Antitrust & Competition · speciality monitor
Antitrust Litigation: lateral monitor
Lawyers whose work centers on Antitrust Litigation and who changed firm over the last 12 months, set against the Antitrust & Competition practice and the market.
The last 12 months: November 2025 to October 2026
- 158
- Lateral moves, 12 monthsNovember 2025 to October 2026
- -3.8%
- Year on yearSettled 12-month windows
- 41.8%
- Partner share of moves
- 88
- Firms that hired
What the data show
Sartori & Partners data show 158 lateral moves in Antitrust Litigation from November 2025 to October 2026. On settled windows the count went from 158 to 152 (-3.8%), which we read as flat. That trails the wider market, which moved +9.0%.
| Measure | Here | Antitrust & Competition | Market |
|---|---|---|---|
| Partner share of moves | 41.8% | 32.4% | 27.7% |
| Counsel share of moves | 15.2% | 11.8% | 12.7% |
| Associate share of moves | 43.0% | 55.0% | 58.5% |
| Moved up a level | 14.6% | 13.3% | 12.9% |
| Changed city | 16.0% | 19.3% | 20.5% |
| Hired by firms of 1,000+ lawyers | 57.3% | 66.1% | 53.6% |
| Year on year | flat (-3.8%) | flat (+7.7%) | 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 A dash is a value we do not publish.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 Antitrust & Competition practice as a whole, the widest gap is the associate share, which is lower here: 43.0% against 55.0%. Year on year it moved with the Antitrust & Competition practice as a whole: both flat.
Over the three years to October 2026, 452 lawyers moved in Antitrust Litigation, 173 of them partners (38.3%). They joined 162 different firms. 13.1% stepped up a level on the move and 17.4% changed city, against 12.3% and 21.6% across the market over the same three years. 63.9% came from firms with 1,000+ lawyers.
- Partner41.8%
- Counsel15.2%
- Associate43.0%
At 41.8%, the partner share of arrivals sits above the market's 27.7%. On settled windows partner moves alone went from 66 to 58 (-12.1%), a change inside the noise of the two counts, so we read it as flat. A step up in title came with 14.6% of moves (market 12.9%).
Lateral hires in Antitrust Litigation were spread across 88 firms. Ten firms account for 28.0% of arrivals, against 12.9% across the market: moderately concentrated. Latham & Watkins ranks first by lateral arrivals, in the 6-10 band.
- 1,000+ lawyers63.9%
- 400-999 lawyers15.4%
- 150-399 lawyers8.9%
- under 150 lawyers11.8%
By city, New York comes first (30.4% of arrivals), then Washington, DC (17.1%). A change of city came with 16.0% of moves (market 20.5%).
5.1% of moves came as part of a group, against 1.5% market-wide.
There were 61 open roles in Antitrust Litigation on law-firm career pages on November 11, 2026.
With volume in Antitrust Litigation 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 | Latham & Watkins | 6-10 |
| 2 | Kirkland & Ellis | 6-10 |
| 3 | Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo | 3-5 |
| 4 | Sidley Austin | 3-5 |
| 5 | King & Spalding | 3-5 |
| 6 | Robins Kaplan | 3-5 |
| 7 | Sullivan & Cromwell | 3-5 |
| 8 | Hogan Lovells Cadwalader | 3-5 |
| 9 | WilmerHale | 3-5 |
| 10 | Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan | 3-5 |
| Rank | Firm | Moves (band) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kirkland & Ellis | 11-20 |
| 2 | King & Spalding | 6-10 |
| 3 | Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison | 6-10 |
| 4 | Hogan Lovells Cadwalader | 3-5 |
| 5 | Proskauer Rose | 3-5 |
| 6 | McDermott Will & Schulte | 3-5 |
| 7 | Ballard Spahr | 3-5 |
| 8 | Benesch Friedlander Coplan & Aronoff | 3-5 |
| 9 | Sidley Austin | 3-5 |
| 10 | Gowling WLG | 3-5 |
Deals in Antitrust Litigation
Sartori & Partners data count 149 dated deals in Antitrust Litigation in the 12 months to October 2026 and 436 over the three years to October 2026.
Disputes & investigations work is involved in 72.2% of them and Regulatory & antitrust in 21.6%.
By client industry, Banks & Financial Institutions comes first with 7.8%.
King & Spalding ranks first among advising firms over the period, in the 21-40 band.
| Rank | Firm | Deals (band) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | King & Spalding | 21-40 |
| 2 | Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro | 21-40 |
| 3 | Berger Montague | 21-40 |
| 4 | Arnold & Porter | 11-20 |
| 5 | Cravath, Swaine & Moore | 11-20 |
| 6 | Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan | 11-20 |
| 7 | Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison | 11-20 |
| 8 | Jones Day | 11-20 |
| 9 | Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher | 11-20 |
| 10 | Sidley Austin | 6-10 |
Time to partner in Antitrust Litigation
64 lawyers were promoted to partner in Antitrust Litigation in the 12 months to May 2026, 285 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 9.0 years and 12.0 years, against a market median of 10.0 years. 79.6% made partner within 12 years.
These figures rest on 240 promotions.
Related monitors and reports
Other specialities in Antitrust & Competition
Hiring in this market
Reports
- 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
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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