Practice by city · November 2026
Real Estate in Chicago: lateral monitor
Lawyers who changed firm in Real Estate in Chicago over the last 12 months, set against the practice and the city as a whole.
The last 12 months: November 2025 to October 2026
- 56
- Lateral moves, 12 monthsNovember 2025 to October 2026
- -6.5%
- Year on yearSettled 12-month windows
- 23.2%
- Partner share of moves
- 42
- Firms that hired
What the data show
In the Sartori & Partners lateral record, 56 lawyers joined a new firm in Real Estate in Chicago from November 2025 to October 2026, 3.7% of the practice's moves. On settled windows the count went from 62 to 58 (-6.5%), a change inside the noise of the two counts, so we read it as flat.
| Measure | Here | Real Estate | Chicago | Market |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Partner share of moves | 23.2% | 28.9% | 26.8% | 27.7% |
| Counsel share of moves | 17.9% | 14.6% | 9.5% | 12.7% |
| Associate share of moves | 58.9% | 56.4% | 61.6% | 58.5% |
| Moved up a level | 10.7% | 13.6% | 8.4% | 12.9% |
| Changed city (three years) | 13.2% | 21.2% | 17.9% | 21.6% |
| Hired by firms of 1,000+ lawyers | 46.4% | 44.0% | 51.2% | 53.6% |
| Year on year | flat (-6.5%) | rose (+7.9%) | flat (+9.7%) | 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 A dash is a value we do not publish.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.
Set against the Real Estate practice as a whole, the share who changed city over three years stands out most: 13.2% here against 21.2%, below it. Set against all moves in Chicago, the counsel share stands out most: 17.9% here against 9.5%, above it. Year on year it held flat while the Real Estate practice as a whole rose.
Over the three years to October 2026, 149 lawyers moved in Real Estate in Chicago, 56 of them partners (37.6%). They joined 66 different firms. 11.4% stepped up a level on the move and 13.2% changed city, against 12.3% and 21.6% across the market over the same three years. 46.7% came from firms with 1,000+ lawyers.
- Partner23.2%
- Counsel17.9%
- Associate58.9%
Partners account for 23.2% of movers, near the market's 27.7%. A step up in title came with 10.7% of moves (market 12.9%).
- 1,000+ lawyers46.4%
- 400-999 lawyers28.6%
- under 150 lawyers17.9%
The 12-month firm table is below our naming threshold, so this part reads the three years to October 2026. Lateral hires in Real Estate in Chicago were spread across 66 firms. The ten firms at the head of the hiring table took 37.7% of arrivals (12.2% market-wide), so hiring here is concentrated. First on the hiring table is Polsinelli, with arrivals in the 6-10 band.
- 1,000+ lawyers46.7%
- 400-999 lawyers36.1%
- 150-399 lawyers6.6%
- under 150 lawyers10.7%
The practice accounts for 9.4% of all lateral moves in Chicago. Over the three years to October 2026, 66.4% of movers came from another firm in Chicago itself.
There were 31 open roles in Real Estate in Chicago on law-firm career pages on November 11, 2026.
With volume in Real Estate in Chicago 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 | Polsinelli | 6-10 |
| 2 | Taft Stettinius & Hollister | 6-10 |
| 3 | Honigman Attorneys & Counselors | 6-10 |
| 4 | DLA Piper | 3-5 |
| 5 | Croke Fairchild Duarte & Beres | 3-5 |
| 6 | Levenfeld Pearlstein | 3-5 |
| 7 | Latham & Watkins | 3-5 |
| 8 | Buchalter | 3-5 |
| 9 | Greenberg Traurig | 3-5 |
| 10 | Saul Ewing | 3-5 |
Deals in Real Estate in Chicago
Sartori & Partners data count 56 dated deals in Real Estate in Chicago in the 12 months to October 2026 and 108 over the three years to October 2026.
Real estate work is involved in 70.4% of them.
By client industry, Real Estate comes first with 43.5%.
Kirkland & Ellis ranks first among advising firms over the period, in the 11-20 band.
| Rank | Firm | Deals (band) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kirkland & Ellis | 11-20 |
| 2 | Greenberg Traurig | 11-20 |
| 3 | Latham & Watkins | 6-10 |
| 4 | Jones Day | 6-10 |
| 5 | DLA Piper | 6-10 |
| 6 | Troutman Pepper Locke | 3-5 |
| 7 | Katten Muchin Rosenman | 3-5 |
| 8 | Foley & Lardner | 3-5 |
| 9 | Taft Stettinius & Hollister | 3-5 |
| 10 | Sidley Austin | 3-5 |
Time to partner in Real Estate in Chicago
46 lawyers were promoted to partner in Real Estate in Chicago over five years, according to Sartori & Partners data.
The median time from first year of practice to partner is 10.0 years, with the middle half between 8.0 years and 12.0 years, against a market median of 10.0 years. 79.5% made partner within 12 years.
These figures rest on 44 promotions.
Specialities in Real Estate in Chicago
Over the three years to October 2026, Commercial Real Estate Transactions was involved in 65.1% of moves in Real Estate in Chicago, then Real Estate Finance with 52.3%.
Related monitors and reports
Other practices in Chicago
- Litigation & Disputes
- Corporate & M&A
- Banking & Finance
- Private Equity
- Employment & Labor
- Product Liability & Torts
- Intellectual Property
- Insurance & Reinsurance
- Tax
- Restructuring & Insolvency
- Technology, Data & Privacy
- White Collar, Investigations & Criminal
- Private Client & Estates
- Funds & Investment Management
- Health Care
- Pensions, Benefits & Executive Compensation
Real Estate 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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