Banking & Finance · speciality monitor
Islamic Finance: lateral monitor
Lawyers whose work centers on Islamic Finance and who changed firm over the last 12 months, set against the Banking & Finance practice and the market.
The last 12 months: November 2025 to October 2026
- 24
- Lateral moves, 12 monthsNovember 2025 to October 2026
- -11.4%
- Year on yearSettled 12-month windows
- 58.3%
- Partner share of moves
- 20
- Firms that hired
What the data show
Sartori & Partners data show 24 lateral moves in Islamic Finance from November 2025 to October 2026. On settled windows the count went from 35 to 31 (-11.4%), a change inside the noise of the two counts, so we read it as flat.
| Measure | Here | Banking & Finance | Market |
|---|---|---|---|
| Partner share of moves | 58.3% | 30.8% | 27.7% |
| Counsel share of moves (three years) | 15.9% | 11.4% | 12.1% |
| Associate share of moves | 41.7% | 55.8% | 58.5% |
| Moved up a level | 20.8% | 13.1% | 12.9% |
| Changed city (three years) | 29.2% | 21.0% | 21.6% |
| Hired by firms of 1,000+ lawyers | 70.8% | 63.8% | 53.6% |
| Year on year | flat (-11.4%) | rose (+14.1%) | 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 A dash is a value we do not publish.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.
Against the Banking & Finance practice as a whole, the widest gap is the partner share, which is higher here: 58.3% against 30.8%. Year on year it held flat while the Banking & Finance practice as a whole rose.
Over the three years to October 2026, 88 lawyers moved in Islamic Finance, 42 of them partners (47.7%). They joined 43 different firms. 25.0% stepped up a level on the move and 29.2% changed city, against 12.3% and 21.6% across the market over the same three years. 83.5% came from firms with 1,000+ lawyers.
- Partner58.3%
- Associate41.7%
At 58.3%, the partner share of arrivals sits above the market's 27.7%. A step up in title came with 20.8% 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 Islamic Finance were spread across 43 firms. The ten firms at the head of the hiring table took 48.9% of arrivals (12.2% market-wide), so hiring here is concentrated. First on the hiring table is Addleshaw Goddard, with arrivals in the 6-10 band.
- 1,000+ lawyers83.5%
- 400-999 lawyers11.4%
City figures here cover the three years to October 2026. By city, Dubai comes first (34.1% of arrivals), then London (26.1%).
For a firm planning a hire in Islamic Finance, 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 | Addleshaw Goddard | 6-10 |
| 2 | Greenberg Traurig | 6-10 |
| 3 | Dentons | 6-10 |
| 4 | Ashurst Perkins Coie | 3-5 |
| 5 | Norton Rose Fulbright | 3-5 |
| 6 | Eversheds Sutherland | 3-5 |
| 7 | Trowers & Hamlins | 3-5 |
| 8 | Keystone Law | 3-5 |
| 9 | Clyde & Co | 3-5 |
| 10 | Paul Hastings | 3-5 |
Deals in Islamic Finance
Sartori & Partners data count 27 over the three years to October 2026.
Time to partner in Islamic Finance
25 lawyers were promoted to partner in Islamic Finance over five years, according to Sartori & Partners data.
Related monitors and reports
Other specialities in Banking & Finance
Hiring in this market
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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