Private Client & Estates · speciality monitor
Estate Planning: lateral monitor
Lawyers whose work centers on Estate Planning and who changed firm over the last 12 months, set against the Private Client & Estates practice and the market.
The last 12 months: November 2025 to October 2026
- 221
- Lateral moves, 12 monthsNovember 2025 to October 2026
- +10.3%
- Year on yearSettled 12-month windows
- 35.7%
- Partner share of moves
- 133
- Firms that hired
What the data show
In the Sartori & Partners lateral record, 221 lawyers joined a new firm in Estate Planning from November 2025 to October 2026. On settled windows the count went from 204 to 225 (+10.3%), a change inside the noise of the two counts, so we read it as flat.
| Measure | Here | Private Client & Estates | Market |
|---|---|---|---|
| Partner share of moves | 35.7% | 32.6% | 27.7% |
| Counsel share of moves | 13.1% | 12.7% | 12.7% |
| Associate share of moves | 51.1% | 54.7% | 58.5% |
| Moved up a level | 18.1% | 16.0% | 12.9% |
| Changed city | 22.7% | 25.6% | 20.5% |
| Hired by firms of 1,000+ lawyers | 17.1% | 18.9% | 53.6% |
| Year on year | flat (+10.3%) | flat (+9.1%) | 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 A dash is a value we do not publish.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 Private Client & Estates practice as a whole, the associate share stands out most: 51.1% here against 54.7%, below it. Year on year it moved with the Private Client & Estates practice as a whole: both flat.
Over the three years to October 2026, 655 lawyers moved in Estate Planning, 200 of them partners (30.5%). They joined 259 different firms. 16.0% stepped up a level on the move and 27.9% changed city, against 12.3% and 21.6% across the market over the same three years. 30.7% came from firms with 1,000+ lawyers.
- Partner35.7%
- Counsel13.1%
- Associate51.1%
This is a partner market: 35.7% of movers were partners, against 27.7% market-wide. On settled windows partner moves alone went from 59 to 80, up 35.6% year on year. A step up in title came with 18.1% of moves (market 12.9%).
133 firms hired at least one lateral in Estate Planning in the window. The ten firms at the head of the hiring table took 22.4% of arrivals (12.9% market-wide), so hiring here is moderately concentrated. Taft Stettinius & Hollister ranks first by lateral arrivals, in the 6-10 band.
- 1,000+ lawyers30.7%
- 400-999 lawyers24.8%
- 150-399 lawyers24.5%
- under 150 lawyers20.0%
City figures here cover the three years to October 2026. New York ranks first among destination cities with 12.5% of arrivals, followed by Chicago (6.6%). 22.7% of movers also changed city, against 20.5% market-wide.
There were 121 open roles in Estate Planning on law-firm career pages on November 11, 2026.
With volume in Estate Planning 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 | Taft Stettinius & Hollister | 6-10 |
| 2 | Shipman & Goodwin | 6-10 |
| 3 | Dorsey & Whitney | 6-10 |
| 4 | Buchalter | 3-5 |
| 5 | Holland & Knight | 3-5 |
| 6 | Gunster | 3-5 |
| 7 | Charles Russell Speechlys | 3-5 |
| 8 | Birketts | 3-5 |
| 9 | FBT Gibbons | 3-5 |
| 10 | Fox Rothschild | 3-5 |
| Rank | Firm | Moves (band) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Charles Russell Speechlys | 6-10 |
| 2 | Buchalter | 6-10 |
| 3 | Knights | 6-10 |
| 4 | Taft Stettinius & Hollister | 3-5 |
| 5 | Holland & Knight | 3-5 |
| 6 | McCarter & English | 3-5 |
| 7 | FisherBroyles | 3-5 |
| 8 | Offit Kurman | 3-5 |
| 9 | Shipman & Goodwin | 3-5 |
| 10 | FBT Gibbons | 3-5 |
Deals in Estate Planning
Sartori & Partners data count 33 over the three years to October 2026.
By client industry, Private Wealth & Family Offices comes first with 69.7%.
Time to partner in Estate Planning
52 lawyers were promoted to partner in Estate Planning in the 12 months to May 2026, 234 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 14.0 years, against a market median of 10.0 years. 65.2% made partner within 12 years.
These figures rest on 164 promotions.
Related monitors and reports
Other specialities in Private Client & Estates
Hiring in this market
Reports
- Estate Planning Lateral Hiring 2026: Partners Lead the Hiring
Estate planning partner hiring rose 35.6% on settled 12-month windows while hiring at every level held flat (+10.3%). The partners are going to firms of 400-999 lawyers, which took 39.6% of moves against 23.4% market-wide.
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.