Litigation & Disputes · speciality monitor
Civil Fraud & Asset Recovery: lateral monitor
Lawyers whose work centers on Civil Fraud & Asset Recovery and who changed firm over the last 12 months, set against the Litigation & Disputes practice and the market.
The last 12 months: November 2025 to October 2026
- 55
- Lateral moves, 12 monthsNovember 2025 to October 2026
- +68.6%
- Year on yearSettled 12-month windows
- 65.5%
- Partner share of moves
- 40
- Firms that hired
What the data show
From November 2025 to October 2026, Sartori & Partners recorded 55 lateral moves in Civil Fraud & Asset Recovery. Year on year, on windows that end a month early, the count grew 68.6% (35 to 59). That runs ahead of the wider market, which moved +9.0%.
| Measure | Here | Litigation & Disputes | Market |
|---|---|---|---|
| Partner share of moves | 65.5% | 27.4% | 27.7% |
| Counsel share of moves (three years) | 9.7% | 13.4% | 12.1% |
| Associate share of moves | 27.3% | 57.7% | 58.5% |
| Moved up a level | 18.2% | 13.4% | 12.9% |
| Changed city | 22.2% | 19.6% | 20.5% |
| Hired by firms of 1,000+ lawyers | 45.5% | 43.3% | 53.6% |
| Year on year | rose (+68.6%) | rose (+7.5%) | 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 A dash is a value we do not publish.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 Litigation & Disputes practice as a whole, the widest gap is the partner share, which is higher here: 65.5% against 27.4%. Year on year it moved with the Litigation & Disputes practice as a whole: both rose.
Over the three years to October 2026, 145 lawyers moved in Civil Fraud & Asset Recovery, 80 of them partners (55.2%). They joined 88 different firms. 14.5% stepped up a level on the move and 22.0% changed city, against 12.3% and 21.6% across the market over the same three years. 36.1% came from firms with 1,000+ lawyers.
- Partner65.5%
- Associate27.3%
This is a partner market: 65.5% of movers were partners, against 27.7% market-wide. 18.2% of movers stepped up a level when they changed firm, against 12.9% for the market.
- 1,000+ lawyers45.5%
- 400-999 lawyers36.4%
- 150-399 lawyers9.1%
- under 150 lawyers9.1%
The 12-month firm table is below our naming threshold, so this part reads the three years to October 2026. Lateral hires in Civil Fraud & Asset Recovery were spread across 88 firms. Ten firms account for 28.7% of arrivals, against 12.2% across the market: moderately concentrated. Stephenson Harwood ranks first by lateral arrivals, in the 6-10 band.
- 1,000+ lawyers36.1%
- 400-999 lawyers34.3%
- 150-399 lawyers12.0%
- under 150 lawyers17.6%
City figures here cover the three years to October 2026. London ranks first among destination cities with 31.0% of arrivals. 22.2% of movers also changed city, against 20.5% market-wide.
For a firm hiring in Civil Fraud & Asset Recovery, the pool is moving and partners are part of it: expect competing offers and budget time for a contested process.
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 | Stephenson Harwood | 6-10 |
| 2 | Keystone Law | 6-10 |
| 3 | Cozen O'Connor | 3-5 |
| 4 | Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan | 3-5 |
| 5 | Hill Dickinson | 3-5 |
| 6 | Mishcon de Reya | 3-5 |
| 7 | Greenberg Traurig | 3-5 |
| 8 | Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer | 3-5 |
| 9 | McDermott Will & Schulte | 3-5 |
| Rank | Firm | Moves (band) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Keystone Law | 6-10 |
| 2 | Mishcon de Reya | 3-5 |
| 3 | Cozen O'Connor | 3-5 |
| 4 | McDermott Will & Schulte | 3-5 |
Deals in Civil Fraud & Asset Recovery
Sartori & Partners data count 46 dated deals in Civil Fraud & Asset Recovery in the 12 months to October 2026 and 145 over the three years to October 2026.
Disputes & investigations work is involved in 98.6% of them.
By client industry, Banks & Financial Institutions comes first with 17.9%.
Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan ranks first among advising firms over the period, in the 11-20 band.
| Rank | Firm | Deals (band) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan | 11-20 |
| 2 | Mishcon de Reya | 6-10 |
| 3 | King & Spalding | 6-10 |
| 4 | Hogan Lovells Cadwalader | 6-10 |
| 5 | Jones Day | 6-10 |
| 6 | Pinsent Masons | 3-5 |
| 7 | Cahill Gordon & Reindel | 3-5 |
| 8 | Boies Schiller Flexner | 3-5 |
| 9 | Bilzin Sumberg Baena Price & Axelrod | 3-5 |
| 10 | Withers Worldwide | 3-5 |
Time to partner in Civil Fraud & Asset Recovery
96 lawyers were promoted to partner in Civil Fraud & Asset Recovery over five years, according to Sartori & Partners data.
The median time from first year of practice to partner is 11.0 years, with the middle half between 9.0 years and 12.0 years, against a market median of 10.0 years. 79.2% made partner within 12 years.
These figures rest on 53 promotions.
Related monitors and reports
Other specialities in Litigation & Disputes
Hiring in this market
Reports
- 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
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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