Pensions, Benefits & Executive Compensation · speciality monitor
Executive Compensation: lateral monitor
Lawyers whose work centers on Executive Compensation and who changed firm over the last 12 months, set against the Pensions, Benefits & Executive Compensation practice and the market.
The last 12 months: November 2025 to October 2026
- 120
- Lateral moves, 12 monthsNovember 2025 to October 2026
- +3.4%
- Year on yearSettled 12-month windows
- 42.5%
- Partner share of moves
- 74
- Firms that hired
What the data show
Sartori & Partners data show 120 lateral moves in Executive Compensation from November 2025 to October 2026. On settled windows the count went from 119 to 123 (+3.4%), which we read as flat. That trails the wider market, which moved +9.0%.
| Measure | Here | Pensions, Benefits & Executive Compensation | Market |
|---|---|---|---|
| Partner share of moves | 42.5% | 30.2% | 27.7% |
| Counsel share of moves | 15.8% | 19.8% | 12.7% |
| Associate share of moves | 41.7% | 48.8% | 58.5% |
| Moved up a level | 15.0% | 17.5% | 12.9% |
| Changed city | 13.3% | 17.3% | 20.5% |
| Hired by firms of 1,000+ lawyers | 62.5% | 61.9% | 53.6% |
| Year on year | flat (+3.4%) | rose (+16.6%) | 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 A dash is a value we do not publish.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.
Against the Pensions, Benefits & Executive Compensation practice as a whole, the widest gap is the partner share, which is higher here: 42.5% against 30.2%. Year on year it held flat while the Pensions, Benefits & Executive Compensation practice as a whole rose.
Over the three years to October 2026, 347 lawyers moved in Executive Compensation, 152 of them partners (43.8%). They joined 167 different firms. 13.8% 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. 65.5% came from firms with 1,000+ lawyers.
- Partner42.5%
- Counsel15.8%
- Associate41.7%
Partners make up 42.5% of arrivals, against 27.7% across the market: a partner-heavy flow. On settled windows partner moves alone went from 57 to 51 (-10.5%), a change inside the noise of the two counts, so we read it as flat. A step up in title came with 15.0% of moves (market 12.9%).
- 1,000+ lawyers62.5%
- 400-999 lawyers20.8%
- 150-399 lawyers10.0%
- under 150 lawyers6.7%
Lateral hires in Executive Compensation were spread across 74 firms. Ten firms account for 36.7% of arrivals, against 12.9% across the market: concentrated. Kirkland & Ellis ranks first by lateral arrivals, in the 6-10 band.
- 1,000+ lawyers65.5%
- 400-999 lawyers18.2%
- 150-399 lawyers8.9%
- under 150 lawyers7.3%
New York ranks first among destination cities with 29.2% of arrivals. A change of city came with 13.3% of moves (market 20.5%).
There were 248 open roles in Executive Compensation on law-firm career pages on November 11, 2026.
For a firm planning a hire in Executive Compensation, 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 | Kirkland & Ellis | 6-10 |
| 2 | Foley & Lardner | 6-10 |
| 3 | Greenberg Traurig | 3-5 |
| 4 | Latham & Watkins | 3-5 |
| 5 | Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP & Affiliates | 3-5 |
| 6 | Paul Hastings | 3-5 |
| 7 | Cooley | 3-5 |
| 8 | Haynes and Boone | 3-5 |
| 9 | Holland & Knight | 3-5 |
| 10 | Ogletree Deakins | 3-5 |
| Rank | Firm | Moves (band) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kirkland & Ellis | 6-10 |
| 2 | Foley & Lardner | 3-5 |
| 3 | Greenberg Traurig | 3-5 |
| 4 | Baker McKenzie | 3-5 |
| 5 | Norton Rose Fulbright | 3-5 |
| 6 | Weil Gotshal & Manges | 3-5 |
| 7 | Paul Hastings | 3-5 |
| 8 | Holland & Knight | 3-5 |
| 9 | Goodwin Procter | 3-5 |
| 10 | Hogan Lovells Cadwalader | 3-5 |
Time to partner in Executive Compensation
28 lawyers were promoted to partner in Executive Compensation in the 12 months to May 2026, 167 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 8.0 years and 13.0 years, against a market median of 10.0 years. 73.1% made partner within 12 years.
These figures rest on 134 promotions.
Related monitors and reports
Other specialities in Pensions, Benefits & Executive Compensation
Hiring in this market
Reports
- Executive Compensation Lawyer Jobs: Openings Outnumber Movers
Executive compensation openings stood at 248 on one day, against 120 lateral moves in the speciality over 12 months. Hiring held flat (+3.4%) while the benefits practice rose 16.6%, and the movers lean to New York, at an index of 198 against the market.
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.