International Trade & National Security · speciality monitor
Customs & Tariffs: lateral monitor
Lawyers whose work centers on Customs & Tariffs and who changed firm over the last 12 months, set against the International Trade & National Security practice and the market.
The last 12 months: November 2025 to October 2026
- 24
- Lateral moves, 12 monthsNovember 2025 to October 2026
- -12.5%
- Year on yearSettled 12-month windows
- 29.2%
- Partner share of moves
- 20
- Firms that hired
What the data show
From November 2025 to October 2026, Sartori & Partners recorded 24 lateral moves in Customs & Tariffs. On settled windows the count went from 32 to 28 (-12.5%), a change inside the noise of the two counts, so we read it as flat.
| Measure | Here | International Trade & National Security | Market |
|---|---|---|---|
| Partner share of moves | 29.2% | 40.6% | 27.7% |
| Counsel share of moves (three years) | 14.6% | 14.7% | 12.1% |
| Associate share of moves | 58.3% | 48.1% | 58.5% |
| Moved up a level (three years) | 13.4% | 13.8% | 12.3% |
| Changed city (three years) | 10.8% | 14.7% | 21.6% |
| Hired by firms of 1,000+ lawyers | 62.5% | 66.0% | 53.6% |
| Year on year | flat (-12.5%) | flat (+6.2%) | 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 A dash is a value we do not publish.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 International Trade & National Security practice as a whole, the widest gap is the partner share, which is lower here: 29.2% against 40.6%. Year on year it moved with the International Trade & National Security practice as a whole: both flat.
Over the three years to October 2026, 82 lawyers moved in Customs & Tariffs, 26 of them partners (31.7%). They joined 51 different firms. 13.4% stepped up a level on the move and 10.8% changed city, against 12.3% and 21.6% across the market over the same three years. 56.9% came from firms with 1,000+ lawyers.
- Partner29.2%
- Associate58.3%
Partners account for 29.2% of movers, near the market's 27.7%.
- 1,000+ lawyers62.5%
- 400-999 lawyers20.8%
The 12-month firm table is below our naming threshold, so this part reads the three years to October 2026. 51 firms hired at least one lateral in Customs & Tariffs in the window. Ten firms account for 40.7% of arrivals, against 12.2% across the market: concentrated. First on the hiring table is Hogan Lovells Cadwalader, with arrivals in the 6-10 band.
- 1,000+ lawyers56.9%
- 400-999 lawyers26.2%
- 150-399 lawyers13.8%
City figures here cover the three years to October 2026. Washington, DC ranks first among destination cities with 48.8% of arrivals.
There were 21 open roles in Customs & Tariffs on law-firm career pages on November 11, 2026.
For a firm planning a hire in Customs & Tariffs, 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 | Hogan Lovells Cadwalader | 6-10 |
| 2 | Baker McKenzie | 3-5 |
| 3 | DLA Piper | 3-5 |
| 4 | Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman | 3-5 |
| 5 | King & Spalding | 3-5 |
| 6 | Holland & Knight | 3-5 |
Deals in Customs & Tariffs
Sartori & Partners data count 30 dated deals in Customs & Tariffs in the 12 months to October 2026 and 69 over the three years to October 2026.
Disputes & investigations work is involved in 53.6% of them.
Wiley ranks first among advising firms over the period, in the 11-20 band.
| Rank | Firm | Deals (band) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wiley | 11-20 |
| 2 | King & Spalding | 11-20 |
| 3 | Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney | 11-20 |
| 4 | Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath | 3-5 |
| 5 | Milbank | 3-5 |
| 6 | Bass, Berry & Sims | 3-5 |
| 7 | Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld | 3-5 |
| 8 | Nishimura & Asahi | 3-5 |
Time to partner in Customs & Tariffs
40 lawyers were promoted to partner in Customs & Tariffs 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. 69.0% made partner within 12 years.
These figures rest on 29 promotions.
Related monitors and reports
Other specialities in International Trade & National Security
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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