Seattle: promotions and time to partner

From June 2025 to May 2026, 26 lawyers were promoted to partner in Seattle, according to Sartori & Partners data. Promotions are confirmed about five months late, so this window ends earlier than the lateral figures. Over the same 12 months that is 0.39 promotions for every lateral partner hired, against 0.79 across the market: more of the partner bench here is bought than made.

Across five years of promotions, the median time from first year of practice to partner is 10.0 years, with the middle half between 9.0 years and 12.0 years. The market median is also 10.0 years. The median rests on 98 promotions.

On settled windows lateral partner moves in Seattle went from 47 to 51 (+8.5%), a change inside the noise of the two counts, so we read it as flat.

For a firm planning succession in Seattle, the market leans on lateral partners: a plan that relies on internal promotion alone runs against how peers fill the bench.