Lateral moves by speciality

Reports

• Abuse of Dominance Lawyers: Technology Cases, Large-Firm Hiring

  Abuse of dominance is contested work with technology companies at its center: disputes and investigations are 69.9% of the specialty's matters over 3 years, technology and software clients 28.0%. Year on year, lateral hiring held flat (-19.7%).

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Administrative Law: Partners Held Flat as Hiring Fell 21.8%

  Administrative and constitutional law moves numbered 104 in the settled 12 months against 133 a year earlier, so hiring fell 21.8%, while partner hiring held flat (-6.8%). Partners are now 39.6% of moves, against 34.1% in public law.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Affordable Housing Lawyers Move Cities to Move Firms

  Affordable housing laterals change city far more often than real estate laterals, 38.9% against 20.4%, and over three years Washington, DC took 16.2% of their moves. Hiring itself held flat.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• AML and Financial Crime Hiring Starts in London

  Over 3 years London drew 20.9% of AML and financial crime lateral moves, 2.9 times its share of white collar hiring. Volume held flat, and most of it is partner hiring.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Anti-Bribery Hiring Is Partner Hiring: Partners Are 60.8% of Moves

  Most anti-bribery laterals are partners: 60.8%, against 41.6% in white collar and 27.7% across the market. Over 3 years London and Paris sit beside Washington, DC, and hiring held flat (+17.4%).

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Antitrust Litigation Hiring: Wider Than Merger Control

  Antitrust litigation hiring reaches past the largest firms: firms of 1,000+ lawyers took 57.3% of moves against 85.2% in merger control, and the top 10 hirers took 28.0% against 50.0%. Year on year, hiring held flat (-3.8%).

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Appellate Lawyer Hiring in 2026: The Washington Bar

  Appellate hiring centers on Washington, DC, at an index of 280 against New York's 93, and it is a partner market: 48.2% of moves, against 27.4% in litigation.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Artificial Intelligence Lawyer Hiring Outruns the Market in 2026

  Sartori & Partners data show artificial intelligence hiring rose 42.5% while the market rose 9.0%, with partners and London carrying more of it than anywhere else in the technology practice.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Asset Finance Lawyers: Aircraft, Ships and London in 2026

  Asset finance is transport work as much as bank work: aviation clients appear in 22.4% of the speciality's matters, transportation in 15.4% and shipping in 12.6%, beside banks at 30.4%. Lateral hiring rose 43.6%, and London's share of moves indexes at 360 against the market.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Business Immigration Is 55.1% of Immigration Hiring in 2026

  Business immigration lawyers make up 55.1% of immigration lateral hiring, and their partners reach promotion after 12.0 years against the market's 10.0 years: the same slow track as immigration as a whole.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Buyout Lawyers: A Market for Firms of 1,000+ Lawyers

  Buyout lateral hiring runs through very large platforms on both sides of the move: firms of 1,000+ lawyers took 80.0% of buyout laterals, against 53.6% across the market, and were the previous firm for 79.8% of buyout movers over 3 years, against 56.6%. London, not New York, took the largest share of hires.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Civil Fraud and Asset Recovery Hiring Rose 68.6%, Led from London

  Lateral moves by civil fraud and asset recovery lawyers rose from 35 to 59 while litigation rose 7.5%. This is a London partner market: London took 31.0% of three-year moves, and partners 65.5% of the last 12 months.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Civil Rights Litigation Hiring: Chicago Nearly Level with New York

  Civil rights and constitutional litigation is not a New York market: over 3 years Chicago took 9.5% of lateral hires and New York 10.3%, while litigation as a whole sends 12.9% of its hires to New York and 4.6% to Chicago. Hiring held flat (+6.3%) year on year.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Class Action Partner Hiring: Partners Take 40.1% of Lateral Moves

  Class actions are a partner market inside an associate-heavy practice: partners are 40.1% of class action laterals, against 27.4% in litigation and 30.9% in commercial litigation, above the 36.5% of the past 3 years.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Commercial Litigation Lateral Market 2026: Where the Hires Land

  Commercial litigation carries 31.9% of litigation moves, and its hires land in regional markets: Dallas, Seattle, Denver and Miami take well above their market weight, New York holds its weight at 97 and London sits at 36.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Commercial Real Estate Transaction Lawyers in 2026: Who Buys the Work

  Real estate companies commission most commercial real estate transaction work, but asset managers and funds account for 16.3% of its deals. Lateral hiring held flat (+4.2%) while the practice's dated deals rose 9.6%.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Compliance Program Lawyers in 2026: A Washington Bench

  Corporate compliance program hiring is a Washington, DC market: over three years the capital took 37.7% of moves against 16.9% for the regulatory practice, and in the last 12 months 20.8% of movers joined at a higher title against 14.7%.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Construction Contract Lawyers in 2026: Partners In, Few Counsel

  Construction contracts hiring runs on partners, at 44.0% of moves, while counsel take 7.5%, a thinner tier than in construction as a whole. Partners can be hired from the market; the level below them mostly has to be built at home.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Construction Disputes Lawyers in 2026: A Market That Relocates

  Construction disputes lawyers change city with their move more often than the market and more often than the rest of construction, and no single city holds more than 7.8% of the hires. The bench is national, and so is the search.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Consumer Finance Lawyers: Ten Firms Take 71.9% of Hiring

  Consumer financial services hiring sits with few firms: the ten most active took 71.9% of hires against 30.6% in financial services regulatory, and hiring rose 39.1%.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Consumer Protection Lawyer Hiring Rose 40.4%, Led by Partners

  Lateral moves by consumer protection lawyers rose 40.4%, from 52 to 73, in a year when their regulatory and compliance practice held flat (+0.5%). Partners carried the rise: partner moves went from 25 to 42.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Copyright Lawyers in 2026: Hiring Follows the Media Docket

  Media and entertainment clients sit on 53.8% of copyright matters on record, most of them disputes, and copyright hiring over-indexes in San Francisco and Los Angeles far more than intellectual property does. Volume is flat; the map is what moved.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Corporate Governance Hiring: Partners Make 67.6% of Moves

  Corporate governance is a partner market: partners made 67.6% of its lateral moves in the 12 months to October 2026, against 29.9% in corporate and M&A. The pool is not growing: governance hiring held flat (+0.0%) year on year.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Corporate Lending in 2026: 2,010 Deals, Lateral Hiring Flat

  Banking and finance deal work rose 12.1% and the practice's hiring rose 14.1%, yet corporate lending lawyers are not moving more: hiring in the speciality held flat (-1.3%).

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Corporate Restructuring Buys Its Partners Rather Than Making Them

  Corporate restructuring fills its partner bench by hiring. Its practice promotes 0.47 partners per lateral partner, the lowest of any practice, against 0.79 market-wide, and partners are 45.0% of its laterals.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Creditors' Rights Lawyers: The Long Road to Partner

  Creditors' rights is one of the slower routes to partnership: a median of 11.0 years from first year of practice, and only 14.1% promoted within 8 years. The lateral market it feeds is partner-heavy, with partners at 48.6% of moves.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Debt Capital Markets Lawyers: A Step-Up Market at the Largest Firms

  Debt capital markets and high yield lawyers join at a higher title in 20.6% of moves, against 15.1% in capital markets and 12.9% overall, and firms of 1,000+ lawyers take 83.3% of the hires while hiring held flat (-6.0%).

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Defamation Lawyer Hiring: Associates Are the Minority

  Defamation and reputation is a senior lateral market: associates made 37.3% of moves against 57.7% in litigation, partners 44.0% against 27.4%, while overall hiring held flat (-3.7%).

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Divorce and Financial Remedies Lawyers: A Short List of Hiring Firms

  Divorce and financial remedies hiring held flat (+23.4%), and it sits with a short list of firms: firms of 400-999 lawyers took 50.0% of moves, against 37.8% in family law.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• eDiscovery Attorney Jobs: Openings on Firm Career Pages, Hiring Flat

  167 eDiscovery openings sat on law-firm career pages on one day in November 2026, and the lawyers who actually moved were mostly associates and counsel. Hiring held flat (+6.6%), while litigation as a whole rose 7.5%.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Employment Litigation Partners: Closest to Home-Grown in the Market

  Employment litigation firms named 263 partners by promotion in the 12 months to May 2026 and hired 236 lateral partners in the 12 months to October 2026. At practice level the ratio is 0.95 promotions per lateral partner, against 0.79 market-wide.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Environmental Compliance and Permitting: A Counsel-Heavy Market

  Counsel took 27.3% of environmental compliance and permitting moves, against 19.5% in the environment practice and 12.7% across the market. Partner hiring fell 42.0%. Hiring at all levels held flat (-15.0%).

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Environmental Litigators: A Bench Trained in Small Firms

  Over three years, 20.1% of environmental litigators who changed firms left firms under 150 lawyers, against 12.0% in the environment practice and 11.4% market-wide. Firms of 1,000+ lawyers took only 33.9% of 12-month hires, and hiring held flat (-2.4%).

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Equity Incentive Plan Lawyers Cross Cities to Move in 2026

  Equity incentive plan lawyers changed city in 23.4% of lateral moves over 12 months, against 17.3% in the benefits practice and 20.5% across the market. Over three years the share was 22.5%, still above the practice at 19.6%.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Estate Planning Lateral Hiring 2026: Partners Lead the Hiring

  Estate planning partner hiring rose 35.6% on settled 12-month windows while hiring at every level held flat (+10.3%). The partners are going to firms of 400-999 lawyers, which took 39.6% of moves against 23.4% market-wide.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Executive Compensation Lawyer Jobs: Openings Outnumber Movers

  Executive compensation openings stood at 248 on one day, against 120 lateral moves in the speciality over 12 months. Hiring held flat (+3.4%) while the benefits practice rose 16.6%, and the movers lean to New York, at an index of 198 against the market.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Export Controls and Sanctions: The Core of Trade Hiring

  Sanctions and export controls lawyers made 69.8% of the trade practice's lateral moves. Washington, DC took 50.0% of them, and partner hiring rose 64.0% while hiring at all levels held flat (+29.2%).

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• False Claims Act Lawyers: Washington Hires Most as Hiring Holds Flat

  Fraud and False Claims Act hiring centers on Washington, DC: 24.0% of moves, an index of 428 against the market and above white collar's 351. Only 12.0% of movers changed city, and hiring held flat (+21.3%).

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Foreign Investment Review Lawyers: Index 1,015 in Washington

  Washington, DC took 56.9% of foreign investment review lateral moves, an index of 1,015 against the market and above the trade practice's 876. Hiring held flat (+14.0%) year on year, so every hire comes out of the same small Washington pool.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Fund Finance Lawyers: The Top 10 Hirers Hold Most of the Market

  Fund finance hiring is held by a short list: the top 10 hirers took 56.3% of lateral moves and 69.0% of partner moves, against 19.9% and 25.1% in banking and finance. Over three years the figure was 41.0%.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Government and Internal Investigations Hiring: A Washington Market

  Government and internal investigations hiring is anchored in Washington, DC: 24.1% of moves land there, an index of 430, and only 12.5% of movers change city, against 20.5% across the market.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Government Contracts Lawyers: Disputes, Deals and Washington

  Sartori & Partners data show government contracts lawyers working on M&A as well as disputes, for public bodies and aerospace and defense companies first, while hiring held flat (+6.7%) and sits in Washington, DC at an index of 658.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Growth Equity Lawyers in 2026: Between Buyout and Venture

  On deals, growth and minority investment work sits between buyout and venture: 44.8% private equity, 25.9% venture and growth financings. On hiring it does not: firms of 1,000+ lawyers took 81.9% of laterals, and the ten most active hirers 45.2%.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Health Care Fraud Lawyers: A Few Firms Do Most of the Hiring

  The top 10 hirers took 44.8% of health care fraud and abuse moves against 25.0% in the health care practice, and partners were 50.6% of them. The count of moves held flat.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Health Care Transactions Partners Are Made Sooner: 9.0 years

  Health care transactions lawyers reach partner at a median of 9.0 years, against 10.0 years in health care and 10.0 years market-wide. Firms buy them as well: partners are 47.6% of lateral moves.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Healthcare Reimbursement Work Is a Disputes Practice, Hiring Flat

  Disputes and investigations made up 65.1% of healthcare regulatory and reimbursement matters over three years, regulatory and antitrust work 15.8%. Hiring held flat (+14.1%) on the year, and partners are a larger share of the moves than in health care as a whole.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• How Long to Make Partner in Employment Advisory: 11.0 years

  Employment advisory is the slow road to partner: a median of 11.0 years from first year of practice, against 10.0 years market-wide, and only 17.9% promoted within eight years.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• How Long to Make Partner in Public M&A: 9.0 years

  Public M&A runs on the same partnership clock as private M&A, a median of 9.0 years against 10.0 years for the market. What sets it apart is the lateral market: partners are 48.8% of moves, and the top 10 hirers take 38.6% of them.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Insolvency Litigation in 2026: Half Court, Half Restructuring

  The matters split 53.9% restructuring and 43.8% disputes, yet the lateral bench is built like restructuring's: partners are 46.1% of moves, against 27.4% in litigation.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Insurance Coverage Lawyers: A Pool Rooted in Small Firms

  Insurance coverage lawyers start at small firms far more often than the market's movers: firms under 150 lawyers were the previous firm for 23.0% of them over 3 years, against 11.4% across all practices. On the hiring side, firms of 150-399 lawyers took 23.7% of coverage joiners in 12 months, against 13.3% market-wide.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Insurance Defense Lateral Moves: The Title Comes With the Move

  In insurance defense a lateral move buys a title more often than in its practice or the market: 20.7% of movers joined a rank higher, against 15.7% in product liability and torts and 12.9% overall.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• International Arbitration Lawyers: London, the Gulf and Asian Seats

  Arbitration hiring runs through London, at an index of 282, and then through New York, Dubai and Singapore, which each took 7.1%, 6.9% and 6.8% of moves over 3 years. The pool travels: 24.8% of movers changed city.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Investment Management Regulatory: Partner Hiring Rose, Total Held

  Investment management regulatory partner hiring rose 46.2% year on year, while hiring at all levels held flat (+8.1%). Partners are 54.4% of the speciality's lateral moves, against 36.7% in funds and investment management.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Investment Treaty Arbitration in 2026: States as the Client

  In investment treaty arbitration the state is the largest client group, on 38.6% of matters over three years. Hiring rose 43.5% while the parent practice held flat (+12.8%).

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• IP Licensing Lawyers in 2026: A Market for Mid-Size Firms

  Firms of 400-999 lawyers took 40.3% of IP licensing lateral moves, level with firms of 1,000+ lawyers and well above their 24.2% share across intellectual property. The work behind the moves is life sciences, and hiring is flat.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• IPO Lawyers and the Life Sciences Issuer: 22.5% of Equity Offerings

  Pharma and biotech companies are 22.5% of the equity offerings law firms advised over 3 years, 2.4 times the share of banks. The lawyers who run those deals are hired in New York, at an index of 181 against the market, and their number has not grown.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Joint venture lawyers in 2026: energy work, partner hires

  Joint venture work follows energy: power and renewables is its first client industry and Houston hires at an index of 272 against the market. The bench is bought at partner level, 54.9% of laterals against 29.9% in corporate and M&A.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Labor Relations Lawyer Hiring Fell 19.8% While the Market Grew

  Fewer labor and union relations lawyers changed firms: 134 moves in the settled 12 months against 167 a year earlier, so hiring fell 19.8%. Employment and labor rose 6.9% and the whole market rose 9.0%.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Land Use and Zoning Lawyers in 2026: A Market Split Three Ways

  Over 3 years, firms of 1,000+ lawyers, 400-999 lawyers and 150-399 lawyers each hired close to a third of land use and zoning laterals (29.6%, 29.1%, 29.3%), while the largest firms took 52.5% market-wide. Hiring held flat, and counsel are an unusually large share of it.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Leveraged Finance Hiring: London Ahead of New York

  Banking and finance hires more lawyers into New York than into London, but its acquisition and leveraged finance specialty runs the other way: London took 23.3% of moves, at an index of 252, and New York 22.4%.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Life Sciences Patent Hiring in 2026: Boston Over-Indexes

  Boston drew 21.4% of life sciences and chemistry patent moves, an index of 826 against the market, and 13.7% came as teams. Hiring held flat (-9.0%).

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• M&A Tax Lawyers in 2026: Rising Demand, Local Benches

  Corporate and M&A tax hiring rose 22.6% on the settled year, yet only 12.0% of movers changed city, against 21.1% across tax and 20.5% in the market. New demand has to be met from each city's own bench.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Mass Tort Lawyer Jobs: A Day's Openings Beside a Year of Moves

  Openings labelled mass torts stood at 834 on one day, beside 198 lateral moves in the speciality over 12 months: a stock next to a flow, not a measure of unmet demand. The moves lean to Chicago, at an index of 262 against the market.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Medical Device Patents: Fewer Partners on the Move, Down 29.6%

  Partner moves in mechanical and medical device patent work fell 29.6% year on year, from 54 to 38. Hiring at all levels held flat (-8.1%), and partner hiring in intellectual property held flat (+8.0%): the drop is a partner story.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Medical Malpractice Lawyers: Health-Care Matters, Mid-Size Hirers

  Medical malpractice work is health-care work: 60.9% of the speciality's matters over three years involved health-care providers and payors. The hiring runs through firms of 150-399 lawyers, with 32.7% of moves against 13.3% market-wide, and hiring held flat (-15.1%) over the year.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Merger Control Hiring: Brussels at the Center

  Merger control hiring is a Brussels market: the city took 23.9% of moves, an index of 2,783 against the market, and the top 10 hirers took 50.0%. Year on year, hiring held flat (-7.9%).

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Municipal Lawyers in 2026: A Smaller-Firm Market

  Municipal and local government lawyers who change firms mostly join mid-sized platforms: firms of 1,000+ lawyers took 22.9% of their moves in 12 months, against 38.5% across public law and 53.6% in the whole market.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Non-Compete Lawyer Hiring in 2026: Why Chicago Over-Indexes

  Restrictive covenant hiring is a Chicago market and a partner market: Chicago over-indexes at 208, New York sits at 83, and partners take 42.7% of hires against 22.4% in employment law.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Patent Litigation Moves in Teams: 2026 Lateral Hiring Data

  Patent litigators change firms as groups: 9.3% of moves were part of a team, 6.2 times the market rate, and few of them arrive with a higher title.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Patent Prosecution Lawyers Change Cities More Than Most: 2026 Data

  Patent prosecution lawyers move further than most: 30.2% of moves also changed city, against 20.5% market-wide and 15.9% in intellectual property, while hiring held flat (-12.8%). And 10.4% came as part of a team, against 1.5%.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Payments and Fintech Regulation: Where Crypto Meets Payments

  Fintech and payments clients appear on 49.4% of the speciality's matters and crypto clients on 28.9%, while 86.8% of its lateral moves went to firms of 1,000+ lawyers.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Personal Injury Lawyers Move to Move Up: 19.5% Gained a Title

  A lateral move in personal injury and wrongful death is a promotion more often than in the wider market: 19.5% of movers stepped up a title, against 15.7% for the practice and 12.9% for all lawyers.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Power and Gas Regulation Lawyers: Hiring Beyond the Largest Firms

  Firms of 150-399 lawyers hired 25.5% of power and gas regulation laterals in 12 months, 2.1 times their share in the regulatory practice. Hiring in the field held flat (+14.0%) year on year.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• PPP Lawyers: Paris and the Partner Bench

  Public-private partnership hiring leans on Paris and on partners: Paris took 12.8% of moves over 3 years against 4.5% for projects and infrastructure, and partners made up 64.3% of the last 12 months' moves against 38.6%.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Premises Liability Defense: Smaller Firms Take a Larger Share

  Premises and general liability defense hiring leans to mid-size firms: firms of 150-399 lawyers took 31.4% of moves against 13.3% market-wide, and over 3 years 28.2% of movers came from firms under 150 lawyers, against 11.4% across the market.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Privacy Lawyers Held Still While Tech Hiring Rose in 2026

  Sartori & Partners data show privacy hiring held flat (+2.0%) against a practice that rose 32.6% and a market that rose 9.0%.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Private Credit Lawyers Stay in Their City as Hiring Holds Flat

  Private credit hiring held flat (-4.3%) on the settled year, and only 13.1% of movers changed city, against 20.4% in banking and finance and 20.5% market-wide. New York and London carry the hiring, and each hub hires from its own bench.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Private Fund Formation Hiring rose 20.5% in 2026, Above the Market

  Fund formation is a speciality in growth: lateral hiring rose 20.5% year on year while the market rose 9.0%. Partners carry the rise, and Paris over-indexes more than any other city.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Private M&A lateral hiring: flat inside a growing practice

  Private M&A hiring held flat (-0.9%) while the corporate practice it belongs to rose 15.8%. Lawyers whose own focus is private M&A make 37.9% of that practice's moves, so a private M&A search should be planned on the speciality's own numbers, not the corporate total.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Product Liability Hiring Runs Through the Counsel Title

  Counsel are 20.4% of product liability laterals, against 16.8% in the wider practice and 12.7% market-wide, and 16.8% of movers join at a higher title.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Professional Liability Lateral Hiring: A Short List of Buyers

  Ten firms take 33.0% of professional liability moves, 2.8 times the concentration seen across litigation. Philadelphia over-indexes at 355, and team moves run well above the market rate.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Project Development Lawyers: A Power and Renewables Bench

  Project development is power and renewables work: those clients were involved in 57.6% of its dated matters over three years. Hiring held flat (-7.7%), and it runs through firms of 1,000+ lawyers and through London and Houston.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Project Finance Lawyers: A Large-Firm Market

  Project finance hiring is a large-firm market on both sides of the move: firms of 1,000+ lawyers took 82.6% of laterals, against 53.6% market-wide, and over 3 years 76.2% of movers had left a firm of that size, against 56.6%. Power and renewables drive the work.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Public Company Reporting Hiring Is Associate-Led: 61.1% of Moves

  Associates were 61.1% of public company reporting moves and partners 25.2%, against 31.5% partners in capital markets and 27.7% market-wide. Partner hiring held flat (-25.0%).

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Real Estate Development Partner Hiring: Partners Match Associates

  Real estate development hires partners as often as associates, 41.6% each, against a partner share of 28.9% for real estate as a whole. Its first hiring city is London, and New York sits well under its market weight.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Real Estate Finance Hiring in 2026: New York Pulls Ahead

  Real estate finance is the New York end of real estate: 19.5% of its lateral moves land there, an index of 132 against the market, while the practice sits at 14.0%. The share runs 2.1 points above its 3-year average.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Real Estate Leasing Lawyers in 2026: A Mid-Size Firm Market

  Leasing is the part of real estate where mid-size firms do the hiring: firms of 400-999 lawyers took 33.1% of moves, and firms of 1,000+ lawyers only 39.6%, against 53.6% in the whole market.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Real Estate Litigation Lawyers in 2026: Beyond the Big Platforms

  Real estate litigators move away from the largest firms: 28.8% joined firms of 1,000+ lawyers in 12 months, while firms of 150-399 lawyers and under 150 lawyers together took 41.2%, against 29.1% across the real estate practice.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• REIT and Real Estate Fund Lawyers Go to Firms of 1,000+ Lawyers

  REIT and real estate fund lawyers move to the largest firms: firms of 1,000+ lawyers took 76.1% of their lateral moves, against 44.0% in real estate and 53.6% in the market. Partners made 50.0% of those moves.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Retirement Plan Lawyers: Chicago and Washington Lead the Moves

  Retirement and pension plan hiring runs through Chicago and Washington, DC: over three years they took 13.3% and 12.1% of moves, against 7.0% and 7.4% in the wider benefits practice, which New York leads at 17.5%.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Secondaries Lawyer Hiring Rose in 2026, and Partner Hiring Rose Most

  Sartori & Partners data show secondaries and fund transactions hiring rose 40.4%, ahead of the funds practice and the lateral market, and partner hiring rose 74.3%.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Securities Enforcement: Few Make Partner Within 8 Years

  Securities enforcement lawyers wait for the title: only 9.0% of recent new partners got there within 8 years, against 23.2% market-wide. Firms fill the gap from outside: partners are 57.3% of lateral moves, and hiring rose 30.6%.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Securities Litigation Hiring in 2026: A New York Market

  Securities litigation hiring is centered on New York to a degree litigation as a whole is not: 37.7% of moves over 3 years, against 12.9%. Partner hiring rose 38.2% while hiring at all levels held flat (+8.2%).

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Software Patent Lawyer Hiring: San Francisco and Washington

  Electrical, computer and software patent hiring runs through two cities. San Francisco indexes at 535 and Washington, DC at 346 against the market, while New York sits at 80.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Structured Finance Hires with the Cycle: The 2026 Lateral Market

  Structured finance hiring swings harder than the practice around it: lateral moves fell sharply in 2023 and peaked in 2025. On the settled 12-month measure the speciality held flat (-0.4%), while banking and finance rose 14.1%.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Tax Controversy Is a Senior Market, and Hiring Held Flat in 2026

  Tax controversy is a senior market: partners took 45.4% of moves and counsel 16.3%, and 18.4% of movers joined at a higher title. Hiring held flat (+20.2%) year on year, even as the tax practice rose 23.8%.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Technology transactions lawyers: London sets the pace

  London is where technology transactions hiring concentrates: its 12-month share indexes at 163 against the market, and over 3 years it took 16.1% of moves to New York's 8.1%. Overall hiring held flat (+18.9%), steady rather than rising.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Trade Secrets Lateral Hiring in 2026: A Partner Market

  Half of trade secrets lateral moves are partners (51.4%), against 27.7% across the market. The pool is steady and local, centered on San Francisco and Los Angeles.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Trademark Lawyers in 2026: Who Files and Who Hires

  The firms with the most trademark matters on record and the firms hiring the most trademark lawyers share one name at the top, Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton, and then part ways. Hiring also runs further from the largest firms than in intellectual property as a whole.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Trucking Defense Lawyers: Ten Firms, Half the Hiring

  Trucking defense hiring runs through a short list of buyers: the ten most active firms took 51.5% of lateral hires, against 30.0% in product liability and torts and 12.9% across all practices.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Trust and Estate Litigation Hiring Fell as Private Client Held Flat

  Trust and estate litigation hiring fell 30.1%, from 83 to 58 moves, while private client hiring held flat (+9.1%) and the market rose 9.0%. Those who did move joined at a higher title in 26.3% of cases, against 16.0% in the practice.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Trusts and Estate Administration 2026: A Small-Firm Talent Pool

  Trusts and estate administration recruits from small firms: firms under 150 lawyers were the previous firm for 20.7% of movers over 3 years, 1.8 times the market's 11.4%. The hiring side leans smaller too, with firms of 150-399 lawyers taking 30.5% of joiners against 13.3% market-wide.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Venture capital lawyer hiring: San Francisco and Boston

  Venture capital hiring runs through San Francisco and Boston, two cities that sit near the market average in the rest of corporate work. And only 10.2% of venture capital laterals moved to a higher title, against 12.9% across the market.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Wage and Hour Lawyers: A California Market, 23.0% in Los Angeles

  Wage and hour hiring is a California business: Los Angeles alone takes 23.0% of moves, 2.1 times the employment and labor share there, and San Francisco indexes at 277.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Waste and Remediation Lawyers Move Without Moving City in 2026

  Waste and remediation laterals changed city at 10.2% against 20.5% for the market, and most joined firms outside the 1,000+ lawyers class. Hiring held flat, so a search here is local and slow by nature.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Wealth & Family Office Lawyer Hiring More Than Doubled (2.2 Times)

  Lateral hiring of wealth and family office lawyers rose 116.7%, from 30 to 65 settled moves, while hiring across private client and estates held flat (+9.1%). Partners made 61.0% of the moves, against 32.6% in the practice.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Who Hires Criminal Defense Lawyers in 2026: A Fragmented Field

  Criminal defense hiring has no dominant buyer: 100 firms hired in 12 months, and over three years the ten busiest took 17.6% of moves, against 24.4% in anti-bribery and 21.8% in securities enforcement. Partner hiring fell 24.0%, while hiring at all levels held flat (-15.2%).

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Who Hires Cybersecurity Lawyers: A Short List That Keeps Rotating

  A small group of firms takes 28.7% of cybersecurity and data breach hires, against 12.9% in the market, yet four of this year's top 10 are not on the 3-year list, and Washington, DC indexes at 210.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026
• Who Hires Discrimination and Harassment Lawyers: Top 10 Take 39.2%

  Discrimination and harassment defense is hired by a narrow group: the top 10 firms took 39.2% of lateral moves in the past 12 months, against 30.0% across employment and labor and 32.6% in employment litigation.

  November 11, 2026 · November 2026