Restructuring & Insolvency · speciality monitor
Insolvency Litigation: lateral monitor
Lawyers whose work centers on Insolvency Litigation and who changed firm over the last 12 months, set against the Restructuring & Insolvency practice and the market.
The last 12 months: November 2025 to October 2026
- 191
- Lateral moves, 12 monthsNovember 2025 to October 2026
- +1.6%
- Year on yearSettled 12-month windows
- 46.1%
- Partner share of moves
- 124
- Firms that hired
What the data show
From November 2025 to October 2026, Sartori & Partners recorded 191 lateral moves in Insolvency Litigation. On settled windows the count went from 187 to 190 (+1.6%), which we read as flat. The market as a whole moved +9.0%, so this flow lagged it.
| Measure | Here | Restructuring & Insolvency | Market |
|---|---|---|---|
| Partner share of moves | 46.1% | 41.5% | 27.7% |
| Counsel share of moves | 15.2% | 14.6% | 12.7% |
| Associate share of moves | 38.7% | 43.3% | 58.5% |
| Moved up a level | 15.7% | 16.5% | 12.9% |
| Changed city | 18.4% | 17.8% | 20.5% |
| Hired by firms of 1,000+ lawyers | 39.7% | 56.2% | 53.6% |
| Year on year | flat (+1.6%) | rose (+10.0%) | 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 A dash is a value we do not publish.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 Restructuring & Insolvency practice as a whole, the share hired by firms of 1,000+ lawyers stands out most: 39.7% here against 56.2%, below it. Year on year it held flat while the Restructuring & Insolvency practice as a whole rose.
Over the three years to October 2026, 556 lawyers moved in Insolvency Litigation, 235 of them partners (42.3%). They joined 254 different firms. 14.2% stepped up a level on the move and 20.1% changed city, against 12.3% and 21.6% across the market over the same three years. 46.5% came from firms with 1,000+ lawyers.
- Partner46.1%
- Counsel15.2%
- Associate38.7%
This is a partner market: 46.1% of movers were partners, against 27.7% market-wide. On settled windows partner moves alone went from 69 to 89 (+29.0%), a change inside the noise of the two counts, so we read it as flat. 15.7% of movers stepped up a level when they changed firm, against 12.9% for the market.
- 1,000+ lawyers39.7%
- 400-999 lawyers32.3%
- 150-399 lawyers20.1%
- under 150 lawyers7.9%
The 12-month firm table is below our naming threshold, so this part reads the three years to October 2026. 254 firms hired at least one lateral in Insolvency Litigation in the window. The ten firms at the head of the hiring table took 15.2% of arrivals (12.2% market-wide), so hiring here is moderately concentrated. DLA Piper ranks first by lateral arrivals, in the 11-20 band.
- 1,000+ lawyers46.5%
- 400-999 lawyers25.5%
- 150-399 lawyers10.6%
- under 150 lawyers17.3%
New York ranks first among destination cities with 23.6% of arrivals. A change of city came with 18.4% of moves (market 20.5%).
There were 55 open roles in Insolvency Litigation on law-firm career pages on November 11, 2026.
For a firm planning a hire in Insolvency Litigation, 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 | DLA Piper | 11-20 |
| 2 | Dentons | 11-20 |
| 3 | Benesch Friedlander Coplan & Aronoff | 6-10 |
| 4 | Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe | 6-10 |
| 5 | A&O Shearman | 6-10 |
| 6 | McDermott Will & Schulte | 6-10 |
| 7 | Stephenson Harwood | 6-10 |
| 8 | Norton Rose Fulbright | 6-10 |
| 9 | Spencer Fane | 6-10 |
| 10 | Husch Blackwell | 6-10 |
Deals in Insolvency Litigation
Sartori & Partners data count 151 dated deals in Insolvency Litigation in the 12 months to October 2026 and 438 over the three years to October 2026.
Restructuring & insolvency work is involved in 53.9% of them and Disputes & investigations in 43.8%.
By client industry, Banks & Financial Institutions comes first with 9.1%.
Brown Rudnick ranks first among advising firms over the period, in the 21-40 band.
| Rank | Firm | Deals (band) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brown Rudnick | 21-40 |
| 2 | Jones Day | 11-20 |
| 3 | Sidley Austin | 11-20 |
| 4 | Willkie Farr & Gallagher | 11-20 |
| 5 | Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer | 11-20 |
| 6 | Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison | 11-20 |
| 7 | Morrison & Foerster | 11-20 |
| 8 | Kirkland & Ellis | 11-20 |
| 9 | DLA Piper | 11-20 |
| 10 | Weil Gotshal & Manges | 6-10 |
Time to partner in Insolvency Litigation
49 lawyers were promoted to partner in Insolvency Litigation in the 12 months to May 2026, 308 over five years, according to Sartori & Partners data.
The median time from first year of practice to partner is 10.5 years, with the middle half between 9.0 years and 13.0 years, against a market median of 10.0 years. 71.4% made partner within 12 years.
These figures rest on 238 promotions.
Related monitors and reports
Other specialities in Restructuring & Insolvency
Hiring in this market
Reports
- Insolvency Litigation in 2026: Half Court, Half Restructuring
The matters split 53.9% restructuring and 43.8% disputes, yet the lateral bench is built like restructuring's: partners are 46.1% of moves, against 27.4% in litigation.
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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