into New York rose 28.4%, well ahead of the practice across the market (7.9%) and of the city (11.9%). Partner hiring held flat (+3.4%), so the growth sits below partner level.
November 11, 2026 · November 2026 - Real Estate Deals 2026: Institutional Capital Drives the Work
Property companies and institutional investors account for most real estate deal work: real estate clients appear in 59.0% of deals, asset managers in 11.1%. Deals rose 9.6% while lateral partner hiring in the practice held flat (-8.6%).
November 11, 2026 · November 2026 - Real Estate Lateral Hiring 2026: Moves Up, Partner Line Flat
Real estate lateral moves rose 7.9% on the settled year, but the partner line held flat (-8.6%), from 476 to 435, while partner moves across the market rose 8.4%. The extra volume sits with associates and counsel.
November 11, 2026 · November 2026 - Real Estate Partner Track 2026: 0.65 Promotions per Lateral Partner
Firms made 308 real estate partners in the 12 months to May 2026, yet promoted only 0.65 for each lateral partner they hired, against 0.79 market-wide. The lateral partner count held flat (-8.6%) on the settled year, so the gap is the practice's normal mix, not a hiring spree.
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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