Litigation & Disputes · speciality monitor
eDiscovery: lateral monitor
Lawyers whose work centers on eDiscovery 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
- 63
- Lateral moves, 12 monthsNovember 2025 to October 2026
- +6.6%
- Year on yearSettled 12-month windows
- 28.6%
- Partner share of moves
- 50
- Firms that hired
What the data show
Sartori & Partners data show 63 lateral moves in eDiscovery from November 2025 to October 2026. On settled windows the count went from 61 to 65 (+6.6%), a change inside the noise of the two counts, so we read it as flat.
| Measure | Here | Litigation & Disputes | Market |
|---|---|---|---|
| Partner share of moves | 28.6% | 27.4% | 27.7% |
| Counsel share of moves | 17.5% | 14.4% | 12.7% |
| Associate share of moves | 54.0% | 57.7% | 58.5% |
| Moved up a level | 9.5% | 13.4% | 12.9% |
| Changed city | 21.7% | 19.6% | 20.5% |
| Hired by firms of 1,000+ lawyers | 41.9% | 43.3% | 53.6% |
| Year on year | flat (+6.6%) | 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 A dash is a value we do not publish.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.
Set against the Litigation & Disputes practice as a whole, the share who moved up a level stands out most: 9.5% here against 13.4%, below it. Year on year it held flat while the Litigation & Disputes practice as a whole rose.
Over the three years to October 2026, 199 lawyers moved in eDiscovery, 48 of them partners (24.1%). They joined 123 different firms. 17.6% stepped up a level on the move and 26.3% changed city, against 12.3% and 21.6% across the market over the same three years. 51.6% came from firms with 1,000+ lawyers.
- Partner28.6%
- Counsel17.5%
- Associate54.0%
The level mix sits close to the market: partners are 28.6% of arrivals, against 27.7% market-wide. A step up in title came with 9.5% of moves (market 12.9%).
- 1,000+ lawyers41.9%
- 400-999 lawyers33.9%
- 150-399 lawyers16.1%
- under 150 lawyers8.1%
The 12-month firm table is below our naming threshold, so this part reads the three years to October 2026. 123 firms hired at least one lateral in eDiscovery in the window. Ten firms account for 22.8% of arrivals, against 12.2% across the market: moderately concentrated. First on the hiring table is Bowman and Brooke, with arrivals in the 6-10 band.
- 1,000+ lawyers51.6%
- 400-999 lawyers19.1%
- 150-399 lawyers12.7%
- under 150 lawyers16.6%
City figures here cover the three years to October 2026. New York ranks first among destination cities with 10.1% of arrivals. 21.7% of movers also changed city, against 20.5% market-wide.
There were 167 open roles in eDiscovery on law-firm career pages on November 11, 2026.
For a firm planning a hire in eDiscovery, 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 | Bowman and Brooke | 6-10 |
| 2 | Kirkland & Ellis | 3-5 |
| 3 | Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath | 3-5 |
| 4 | Shook, Hardy & Bacon | 3-5 |
| 5 | Barnes & Thornburg | 3-5 |
| 6 | Greenberg Traurig | 3-5 |
| 7 | McGuireWoods | 3-5 |
| 8 | Buchalter | 3-5 |
| 9 | Ashurst Perkins Coie | 3-5 |
| 10 | DLA Piper | 3-5 |
Time to partner in eDiscovery
20 lawyers were promoted to partner in eDiscovery in the 12 months to May 2026, 130 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 13.8 years, against a market median of 10.0 years. 68.9% made partner within 12 years.
These figures rest on 122 promotions.
Related monitors and reports
Other specialities in Litigation & Disputes
Hiring in this market
Reports
- eDiscovery Attorney Jobs: Openings on Firm Career Pages, Hiring Flat
167 eDiscovery openings sat on law-firm career pages on one day in November 2026, and the lawyers who actually moved were mostly associates and counsel. Hiring held flat (+6.6%), while litigation as a whole rose 7.5%.
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].
For law firm leaders
Planning a partner hire in this market?
We run retained partner searches using the same data behind this page.