Practice by city · November 2026

Real Estate in Dallas: lateral monitor

Lawyers who changed firm in Real Estate in Dallas over the last 12 months, set against the practice and the city as a whole.

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01 The numbers

The last 12 months: November 2025 to October 2026

42
Lateral moves, 12 monthsNovember 2025 to October 2026
+13.9%
Year on yearSettled 12-month windows
31.0%
Partner share of moves
28
Firms that hired
02 Reading the data

What the data show

From November 2025 to October 2026, Sartori & Partners recorded 42 lateral moves in Real Estate in Dallas, 2.8% of the practice's moves. On settled windows the count went from 36 to 41 (+13.9%), a change inside the noise of the two counts, so we read it as flat.

Real Estate in Dallas against Real Estate, Dallas and the market
MeasureHereReal EstateDallasMarket
Partner share of moves31.0%28.9%32.2%27.7%
Counsel share of moves (three years)8.9%13.5%12.1%12.1%
Associate share of moves61.9%56.4%54.2%58.5%
Moved up a level11.9%13.6%11.3%12.9%
Changed city (three years)13.0%21.2%16.3%21.6%
Hired by firms of 1,000+ lawyers31.0%44.0%46.5%53.6%
Year on yearflat (+13.9%)rose (+7.9%)rose (+28.2%)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 A dash is a value we do not publish.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 hired by firms of 1,000+ lawyers stands out most: 31.0% here against 44.0%, below it. Against all moves in Dallas, the widest gap is the share hired by firms of 1,000+ lawyers, which is lower here: 31.0% against 46.5%. Year on year it held flat while the Real Estate practice as a whole rose.

Real Estate in Dallas: lateral moves by year

2026 runs to October.

Over the three years to October 2026, 112 lawyers moved in Real Estate in Dallas, 38 of them partners (33.9%). They joined 54 different firms. 12.5% stepped up a level on the move and 13.0% changed city, against 12.3% and 21.6% across the market over the same three years. 37.0% came from firms with 1,000+ lawyers.

The level mix sits close to the market: partners are 31.0% of arrivals, against 27.7% market-wide. 11.9% of movers stepped up a level when they changed firm, against 12.9% for the market.

The 12-month firm table is below our naming threshold, so this part reads the three years to October 2026. 54 firms hired at least one lateral in Real Estate in Dallas in the window. The ten firms at the head of the hiring table took 47.3% of arrivals (12.2% market-wide), so hiring here is concentrated. Winstead ranks first by lateral arrivals, in the 11-20 band.

The practice accounts for 12.2% of all lateral moves in Dallas. Over the three years to October 2026, 77.7% of movers came from another firm in Dallas itself.

There were 29 open roles in Real Estate in Dallas on law-firm career pages on November 11, 2026.

With volume in Real Estate in Dallas 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)
1Winstead11-20
2Willkie Farr & Gallagher6-10
3Bradley Arant Boult Cummings6-10
4Munsch Hardt, Kopf & Harr6-10
5Polsinelli3-5
6Haynes and Boone3-5
7Spencer Fane3-5
8Jackson Walker3-5
9Bracewell3-5
10Hunton Andrews Kurth3-5
04 Demand

Deals in Real Estate in Dallas

Sartori & Partners data count 40 dated deals in Real Estate in Dallas in the 12 months to October 2026 and 102 over the three years to October 2026.

Real estate work is involved in 49.0% of them and M&A in 24.5%.

By client industry, Real Estate comes first with 32.4%.

Kirkland & Ellis ranks first among advising firms over the period, in the 21-40 band.

Share of deals involving each deal type, three years to October 2026
Share of deals involving each client industry, three years to October 2026
Advising firms ranked by deals, three years to October 2026
RankFirmDeals (band)
1Kirkland & Ellis21-40
2Jones Day11-20
3Jackson Walker11-20
4Holland & Knight6-10
5Foley & Lardner3-5
6Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld3-5
7Willkie Farr & Gallagher3-5
8Vinson & Elkins3-5
9O'Melveny & Myers3-5
05 Promotions

Time to partner in Real Estate in Dallas

31 lawyers were promoted to partner in Real Estate in Dallas over five years, according to Sartori & Partners data.

The median time from first year of practice to partner is 9.0 years, with the middle half between 9.0 years and 12.0 years, against a market median of 10.0 years. 85.7% made partner within 12 years.

These figures rest on 28 promotions.

Years from first year of practice to partner
06 Specialities

Specialities in Real Estate in Dallas

Over the three years to October 2026, Commercial Real Estate Transactions was involved in 52.7% of moves in Real Estate in Dallas, then Real Estate Finance with 50.0%.

Share of moves involving each speciality, three years to October 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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