Restructuring & Insolvency · speciality monitor
Cross-Border Insolvency: lateral monitor
Lawyers whose work centers on Cross-Border Insolvency and who changed firm over the last 12 months, set against the Restructuring & Insolvency practice and the market.
The last 12 months: November 2025 to October 2026
- 47
- Lateral moves, 12 monthsNovember 2025 to October 2026
- -4.7%
- Year on yearSettled 12-month windows
- 53.2%
- Partner share of moves
- 32
- Firms that hired
What the data show
From November 2025 to October 2026, Sartori & Partners recorded 47 lateral moves in Cross-Border Insolvency. On settled windows the count went from 43 to 41 (-4.7%), which we read as flat. The market as a whole moved +9.0%, so this flow lagged it.
| Measure | Here | Restructuring & Insolvency | Market |
|---|---|---|---|
| Partner share of moves | 53.2% | 41.5% | 27.7% |
| Counsel share of moves (three years) | 8.6% | 12.6% | 12.1% |
| Associate share of moves | 38.3% | 43.3% | 58.5% |
| Moved up a level | 14.9% | 16.5% | 12.9% |
| Changed city (three years) | 14.7% | 18.3% | 21.6% |
| Hired by firms of 1,000+ lawyers | 78.7% | 56.2% | 53.6% |
| Year on year | flat (-4.7%) | rose (+10.0%) | 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 A dash is a value we do not publish.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 Restructuring & Insolvency practice as a whole, the widest gap is the share hired by firms of 1,000+ lawyers, which is higher here: 78.7% against 56.2%. Year on year it held flat while the Restructuring & Insolvency practice as a whole rose.
Over the three years to October 2026, 139 lawyers moved in Cross-Border Insolvency, 61 of them partners (43.9%). They joined 81 different firms. 7.9% stepped up a level on the move and 14.7% changed city, against 12.3% and 21.6% across the market over the same three years. 75.0% came from firms with 1,000+ lawyers.
- Partner53.2%
- Associate38.3%
At 53.2%, the partner share of arrivals sits above the market's 27.7%. 14.9% 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. 81 firms hired at least one lateral in Cross-Border Insolvency in the window. The ten firms at the head of the hiring table took 29.4% of arrivals (12.2% market-wide), so hiring here is moderately concentrated. Kirkland & Ellis ranks first by lateral arrivals, in the 6-10 band.
- 1,000+ lawyers75.0%
- 400-999 lawyers14.1%
- 150-399 lawyers3.9%
- under 150 lawyers7.0%
City figures here cover the three years to October 2026. New York ranks first among destination cities with 33.1% of arrivals, followed by London (20.9%).
For a firm planning a hire in Cross-Border Insolvency, 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 | Kirkland & Ellis | 6-10 |
| 2 | A&O Shearman | 3-5 |
| 3 | Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld | 3-5 |
| 4 | McDermott Will & Schulte | 3-5 |
| 5 | Ropes & Gray | 3-5 |
| 6 | Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher | 3-5 |
| 7 | Paul Hastings | 3-5 |
| 8 | Latham & Watkins | 3-5 |
| 9 | Stephenson Harwood | 3-5 |
| 10 | Jones Day | 3-5 |
Deals in Cross-Border Insolvency
Sartori & Partners data count 25 dated deals in Cross-Border Insolvency in the 12 months to October 2026 and 89 over the three years to October 2026.
Restructuring & insolvency work is involved in 88.8% of them.
Weil Gotshal & Manges ranks first among advising firms over the period, in the 6-10 band.
| Rank | Firm | Deals (band) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Weil Gotshal & Manges | 6-10 |
| 2 | Jones Day | 6-10 |
| 3 | Davis Polk & Wardwell | 3-5 |
| 4 | Latham & Watkins | 3-5 |
| 5 | Kirkland & Ellis | 3-5 |
| 6 | White & Case | 3-5 |
| 7 | Trowers & Hamlins | 3-5 |
| 8 | Paul Hastings | 3-5 |
| 9 | Fasken Martineau DuMoulin | 3-5 |
| 10 | Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen & Hamilton | 3-5 |
Time to partner in Cross-Border Insolvency
81 lawyers were promoted to partner in Cross-Border Insolvency 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 12.0 years, against a market median of 10.0 years. 76.4% made partner within 12 years.
These figures rest on 55 promotions.
Related monitors and reports
Other specialities in Restructuring & Insolvency
Hiring in this market
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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