Real Estate · speciality monitor
Affordable Housing: lateral monitor
Lawyers whose work centers on Affordable Housing and who changed firm over the last 12 months, set against the Real Estate practice and the market.
The last 12 months: November 2025 to October 2026
- 50
- Lateral moves, 12 monthsNovember 2025 to October 2026
- +11.4%
- Year on yearSettled 12-month windows
- 22.0%
- Partner share of moves
- 36
- Firms that hired
What the data show
In the Sartori & Partners lateral record, 50 lawyers joined a new firm in Affordable Housing from November 2025 to October 2026. On settled windows the count went from 44 to 49 (+11.4%), a change inside the noise of the two counts, so we read it as flat.
| Measure | Here | Real Estate | Market |
|---|---|---|---|
| Partner share of moves | 22.0% | 28.9% | 27.7% |
| Counsel share of moves | 18.0% | 14.6% | 12.7% |
| Associate share of moves | 60.0% | 56.4% | 58.5% |
| Moved up a level | 12.0% | 13.6% | 12.9% |
| Changed city | 38.9% | 20.4% | 20.5% |
| Hired by firms of 1,000+ lawyers | 38.0% | 44.0% | 53.6% |
| Year on year | flat (+11.4%) | rose (+7.9%) | 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 A dash is a value we do not publish.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 Real Estate practice as a whole, the widest gap is the share who changed city, which is higher here: 38.9% against 20.4%. Year on year it held flat while the Real Estate practice as a whole rose.
Over the three years to October 2026, 136 lawyers moved in Affordable Housing, 42 of them partners (30.9%). They joined 89 different firms. 13.2% stepped up a level on the move and 35.8% changed city, against 12.3% and 21.6% across the market over the same three years. 27.4% came from firms with 1,000+ lawyers.
- Partner22.0%
- Counsel18.0%
- Associate60.0%
The partner share is 22.0%, below the market's 27.7%, so most movers are associates and counsel. A step up in title came with 12.0% of moves (market 12.9%).
- 1,000+ lawyers38.0%
- 400-999 lawyers34.0%
- 150-399 lawyers22.0%
The 12-month firm table is below our naming threshold, so this part reads the three years to October 2026. 89 firms hired at least one lateral in Affordable Housing in the window. Ten firms account for 33.6% of arrivals, against 12.2% across the market: concentrated. First on the hiring table is Nixon Peabody, with arrivals in the 6-10 band.
- 1,000+ lawyers27.4%
- 400-999 lawyers35.8%
- 150-399 lawyers13.7%
- under 150 lawyers23.2%
City figures here cover the three years to October 2026. Washington, DC ranks first among destination cities with 16.2% of arrivals. 38.9% of movers also changed city, against 20.5% market-wide.
There were 20 open roles in Affordable Housing on law-firm career pages on November 11, 2026.
With volume in Affordable Housing holding level, a hire depends on a specific reason to move, which a firm has to put in front of the candidate.
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 | Nixon Peabody | 6-10 |
| 2 | Stinson | 3-5 |
| 3 | Robinson & Cole | 3-5 |
| 4 | Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough | 3-5 |
| 5 | Holland & Knight | 3-5 |
| 6 | Polsinelli | 3-5 |
| 7 | Barnes & Thornburg | 3-5 |
| 8 | Womble Bond Dickinson | 3-5 |
| 9 | Dinsmore | 3-5 |
Deals in Affordable Housing
Sartori & Partners data count 55 dated deals in Affordable Housing in the 12 months to October 2026 and 149 over the three years to October 2026.
Real estate work is involved in 80.5% of them.
By client industry, Real Estate comes first with 71.1%.
Trowers & Hamlins ranks first among advising firms over the period, in the 21-40 band.
| Rank | Firm | Deals (band) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Trowers & Hamlins | 21-40 |
| 2 | Bilzin Sumberg Baena Price & Axelrod | 11-20 |
| 3 | Holland & Knight | 6-10 |
| 4 | Weightmans | 3-5 |
| 5 | Katten Muchin Rosenman | 3-5 |
| 6 | Walker Morris | 3-5 |
| 7 | Nixon Peabody | 3-5 |
| 8 | Freeths | 3-5 |
| 9 | Browne Jacobson | 3-5 |
| 10 | Ballard Spahr | 3-5 |
Time to partner in Affordable Housing
20 lawyers were promoted to partner in Affordable Housing in the 12 months to May 2026, 91 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 11.2 years, against a market median of 10.0 years. 80.9% made partner within 12 years.
These figures rest on 68 promotions.
Related monitors and reports
Other specialities in Real Estate
Hiring in this market
Reports
- 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
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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