White Collar, Investigations & Criminal · speciality monitor
Fraud & False Claims: lateral monitor
Lawyers whose work centers on Fraud & False Claims and who changed firm over the last 12 months, set against the White Collar, Investigations & Criminal practice and the market.
The last 12 months: November 2025 to October 2026
- 129
- Lateral moves, 12 monthsNovember 2025 to October 2026
- +21.3%
- Year on yearSettled 12-month windows
- 56.6%
- Partner share of moves
- 73
- Firms that hired
What the data show
From November 2025 to October 2026, Sartori & Partners recorded 129 lateral moves in Fraud & False Claims. On settled windows the count went from 108 to 131 (+21.3%), a change inside the noise of the two counts, so we read it as flat.
| Measure | Here | White Collar, Investigations & Criminal | Market |
|---|---|---|---|
| Partner share of moves | 56.6% | 41.6% | 27.7% |
| Counsel share of moves | 14.7% | 12.6% | 12.7% |
| Associate share of moves | 27.9% | 45.2% | 58.5% |
| Moved up a level | 17.1% | 13.4% | 12.9% |
| Changed city | 12.0% | 15.6% | 20.5% |
| Hired by firms of 1,000+ lawyers | 55.0% | 55.5% | 53.6% |
| Year on year | flat (+21.3%) | flat (+8.2%) | 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 A dash is a value we do not publish.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 White Collar, Investigations & Criminal practice as a whole, the widest gap is the associate share, which is lower here: 27.9% against 45.2%. Year on year it moved with the White Collar, Investigations & Criminal practice as a whole: both flat.
Over the three years to October 2026, 334 lawyers moved in Fraud & False Claims, 197 of them partners (59.0%). They joined 144 different firms. 16.5% stepped up a level on the move and 15.9% changed city, against 12.3% and 21.6% across the market over the same three years. 55.2% came from firms with 1,000+ lawyers.
- Partner56.6%
- Counsel14.7%
- Associate27.9%
At 56.6%, the partner share of arrivals sits above the market's 27.7%. On settled windows partner moves alone went from 65 to 75 (+15.4%), a change inside the noise of the two counts, so we read it as flat. A step up in title came with 17.1% of moves (market 12.9%).
Lateral hires in Fraud & False Claims were spread across 73 firms. The ten firms at the head of the hiring table took 32.8% of arrivals (12.9% market-wide), so hiring here is concentrated. Barnes & Thornburg ranks first by lateral arrivals, in the 6-10 band.
- 1,000+ lawyers55.2%
- 400-999 lawyers20.1%
- 150-399 lawyers15.1%
- under 150 lawyers9.6%
By city, Washington, DC comes first (24.0% of arrivals), then New York (17.1%). A change of city came with 12.0% of moves (market 20.5%).
With volume in Fraud & False Claims 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 | Barnes & Thornburg | 6-10 |
| 2 | Sidley Austin | 3-5 |
| 3 | King & Spalding | 3-5 |
| 4 | Greenberg Traurig | 3-5 |
| 5 | Epstein Becker & Green | 3-5 |
| 6 | Nixon Peabody | 3-5 |
| 7 | Bass, Berry & Sims | 3-5 |
| 8 | White & Case | 3-5 |
| 9 | McGuireWoods | 3-5 |
| 10 | Steptoe | 3-5 |
| Rank | Firm | Moves (band) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | McGuireWoods | 6-10 |
| 2 | Epstein Becker & Green | 6-10 |
| 3 | Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath | 6-10 |
| 4 | Taft Stettinius & Hollister | 3-5 |
| 5 | Greenberg Traurig | 3-5 |
| 6 | Barnes & Thornburg | 3-5 |
| 7 | Mayer Brown | 3-5 |
| 8 | WilmerHale | 3-5 |
| 9 | Seyfarth Shaw | 3-5 |
| 10 | White & Case | 3-5 |
Deals in Fraud & False Claims
Sartori & Partners data count 29 dated deals in Fraud & False Claims in the 12 months to October 2026 and 79 over the three years to October 2026.
Disputes & investigations work is involved in 98.7% of them.
Jones Day ranks first among advising firms over the period, in the 6-10 band.
| Rank | Firm | Deals (band) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jones Day | 6-10 |
| 2 | King & Spalding | 3-5 |
| 3 | Goodwin Procter | 3-5 |
| 4 | ArentFox Schiff | 3-5 |
| 5 | Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton | 3-5 |
| 6 | Vedder | 3-5 |
Time to partner in Fraud & False Claims
29 lawyers were promoted to partner in Fraud & False Claims in the 12 months to May 2026, 186 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. 74.0% made partner within 12 years.
These figures rest on 173 promotions.
Related monitors and reports
Other specialities in White Collar, Investigations & Criminal
Hiring in this market
Reports
- False Claims Act Lawyers: Washington Hires Most as Hiring Holds Flat
Fraud and False Claims Act hiring centers on Washington, DC: 24.0% of moves, an index of 428 against the market and above white collar's 351. Only 12.0% of movers changed city, and hiring held flat (+21.3%).
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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