Immigration · speciality monitor
Business Immigration: lateral monitor
Lawyers whose work centers on Business Immigration and who changed firm over the last 12 months, set against the Immigration practice and the market.
The last 12 months: November 2025 to October 2026
- 65
- Lateral moves, 12 monthsNovember 2025 to October 2026
- -13.3%
- Year on yearSettled 12-month windows
- 23.1%
- Partner share of moves
- 36
- Firms that hired
What the data show
Sartori & Partners data show 65 lateral moves in Business Immigration from November 2025 to October 2026. On settled windows the count went from 75 to 65 (-13.3%), a change inside the noise of the two counts, so we read it as flat.
| Measure | Here | Immigration | Market |
|---|---|---|---|
| Partner share of moves | 23.1% | 22.0% | 27.7% |
| Counsel share of moves | 24.6% | 24.6% | 12.7% |
| Associate share of moves | 52.3% | 52.5% | 58.5% |
| Moved up a level | 23.1% | 18.6% | 12.9% |
| Changed city | 28.1% | 24.2% | 20.5% |
| Hired by firms of 1,000+ lawyers | 33.8% | 32.7% | 53.6% |
| Year on year | flat (-13.3%) | flat (+6.4%) | 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 A dash is a value we do not publish.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.
Set against the Immigration practice as a whole, the share who moved up a level stands out most: 23.1% here against 18.6%, above it. Year on year it moved with the Immigration practice as a whole: both flat.
Over the three years to October 2026, 200 lawyers moved in Business Immigration, 49 of them partners (24.5%). They joined 88 different firms. 15.0% stepped up a level on the move and 30.7% changed city, against 12.3% and 21.6% across the market over the same three years. 32.8% came from firms with 1,000+ lawyers.
- Partner23.1%
- Counsel24.6%
- Associate52.3%
With partners at 23.1% of arrivals, the mix is in line with the market's 27.7%. A step up in title came with 23.1% of moves (market 12.9%).
- 1,000+ lawyers33.8%
- 400-999 lawyers49.2%
- 150-399 lawyers13.8%
36 firms hired at least one lateral in Business Immigration in the window. Ten firms account for 60.0% of arrivals, against 12.9% across the market: concentrated. First on the hiring table is Ogletree Deakins, with arrivals in the 6-10 band.
- 1,000+ lawyers32.8%
- 400-999 lawyers29.7%
- 150-399 lawyers28.1%
- under 150 lawyers9.4%
28.1% of movers also changed city, against 20.5% market-wide.
There were 99 open roles in Business Immigration on law-firm career pages on November 11, 2026.
For a firm planning a hire in Business Immigration, a flat market means candidates are not being pulled by a wave: the case for a move has to come from the platform.
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 | Ogletree Deakins | 6-10 |
| 2 | Fragomen | 6-10 |
| 3 | Clark Hill | 6-10 |
| 4 | Weightmans | 3-5 |
| 5 | Jackson Lewis | 3-5 |
Time to partner in Business Immigration
21 lawyers were promoted to partner in Business Immigration in the 12 months to May 2026, 102 over five years, according to Sartori & Partners data.
The median time from first year of practice to partner is 12.0 years, with the middle half between 10.0 years and 15.0 years, against a market median of 10.0 years. 54.3% made partner within 12 years.
These figures rest on 81 promotions.
Related monitors and reports
Hiring in this market
Reports
- 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
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].
For law firm leaders
Planning a partner hire in this market?
We run retained partner searches using the same data behind this page.