Practice monitor · November 2026
Tax: lateral market monitor
Lawyers who changed firm in Tax 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
- 709
- Lateral moves, 12 monthsNovember 2025 to October 2026
- +23.8%
- Year on yearSettled 12-month windows
- 37.9%
- Partner share of moves
- 291
- Firms that hired
What the data show
In the Sartori & Partners lateral record, 709 lawyers joined a new firm in Tax from November 2025 to October 2026, 5.0% of all lateral moves we tracked. Year on year, on windows that end a month early, the count grew 23.8% (592 to 733). The market as a whole moved +9.0%, so this flow outpaced it.
At 37.9%, the partner share of arrivals sits above the market's 27.7%. On settled windows partner moves alone went from 213 to 272, up 27.7% year on year. A step up in title came with 15.5% of moves (market 12.9%).
Latest: 42 in Oct 26
Show the numbers
| Month | Value |
|---|---|
| Nov 24 | 39 |
| Dec 24 | 22 |
| Jan 25 | 90 |
| Feb 25 | 61 |
| Mar 25 | 49 |
| Apr 25 | 37 |
| May 25 | 48 |
| Jun 25 | 57 |
| Jul 25 | 38 |
| Aug 25 | 40 |
| Sep 25 | 55 |
| Oct 25 | 66 |
| Nov 25 | 43 |
| Dec 25 | 26 |
| Jan 26 | 79 |
| Feb 26 | 62 |
| Mar 26 | 64 |
| Apr 26 | 71 |
| May 26 | 67 |
| Jun 26 | 81 |
| Jul 26 | 67 |
| Aug 26 | 48 |
| Sep 26 | 59 |
| Oct 26 | 42 |
The newest months read low: start dates are confirmed with a delay.
291 firms hired at least one lateral in Tax in the window. The ten firms at the head of the hiring table took 16.4% of arrivals (12.9% market-wide), so hiring here is moderately concentrated. Taft Stettinius & Hollister ranks first by lateral arrivals, in the 11-20 band.
- Partner37.9%
- Counsel12.6%
- Associate48.5%
By city, New York comes first (13.7% of arrivals), then London (8.7%). 21.1% 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. Over the last 6 months, 30 lawyers left for an in-house role: 8.2 for every 100 lateral moves, against 13.1 market-wide.
For a firm hiring in Tax, the pool is moving and partners are part of it: expect competing offers and budget time for a contested process.
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 | Taft Stettinius & Hollister | 11-20 |
| 2 | Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher | 11-20 |
| 3 | DLA Piper | 11-20 |
| 4 | Greenberg Traurig | 11-20 |
| 5 | White & Case | 11-20 |
| 6 | McDermott Will & Schulte | 11-20 |
| 7 | Charles Russell Speechlys | 11-20 |
| 8 | Paul Hastings | 6-10 |
| 9 | Eversheds Sutherland | 6-10 |
| 10 | Weil Gotshal & Manges | 6-10 |
| Rank | Firm | Moves (band) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Charles Russell Speechlys | 6-10 |
| 2 | Greenberg Traurig | 6-10 |
| 3 | DLA Piper | 6-10 |
| 4 | White & Case | 6-10 |
| 5 | Eversheds Sutherland | 3-5 |
| 6 | Paul Hastings | 3-5 |
| 7 | Willkie Farr & Gallagher | 3-5 |
| 8 | FBT Gibbons | 3-5 |
| 9 | Foley & Lardner | 3-5 |
| 10 | McDermott Will & Schulte | 3-5 |
Related monitors and reports
Tax by city
- New York97 moves
- London62 moves
- Washington, DC38 moves
- Chicago37 moves
- Boston24 moves
Specialities in Tax
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Overlapping practices
- Private Client & Estates30.0% overlap
- Corporate & M&A26.4% overlap
- Litigation & Disputes23.3% overlap
- Private Equity10.7% overlap
- Funds & Investment Management10.0% overlap
- Real Estate8.9% overlap
- Banking & Finance7.6% overlap
- Pensions, Benefits & Executive Compensation6.5% overlap
Hiring in this market
Reports
- How Long to Make Partner in Tax: A Slower Finish, More Buying
Tax associates start the partner track at the market's pace and finish it later: 72.4% are promoted within 12 years, against 75.4% across all practices. Firms answer the slow finish by hiring, promoting 0.58 tax partners per lateral partner against 0.79 market-wide.
November 11, 2026 · November 2026 - London Tax Partner Hiring Moved With the City, Not the Practice
Tax partner moves across the practice rose 27.7% year on year, while London tax partner moves held flat (-7.7%). All tax moves into London held flat (+0.0%) as well: the city's tax market followed London, not the practice.
November 11, 2026 · November 2026 - Tax Lateral Hiring in 2026: Partner Moves Outpace the Market
Tax partner moves rose 27.7% year on year, 3.3 times the market's partner rise of 8.4%. Partners now make up 37.9% of tax laterals, against 27.7% market-wide.
November 11, 2026 · November 2026 - Tax Partner in New York: Made Later Than the City, Hired More
New York makes tax partners late: 12.1% were promoted within 8 years against 20.3% across the city, and the median ran 1 year longer. Firms buy instead: lateral partner moves into New York tax rose 65.2% while the city's partner moves held flat (+3.7%).
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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