Intellectual Property · speciality monitor
IP Transactions & Licensing: lateral monitor
Lawyers whose work centers on IP Transactions & Licensing and who changed firm over the last 12 months, set against the Intellectual Property practice and the market.
The last 12 months: November 2025 to October 2026
- 62
- Lateral moves, 12 monthsNovember 2025 to October 2026
- +5.0%
- Year on yearSettled 12-month windows
- 48.4%
- Partner share of moves
- 50
- Firms that hired
What the data show
From November 2025 to October 2026, Sartori & Partners recorded 62 lateral moves in IP Transactions & Licensing. On settled windows the count went from 60 to 63 (+5.0%), a change inside the noise of the two counts, so we read it as flat.
| Measure | Here | Intellectual Property | Market |
|---|---|---|---|
| Partner share of moves | 48.4% | 34.4% | 27.7% |
| Counsel share of moves (three years) | 15.3% | 11.8% | 12.1% |
| Associate share of moves | 45.2% | 49.7% | 58.5% |
| Moved up a level | 8.1% | 12.6% | 12.9% |
| Changed city | 14.3% | 15.9% | 20.5% |
| Hired by firms of 1,000+ lawyers | 38.7% | 48.6% | 53.6% |
| Year on year | flat (+5.0%) | flat (+7.2%) | 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 A dash is a value we do not publish.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.
Set against the Intellectual Property practice as a whole, the partner share stands out most: 48.4% here against 34.4%, above it. Year on year it moved with the Intellectual Property practice as a whole: both flat.
Over the three years to October 2026, 176 lawyers moved in IP Transactions & Licensing, 78 of them partners (44.3%). They joined 107 different firms. 10.8% stepped up a level on the move and 15.3% changed city, against 12.3% and 21.6% across the market over the same three years. 50.7% came from firms with 1,000+ lawyers.
- Partner48.4%
- Associate45.2%
At 48.4%, the partner share of arrivals sits above the market's 27.7%. On settled windows partner moves alone went from 27 to 29 (+7.4%), a change inside the noise of the two counts, so we read it as flat. A step up in title came with 8.1% of moves (market 12.9%).
The 12-month firm table is below our naming threshold, so this part reads the three years to October 2026. Lateral hires in IP Transactions & Licensing were spread across 107 firms. Ten firms account for 26.3% of arrivals, against 12.2% across the market: moderately concentrated. First on the hiring table is Nixon Peabody, with arrivals in the 6-10 band.
- 1,000+ lawyers50.7%
- 400-999 lawyers25.0%
- 150-399 lawyers11.4%
- under 150 lawyers12.9%
City figures here cover the three years to October 2026. By city, New York comes first (23.9% of arrivals), then Los Angeles (13.6%). 14.3% of movers also changed city, against 20.5% market-wide.
There were 68 open roles in IP Transactions & Licensing on law-firm career pages on November 11, 2026.
For a firm planning a hire in IP Transactions & Licensing, 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 | Nixon Peabody | 6-10 |
| 2 | Reed Smith | 6-10 |
| 3 | Barnes & Thornburg | 3-5 |
| 4 | Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison | 3-5 |
| 5 | Gunderson Dettmer Stough Villeneuve Franklin & Hachigian | 3-5 |
| 6 | Bird & Bird | 3-5 |
| 7 | DLA Piper | 3-5 |
| 8 | Manatt, Phelps & Phillips | 3-5 |
| 9 | Loeb & Loeb | 3-5 |
| 10 | Simpson Thacher & Bartlett | 3-5 |
Deals in IP Transactions & Licensing
Sartori & Partners data count 140 dated deals in IP Transactions & Licensing in the 12 months to October 2026 and 360 over the three years to October 2026.
Other work is involved in 55.0% of them and M&A in 13.1%.
By client industry, Pharma & Biotech comes first with 71.1%.
Ropes & Gray ranks first among advising firms over the period, in the 41-60 band.
| Rank | Firm | Deals (band) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ropes & Gray | 41-60 |
| 2 | Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati | 41-60 |
| 3 | Cooley | 21-40 |
| 4 | Goodwin Procter | 21-40 |
| 5 | Jones Day | 11-20 |
| 6 | Loeb & Loeb | 11-20 |
| 7 | Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison | 6-10 |
| 8 | Greenberg Traurig | 6-10 |
| 9 | Freshfields | 6-10 |
| 10 | Davis Polk & Wardwell | 6-10 |
Time to partner in IP Transactions & Licensing
27 lawyers were promoted to partner in IP Transactions & Licensing in the 12 months to May 2026, 100 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 12.0 years, against a market median of 10.0 years. 76.1% made partner within 12 years.
These figures rest on 71 promotions.
Related monitors and reports
Other specialities in Intellectual Property
Hiring in this market
Reports
- IP Licensing Lawyers in 2026: A Market for Mid-Size Firms
Firms of 400-999 lawyers took 40.3% of IP licensing lateral moves, level with firms of 1,000+ lawyers and well above their 24.2% share across intellectual property. The work behind the moves is life sciences, and hiring is flat.
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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