Real Estate · speciality monitor
Commercial Real Estate Transactions: lateral monitor
Lawyers whose work centers on Commercial Real Estate Transactions 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
- 628
- Lateral moves, 12 monthsNovember 2025 to October 2026
- +4.2%
- Year on yearSettled 12-month windows
- 31.5%
- Partner share of moves
- 245
- Firms that hired
What the data show
In the Sartori & Partners lateral record, 628 lawyers joined a new firm in Commercial Real Estate Transactions from November 2025 to October 2026. On settled windows the count went from 618 to 644 (+4.2%), which we read as flat. The market as a whole moved +9.0%, a similar pace.
| Measure | Here | Real Estate | Market |
|---|---|---|---|
| Partner share of moves | 31.5% | 28.9% | 27.7% |
| Counsel share of moves | 15.9% | 14.6% | 12.7% |
| Associate share of moves | 52.5% | 56.4% | 58.5% |
| Moved up a level | 13.9% | 13.6% | 12.9% |
| Changed city | 20.2% | 20.4% | 20.5% |
| Hired by firms of 1,000+ lawyers | 44.1% | 44.0% | 53.6% |
| Year on year | flat (+4.2%) | 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 A dash is a value we do not publish.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 associate share, which is lower here: 52.5% against 56.4%. Year on year it held flat while the Real Estate practice as a whole rose.
Over the three years to October 2026, 1,749 lawyers moved in Commercial Real Estate Transactions, 597 of them partners (34.1%). They joined 385 different firms. 13.8% stepped up a level on the move and 21.1% changed city, against 12.3% and 21.6% across the market over the same three years. 49.2% came from firms with 1,000+ lawyers.
Latest: 30 in Oct 26
Show the numbers
| Month | Value |
|---|---|
| Nov 24 | 38 |
| Dec 24 | 36 |
| Jan 25 | 61 |
| Feb 25 | 44 |
| Mar 25 | 61 |
| Apr 25 | 59 |
| May 25 | 63 |
| Jun 25 | 60 |
| Jul 25 | 46 |
| Aug 25 | 41 |
| Sep 25 | 48 |
| Oct 25 | 46 |
| Nov 25 | 36 |
| Dec 25 | 35 |
| Jan 26 | 68 |
| Feb 26 | 62 |
| Mar 26 | 62 |
| Apr 26 | 61 |
| May 26 | 66 |
| Jun 26 | 45 |
| Jul 26 | 59 |
| Aug 26 | 55 |
| Sep 26 | 49 |
| Oct 26 | 30 |
The newest months read low: start dates are confirmed with a delay.
Partners account for 31.5% of movers, near the market's 27.7%. On settled windows partner moves alone went from 211 to 197 (-6.6%), a change inside the noise of the two counts, so we read it as flat. 13.9% of movers stepped up a level when they changed firm, against 12.9% for the market.
- Partner31.5%
- Counsel15.9%
- Associate52.5%
245 firms hired at least one lateral in Commercial Real Estate Transactions in the window. Ten firms account for 20.6% of arrivals, against 12.9% across the market: moderately concentrated. Greenberg Traurig ranks first by lateral arrivals, in the 21-40 band.
By city, New York comes first (14.8% of arrivals), then Chicago (5.6%). A change of city came with 20.2% of moves (market 20.5%).
- 1,000+ lawyers49.2%
- 400-999 lawyers24.7%
- 150-399 lawyers12.6%
- under 150 lawyers13.5%
1.0% of moves came as part of a group, against 1.5% market-wide.
There were 374 open roles in Commercial Real Estate Transactions on law-firm career pages on November 11, 2026.
With volume in Commercial Real Estate Transactions 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 | Greenberg Traurig | 21-40 |
| 2 | Polsinelli | 11-20 |
| 3 | Dentons | 11-20 |
| 4 | Holland & Knight | 11-20 |
| 5 | Seyfarth Shaw | 6-10 |
| 6 | Kirkland & Ellis | 6-10 |
| 7 | Taft Stettinius & Hollister | 6-10 |
| 8 | Saul Ewing | 6-10 |
| 9 | Winstead | 6-10 |
| 10 | Mayer Brown | 6-10 |
| Rank | Firm | Moves (band) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Greenberg Traurig | 6-10 |
| 2 | White & Case | 3-5 |
| 3 | Mayer Brown | 3-5 |
| 4 | Seyfarth Shaw | 3-5 |
| 5 | Dentons | 3-5 |
| 6 | King & Spalding | 3-5 |
| 7 | Willkie Farr & Gallagher | 3-5 |
| 8 | Shutts & Bowen | 3-5 |
| 9 | Holland & Knight | 3-5 |
| 10 | Norton Rose Fulbright | 3-5 |
Deals in Commercial Real Estate Transactions
Sartori & Partners data count 606 dated deals in Commercial Real Estate Transactions in the 12 months to October 2026 and 1,622 over the three years to October 2026.
Real estate work is involved in 89.5% of them and M&A in 3.2%.
By client industry, Real Estate comes first with 64.5%.
Greenberg Traurig ranks first among advising firms over the period, in the 61-100 band.
| Rank | Firm | Deals (band) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Greenberg Traurig | 61-100 |
| 2 | CMS | 61-100 |
| 3 | DLA Piper | 61-100 |
| 4 | Clifford Chance | 61-100 |
| 5 | Dentons | 41-60 |
| 6 | Jones Day | 41-60 |
| 7 | Hogan Lovells Cadwalader | 41-60 |
| 8 | Loyens & Loeff | 21-40 |
| 9 | Bass, Berry & Sims | 21-40 |
| 10 | Gide Loyrette Nouel A.A.R.P.I | 21-40 |
Time to partner in Commercial Real Estate Transactions
164 lawyers were promoted to partner in Commercial Real Estate Transactions in the 12 months to May 2026, 769 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 13.0 years, against a market median of 10.0 years. 74.8% made partner within 12 years.
These figures rest on 580 promotions.
Related monitors and reports
Other specialities in Real Estate
Hiring in this market
Reports
- Commercial Real Estate Transaction Lawyers in 2026: Who Buys the Work
Real estate companies commission most commercial real estate transaction work, but asset managers and funds account for 16.3% of its deals. Lateral hiring held flat (+4.2%) while the practice's dated deals rose 9.6%.
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.