Practice by city · November 2026
Restructuring & Insolvency in Chicago: lateral monitor
Lawyers who changed firm in Restructuring & Insolvency 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
- 33
- Lateral moves, 12 monthsNovember 2025 to October 2026
- +50.0%
- Year on yearSettled 12-month windows
- 39.4%
- Partner share of moves
- 22
- Firms that hired
What the data show
In the Sartori & Partners lateral record, 33 lawyers joined a new firm in Restructuring & Insolvency in Chicago from November 2025 to October 2026, 4.7% of the practice's moves. On settled windows the count went from 20 to 30 (+50.0%), a change inside the noise of the two counts, so we read it as flat.
| Measure | Here | Restructuring & Insolvency | Chicago | Market |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Partner share of moves | 39.4% | 41.5% | 26.8% | 27.7% |
| Counsel share of moves (three years) | 9.6% | 12.6% | 10.0% | 12.1% |
| Associate share of moves | 51.5% | 43.3% | 61.6% | 58.5% |
| Moved up a level | - | 16.5% | 8.4% | 12.9% |
| Changed city (three years) | 11.9% | 18.3% | 17.9% | 21.6% |
| Hired by firms of 1,000+ lawyers | 69.7% | 56.2% | 51.2% | 53.6% |
| Year on year | flat (+50.0%) | rose (+10.0%) | 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 A dash is a value we do not publish.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.
Against the Restructuring & Insolvency practice as a whole, the widest gap is the share hired by firms of 1,000+ lawyers, which is higher here: 69.7% against 56.2%. Against all moves in Chicago, the widest gap is the share hired by firms of 1,000+ lawyers, which is higher here: 69.7% against 51.2%. Year on year it held flat while the Restructuring & Insolvency practice as a whole rose.
Over the three years to October 2026, 73 lawyers moved in Restructuring & Insolvency in Chicago, 30 of them partners (41.1%). They joined 41 different firms. 77.6% came from firms with 1,000+ lawyers.
- Partner39.4%
- Associate51.5%
Partners make up 39.4% of arrivals, against 27.7% across the market: a partner-heavy flow.
- 1,000+ lawyers77.6%
- 400-999 lawyers11.9%
The 12-month firm table is below our naming threshold, so this part reads the three years to October 2026. Lateral hires in Restructuring & Insolvency in Chicago were spread across 41 firms. Ten firms account for 51.4% of arrivals, against 12.2% across the market: concentrated. Willkie Farr & Gallagher ranks first by lateral arrivals, in the 6-10 band.
The practice accounts for 5.5% of all lateral moves in Chicago. Over the three years to October 2026, 71.2% of movers came from another firm in Chicago itself.
For a firm planning a hire in Restructuring & Insolvency in Chicago, a flat market means candidates are not being pulled by a wave: the case for a move has to come from the platform.
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 | Willkie Farr & Gallagher | 6-10 |
| 2 | Benesch Friedlander Coplan & Aronoff | 3-5 |
| 3 | Seyfarth Shaw | 3-5 |
| 4 | Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP & Affiliates | 3-5 |
| 5 | Clark Hill | 3-5 |
| 6 | Vedder | 3-5 |
| 7 | Troutman Pepper Locke | 3-5 |
Deals in Restructuring & Insolvency in Chicago
Sartori & Partners data count 60 dated deals in Restructuring & Insolvency in Chicago in the 12 months to October 2026 and 177 over the three years to October 2026.
Restructuring & insolvency work is involved in 78.0% of them.
By client industry, Consumer Goods & Retail comes first with 11.3%.
Sidley Austin ranks first among advising firms over the period, in the 21-40 band.
| Rank | Firm | Deals (band) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sidley Austin | 21-40 |
| 2 | Latham & Watkins | 21-40 |
| 3 | White & Case | 21-40 |
| 4 | Kirkland & Ellis | 21-40 |
| 5 | Ropes & Gray | 11-20 |
| 6 | Paul Hastings | 11-20 |
| 7 | Willkie Farr & Gallagher | 6-10 |
| 8 | Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP & Affiliates | 3-5 |
| 9 | Mayer Brown | 3-5 |
| 10 | Katten Muchin Rosenman | 3-5 |
Time to partner in Restructuring & Insolvency in Chicago
30 lawyers were promoted to partner in Restructuring & Insolvency 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 11.0 years, against a market median of 10.0 years. 86.2% made partner within 12 years.
These figures rest on 29 promotions.
Specialities in Restructuring & Insolvency in Chicago
Over the three years to October 2026, Corporate Restructuring was involved in 50.7% of moves in Restructuring & Insolvency in Chicago, then Creditors' Rights & Collections with 39.7%.
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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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