Restructuring Deals 2026: Partner Hiring Runs Ahead of the Work

Anyone sizing restructuring work and hiring 2026 should start with a gap between the two. Sartori & Partners data show 287 lateral partner hires in restructuring and insolvency in the 12 months to September 2026, against 237 a year earlier, while the count of restructuring matters on record held flat (-5.5%) over the same windows. Firms are building benches ahead of the work that shows up in court filings and firm announcements. The work that is disclosed is large: where a value is published, the median matter is $620 million, and 72.6% of the 701 matters in the 12 months to October 2026 are restructuring and insolvency proper. For a firm leader weighing a restructuring hire, the question is not whether rivals are recruiting. It is whether the work will arrive in time to keep the new partners busy.

On settled 12-month windows, lateral partner hiring in restructuring rose 21.1%, from 237 to 287. Restructuring matters went from 763 to 721 over the same windows, a count that held flat (-5.5%). The wider deal market did not stand still: all dated deals in Sartori & Partners records rose 10.6%, from 43,590 to 48,216. Set the hires against the matters and the gap is plain. There were 3.2 recorded restructuring matters for each lateral partner hired in the earlier window, and 2.5 in the latest one.

The closest neighbor shows what matched growth looks like. In banking and finance, lateral partner hires rose 10.6% while deals rose 12.1%, so hiring there tracks the work. Restructuring is the practice where the two lines part. The matter count is a record of filings and announcements, not of fees, so it can miss work that never reaches a court. Even so, the direction is clear.

For a firm leader, this means restructuring partners on the market are priced against work firms expect, not work they have booked. A candidate's leverage is highest while that expectation holds. Ask how much of the last year was insolvency work, and how much came from finance or disputes files that sit next to it.

All lateral moves in restructuring rose 10.0% on the same settled windows, from 638 to 702. Partner hiring grew 2.1 times as fast as the total. Partners made up 41.5% of restructuring laterals in the last 12 months, and the 257 partner arrivals recorded in 2026 to October already exceed the 253 of all of 2025.

The hiring is spread wide. 280 firms hired at least one restructuring lawyer in 12 months, and the top 10 hirers took 17.7% of moves. New York took 24.4% of arrivals, an index of 165 against the market's city mix, London an index of 147 and Dallas 172.

With no small group of firms in control of the hiring, a restructuring search is won on the platform offered: the case flow, the finance team beside it and the city. Expect several bidders for each partner worth hiring in New York, London or Dallas.

The mix of matters is narrow. Restructuring and insolvency proper accounts for 72.6% of the practice's matters in the 12 months to October 2026, disputes and investigations for 12.4%, M&A for 4.1% and banking and lending for 3.0%. Across all dated deals, restructuring is a small type at 1.1%, and this practice carries 97.7% of it.

The overlap with neighboring practices sits on the hiring side, not in the matters. In the Sartori & Partners lateral database, 36.5% of restructuring movers also work in banking and finance and 36.1% in litigation and disputes, yet banking and lending is only 3.0% of restructuring matters.

The candidate pool is shared with finance and litigation, but the recorded work is insolvency work. When a candidate presents a lending or litigation book as restructuring experience, test it against the filings: the matters a restructuring partner will run are mostly court-supervised cases and workouts.

Only 12.3% of restructuring matters publish a value, against 47.7% in banking and finance, so a banking deal is 3.9 times as likely to carry a figure. Where a value appears, the median restructuring matter is $620 million, $75 million above the banking and finance median of $545 million. Insolvency filings list claims and liabilities rather than a price, and many workouts close in private, which keeps disclosure low. Behind the matters stand 295 distinct clients in 12 months, about 2.4 matters per client.

The median says the visible work is large-cap. It does not price a book. With most matters undisclosed, a partner's claimed case sizes cannot be checked against public values the way a lending book can, so ask for the cases by court and by role, then verify them.

Consumer goods and retail clients appear in 8.6% of restructuring matters, 2.8 times their share of all dated deals. Industrial manufacturing at 4.7%, healthcare providers at 4.1% and hospitality at 3.9% also sit above their market shares. Banks and financial institutions, at 6.0%, sit below their share of all deals, 7.1%.

Shares overlap because one matter can involve several industries, so they are read side by side and never added. The sectors that over-weight share thin margins and heavy lease or debt loads. A partner with retail or consumer debtor work covers the largest sector in the mix; one whose matters sit mainly with banks covers a sector this practice under-weights.

Latham & Watkins ranks first by restructuring matters advised, in the 21-40 band, and also ranks first among restructuring lateral hirers. Willkie Farr & Gallagher ranks fifth on matters, second among all restructuring hirers and first among partner hirers. Weil Gotshal & Manges ranks seventh on matters and tenth among hirers.

Firms already busy on restructuring matters are among those adding partners, so the bench building is not confined to firms trying to break in. A firm outside both lists bids against them for the same candidates and should expect counteroffers framed around existing case flow.

Hire for the cycle with open eyes. Lateral partner hiring rose 21.1% while the matter count held flat (-5.5%), so rivals are paying for work they expect. Set targets for a new restructuring partner on a longer horizon than a single budget year, and fund the associates the partner will need when filings pick up.

Test the book against the mix. With 72.6% of matters in restructuring proper, a candidate whose record sits in finance or disputes adds reach, not core capacity. Do not price from public values: only 12.3% of matters publish one, so verify by court record and role.

Recruit where the work is done. New York and London take 24.4% and 13.6% of restructuring arrivals, and both over-index against the market. A firm without a restructuring partner in either city is bidding for the same scarce names as the busiest advisers.