Litigation & Disputes · speciality monitor
Civil Rights & Constitutional Litigation: lateral monitor
Lawyers whose work centers on Civil Rights & Constitutional Litigation 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
- 85
- Lateral moves, 12 monthsNovember 2025 to October 2026
- +6.3%
- Year on yearSettled 12-month windows
- 34.1%
- Partner share of moves
- 62
- Firms that hired
What the data show
Sartori & Partners data show 85 lateral moves in Civil Rights & Constitutional Litigation from November 2025 to October 2026. On settled windows the count went from 79 to 84 (+6.3%), a change inside the noise of the two counts, so we read it as flat.
| Measure | Here | Litigation & Disputes | Market |
|---|---|---|---|
| Partner share of moves | 34.1% | 27.4% | 27.7% |
| Counsel share of moves | 15.3% | 14.4% | 12.7% |
| Associate share of moves | 50.6% | 57.7% | 58.5% |
| Moved up a level | 15.3% | 13.4% | 12.9% |
| Changed city | 17.5% | 19.6% | 20.5% |
| Hired by firms of 1,000+ lawyers | 37.6% | 43.3% | 53.6% |
| Year on year | flat (+6.3%) | 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 A dash is a value we do not publish.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.
Set against the Litigation & Disputes practice as a whole, the associate share stands out most: 50.6% here against 57.7%, below it. Year on year it held flat while the Litigation & Disputes practice as a whole rose.
Over the three years to October 2026, 243 lawyers moved in Civil Rights & Constitutional Litigation, 79 of them partners (32.5%). They joined 155 different firms. 12.8% stepped up a level on the move and 19.6% changed city, against 12.3% and 21.6% across the market over the same three years. 47.2% came from firms with 1,000+ lawyers.
- Partner34.1%
- Counsel15.3%
- Associate50.6%
This is a partner market: 34.1% of movers were partners, against 27.7% market-wide. On settled windows partner moves alone went from 23 to 29 (+26.1%), a change inside the noise of the two counts, so we read it as flat. 15.3% of movers stepped up a level when they changed firm, against 12.9% for the market.
The 12-month firm table is below our naming threshold, so this part reads the three years to October 2026. 155 firms hired at least one lateral in Civil Rights & Constitutional Litigation in the window. The ten firms at the head of the hiring table took 20.0% of arrivals (12.2% market-wide), so hiring here is moderately concentrated. First on the hiring table is Davis Wright Tremaine, with arrivals in the 6-10 band.
- 1,000+ lawyers47.2%
- 400-999 lawyers22.5%
- 150-399 lawyers11.3%
- under 150 lawyers19.0%
City figures here cover the three years to October 2026. By city, New York comes first (10.3% of arrivals), then Chicago (9.5%). A change of city came with 17.5% of moves (market 20.5%).
For a firm planning a hire in Civil Rights & Constitutional Litigation, 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 | Davis Wright Tremaine | 6-10 |
| 2 | Morrison & Foerster | 6-10 |
| 3 | Cozen O'Connor | 3-5 |
| 4 | Marshall Dennehey | 3-5 |
| 5 | Freeman Mathis & Gary | 3-5 |
| 6 | Taft Stettinius & Hollister | 3-5 |
| 7 | Jackson Lewis | 3-5 |
| 8 | Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath | 3-5 |
| 9 | Barnes & Thornburg | 3-5 |
| 10 | Womble Bond Dickinson | 3-5 |
Time to partner in Civil Rights & Constitutional Litigation
39 lawyers were promoted to partner in Civil Rights & Constitutional Litigation in the 12 months to May 2026, 173 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 12.0 years, against a market median of 10.0 years. 77.9% made partner within 12 years.
These figures rest on 149 promotions.
Related monitors and reports
Other specialities in Litigation & Disputes
Hiring in this market
Reports
- 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
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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