Litigation & Disputes · speciality monitor
Defamation & Reputation: lateral monitor
Lawyers whose work centers on Defamation & Reputation and who changed firm over the last 12 months, set against the Litigation & Disputes practice and the market.
The last 12 months: November 2025 to October 2026
- 75
- Lateral moves, 12 monthsNovember 2025 to October 2026
- -3.7%
- Year on yearSettled 12-month windows
- 44.0%
- Partner share of moves
- 59
- Firms that hired
What the data show
Sartori & Partners data show 75 lateral moves in Defamation & Reputation from November 2025 to October 2026. On settled windows the count went from 81 to 78 (-3.7%), which we read as flat. The market as a whole moved +9.0%, so this flow lagged it.
| Measure | Here | Litigation & Disputes | Market |
|---|---|---|---|
| Partner share of moves | 44.0% | 27.4% | 27.7% |
| Counsel share of moves | 18.7% | 14.4% | 12.7% |
| Associate share of moves | 37.3% | 57.7% | 58.5% |
| Moved up a level | 8.0% | 13.4% | 12.9% |
| Changed city | 14.3% | 19.6% | 20.5% |
| Hired by firms of 1,000+ lawyers | 40.0% | 43.3% | 53.6% |
| Year on year | flat (-3.7%) | rose (+7.5%) | 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 A dash is a value we do not publish.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.
Against the Litigation & Disputes practice as a whole, the widest gap is the associate share, which is lower here: 37.3% against 57.7%. Year on year it held flat while the Litigation & Disputes practice as a whole rose.
Over the three years to October 2026, 273 lawyers moved in Defamation & Reputation, 108 of them partners (39.6%). They joined 157 different firms. 12.8% stepped up a level on the move and 15.6% changed city, against 12.3% and 21.6% across the market over the same three years. 43.8% came from firms with 1,000+ lawyers.
- Partner44.0%
- Counsel18.7%
- Associate37.3%
Partners make up 44.0% of arrivals, against 27.7% across the market: a partner-heavy flow. On settled windows partner moves alone went from 29 to 36 (+24.1%), a change inside the noise of the two counts, so we read it as flat. 8.0% 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. Lateral hires in Defamation & Reputation were spread across 157 firms. Ten firms account for 19.4% of arrivals, against 12.2% across the market: moderately concentrated. First on the hiring table is Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton, with arrivals in the 6-10 band.
- 1,000+ lawyers43.8%
- 400-999 lawyers17.3%
- 150-399 lawyers17.8%
- under 150 lawyers21.1%
City figures here cover the three years to October 2026. Los Angeles ranks first among destination cities with 13.6% of arrivals, followed by New York (13.6%). 14.3% of movers also changed city, against 20.5% market-wide.
With volume in Defamation & Reputation 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 | Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton | 6-10 |
| 2 | Davis Wright Tremaine | 6-10 |
| 3 | Taft Stettinius & Hollister | 3-5 |
| 4 | Buchalter | 3-5 |
| 5 | Ogletree Deakins | 3-5 |
| 6 | Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani | 3-5 |
| 7 | Taylor Wessing | 3-5 |
| 8 | Holland & Hart | 3-5 |
| 9 | Freeman Mathis & Gary | 3-5 |
| 10 | Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan | 3-5 |
Deals in Defamation & Reputation
Sartori & Partners data count 32 over the three years to October 2026.
Disputes & investigations work is involved in 100.0% of them.
Time to partner in Defamation & Reputation
31 lawyers were promoted to partner in Defamation & Reputation in the 12 months to May 2026, 178 over five years, according to Sartori & Partners data.
The median time from first year of practice to partner is 11.0 years, with the middle half between 9.0 years and 13.0 years, against a market median of 10.0 years. 71.1% made partner within 12 years.
These figures rest on 149 promotions.
Related monitors and reports
Other specialities in Litigation & Disputes
Hiring in this market
Reports
- Defamation Lawyer Hiring: Associates Are the Minority
Defamation and reputation is a senior lateral market: associates made 37.3% of moves against 57.7% in litigation, partners 44.0% against 27.4%, while overall hiring held flat (-3.7%).
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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