Regulatory & Compliance · speciality monitor
Corporate Compliance Programmes: lateral monitor
Lawyers whose work centers on Corporate Compliance Programmes and who changed firm over the last 12 months, set against the Regulatory & Compliance practice and the market.
The last 12 months: November 2025 to October 2026
- 53
- Lateral moves, 12 monthsNovember 2025 to October 2026
- +12.5%
- Year on yearSettled 12-month windows
- 50.9%
- Partner share of moves
- 40
- Firms that hired
What the data show
Sartori & Partners data show 53 lateral moves in Corporate Compliance Programmes from November 2025 to October 2026. On settled windows the count went from 48 to 54 (+12.5%), a change inside the noise of the two counts, so we read it as flat.
| Measure | Here | Regulatory & Compliance | Market |
|---|---|---|---|
| Partner share of moves | 50.9% | 42.5% | 27.7% |
| Counsel share of moves | 18.9% | 16.0% | 12.7% |
| Associate share of moves | 30.2% | 40.5% | 58.5% |
| Moved up a level | 20.8% | 14.7% | 12.9% |
| Changed city | 14.0% | 18.4% | 20.5% |
| Hired by firms of 1,000+ lawyers | 71.7% | 53.1% | 53.6% |
| Year on year | flat (+12.5%) | flat (+0.5%) | 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 A dash is a value we do not publish.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 Regulatory & Compliance practice as a whole, the share hired by firms of 1,000+ lawyers stands out most: 71.7% here against 53.1%, above it. Year on year it moved with the Regulatory & Compliance practice as a whole: both flat.
Over the three years to October 2026, 154 lawyers moved in Corporate Compliance Programmes, 76 of them partners (49.4%). They joined 84 different firms. 16.9% stepped up a level on the move and 13.1% changed city, against 12.3% and 21.6% across the market over the same three years. 60.3% came from firms with 1,000+ lawyers.
- Partner50.9%
- Counsel18.9%
- Associate30.2%
This is a partner market: 50.9% of movers were partners, against 27.7% market-wide. On settled 12-month windows partner moves alone showed no clear change: 27 against 26 (+3.8%). 20.8% of movers stepped up a level when they changed firm, against 12.9% for the market.
- 1,000+ lawyers71.7%
- 400-999 lawyers17.0%
- 150-399 lawyers9.4%
The 12-month firm table is below our naming threshold, so this part reads the three years to October 2026. 84 firms hired at least one lateral in Corporate Compliance Programmes in the window. The ten firms at the head of the hiring table took 33.6% of arrivals (12.2% market-wide), so hiring here is concentrated. Steptoe ranks first by lateral arrivals, in the 6-10 band.
- 1,000+ lawyers60.3%
- 400-999 lawyers16.8%
- 150-399 lawyers16.0%
- under 150 lawyers6.9%
City figures here cover the three years to October 2026. Washington, DC ranks first among destination cities with 37.7% of arrivals. A change of city came with 14.0% of moves (market 20.5%).
There were 35 open roles in Corporate Compliance Programmes on law-firm career pages on November 11, 2026.
With volume in Corporate Compliance Programmes 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 | Steptoe | 6-10 |
| 2 | Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld | 6-10 |
| 3 | Norton Rose Fulbright | 6-10 |
| 4 | Hogan Lovells Cadwalader | 6-10 |
| 5 | DLA Piper | 3-5 |
| 6 | Ashurst Perkins Coie | 3-5 |
| 7 | Baker McKenzie | 3-5 |
| 8 | Sidley Austin | 3-5 |
| 9 | Morgan, Lewis & Bockius | 3-5 |
| 10 | Greenberg Traurig | 3-5 |
Time to partner in Corporate Compliance Programmes
71 lawyers were promoted to partner in Corporate Compliance Programmes 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. 72.7% made partner within 12 years.
These figures rest on 55 promotions.
Related monitors and reports
Other specialities in Regulatory & Compliance
Hiring in this market
Reports
- Compliance Program Lawyers in 2026: A Washington Bench
Corporate compliance program hiring is a Washington, DC market: over three years the capital took 37.7% of moves against 16.9% for the regulatory practice, and in the last 12 months 20.8% of movers joined at a higher title against 14.7%.
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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