Technology, Data & Privacy · speciality monitor

Cybersecurity & Data Breach: lateral monitor

Lawyers whose work centers on Cybersecurity & Data Breach and who changed firm over the last 12 months, set against the Technology, Data & Privacy practice and the market.

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01 The numbers

The last 12 months: November 2025 to October 2026

169
Lateral moves, 12 monthsNovember 2025 to October 2026
+19.3%
Year on yearSettled 12-month windows
38.5%
Partner share of moves
99
Firms that hired
02 Reading the data

What the data show

In the Sartori & Partners lateral record, 169 lawyers joined a new firm in Cybersecurity & Data Breach from November 2025 to October 2026. On settled windows the count went from 150 to 179 (+19.3%), a change inside the noise of the two counts, so we read it as flat.

Cybersecurity & Data Breach against Technology, Data & Privacy and the market
MeasureHereTechnology, Data & PrivacyMarket
Partner share of moves38.5%33.2%27.7%
Counsel share of moves11.2%13.4%12.7%
Associate share of moves50.3%51.2%58.5%
Moved up a level12.4%14.8%12.9%
Changed city16.3%18.4%20.5%
Hired by firms of 1,000+ lawyers56.8%58.4%53.6%
Year on yearflat (+19.3%)rose (+32.6%)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 A dash is a value we do not publish.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 Technology, Data & Privacy practice as a whole, the partner share stands out most: 38.5% here against 33.2%, above it. Year on year it held flat while the Technology, Data & Privacy practice as a whole rose.

Cybersecurity & Data Breach: lateral moves by year

2026 runs to October.

Over the three years to October 2026, 526 lawyers moved in Cybersecurity & Data Breach, 197 of them partners (37.5%). They joined 200 different firms. 13.7% stepped up a level on the move and 18.8% changed city, against 12.3% and 21.6% across the market over the same three years. 64.8% came from firms with 1,000+ lawyers.

Partners make up 38.5% of arrivals, against 27.7% across the market: a partner-heavy flow. On settled windows partner moves alone went from 50 to 67 (+34.0%), a change inside the noise of the two counts, so we read it as flat. A step up in title came with 12.4% of moves (market 12.9%).

99 firms hired at least one lateral in Cybersecurity & Data Breach in the window. The ten firms at the head of the hiring table took 28.7% of arrivals (12.9% market-wide), so hiring here is moderately concentrated. First on the hiring table is McDonald Hopkins, with arrivals in the 6-10 band.

Washington, DC ranks first among destination cities with 11.8% of arrivals. 16.3% of movers also changed city, against 20.5% market-wide.

There were 318 open roles in Cybersecurity & Data Breach on law-firm career pages on November 11, 2026.

With volume in Cybersecurity & Data Breach holding level, a hire depends on a specific reason to move, which a firm has to put in front of the candidate.

03 Firms

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.

Firms ranked by lateral arrivals, 12 months
RankFirmMoves (band)
1McDonald Hopkins6-10
2Jones Day6-10
3Clark Hill3-5
4Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani3-5
5Baker McKenzie3-5
6Dentons3-5
7Bird & Bird3-5
8Norton Rose Fulbright3-5
9Morgan, Lewis & Bockius3-5
10Osborne Clarke3-5
04 Demand

Deals in Cybersecurity & Data Breach

Sartori & Partners data count 73 over the three years to October 2026.

Disputes & investigations work is involved in 82.2% of them.

Bass, Berry & Sims ranks first among advising firms over the period, in the 11-20 band.

Advising firms ranked by deals, three years to October 2026
RankFirmDeals (band)
1Bass, Berry & Sims11-20
2Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani6-10
3Baker & Hostetler3-5
4Freeman Mathis & Gary3-5
5Wood, Smith, Henning & Berman3-5
6Taft Stettinius & Hollister3-5
7Stibbe3-5
8Jones Day3-5
05 Promotions

Time to partner in Cybersecurity & Data Breach

59 lawyers were promoted to partner in Cybersecurity & Data Breach in the 12 months to May 2026, 280 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. 72.8% made partner within 12 years.

These figures rest on 213 promotions.

Years from first year of practice to partner
06 Explore

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Reports

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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