Employment & Labor · speciality monitor
Labor & Union Relations: lateral monitor
Lawyers whose work centers on Labor & Union Relations and who changed firm over the last 12 months, set against the Employment & Labor practice and the market.
The last 12 months: November 2025 to October 2026
- 139
- Lateral moves, 12 monthsNovember 2025 to October 2026
- -19.8%
- Year on yearSettled 12-month windows
- 36.0%
- Partner share of moves
- 83
- Firms that hired
What the data show
Sartori & Partners data show 139 lateral moves in Labor & Union Relations from November 2025 to October 2026. Measured on settled 12-month windows, 134 moves against 167 the year before, the count fell 19.8%. The market as a whole moved +9.0%, so this flow lagged it.
| Measure | Here | Employment & Labor | Market |
|---|---|---|---|
| Partner share of moves | 36.0% | 22.4% | 27.7% |
| Counsel share of moves | 18.0% | 15.2% | 12.7% |
| Associate share of moves | 46.0% | 61.6% | 58.5% |
| Moved up a level | 17.3% | 13.5% | 12.9% |
| Changed city | 25.2% | 20.6% | 20.5% |
| Hired by firms of 1,000+ lawyers | 51.4% | 46.9% | 53.6% |
| Year on year | fell (-19.8%) | rose (+6.9%) | 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 A dash is a value we do not publish.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 Employment & Labor practice as a whole, the widest gap is the associate share, which is lower here: 46.0% against 61.6%. Year on year it fell while the Employment & Labor practice as a whole rose.
Over the three years to October 2026, 476 lawyers moved in Labor & Union Relations, 137 of them partners (28.8%). They joined 197 different firms. 13.4% stepped up a level on the move and 23.2% changed city, against 12.3% and 21.6% across the market over the same three years. 51.6% came from firms with 1,000+ lawyers.
- Partner36.0%
- Counsel18.0%
- Associate46.0%
This is a partner market: 36.0% of movers were partners, against 27.7% market-wide. On settled windows partner moves alone went from 50 to 42 (-16.0%), a change inside the noise of the two counts, so we read it as flat. 17.3% of movers stepped up a level when they changed firm, against 12.9% for the market.
83 firms hired at least one lateral in Labor & Union Relations in the window. Ten firms account for 38.4% of arrivals, against 12.9% across the market: concentrated. First on the hiring table is Ogletree Deakins, with arrivals in the 11-20 band.
- 1,000+ lawyers51.6%
- 400-999 lawyers22.5%
- 150-399 lawyers14.4%
- under 150 lawyers11.6%
City figures here cover the three years to October 2026. New York ranks first among destination cities with 10.5% of arrivals, followed by Toronto (7.6%). 25.2% of movers also changed city, against 20.5% market-wide.
There were 103 open roles in Labor & Union Relations on law-firm career pages on November 11, 2026.
For a firm planning a hire in Labor & Union Relations, a quieter market means fewer competing processes but also fewer people already in motion: plan on direct approach.
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 | Ogletree Deakins | 11-20 |
| 2 | Littler Mendelson | 6-10 |
| 3 | Dentons | 6-10 |
| 4 | Fisher & Phillips | 3-5 |
| 5 | Fasken Martineau DuMoulin | 3-5 |
| 6 | Eversheds Sutherland | 3-5 |
| 7 | Bird & Bird | 3-5 |
| 8 | Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease | 3-5 |
| 9 | Jackson Lewis | 3-5 |
| 10 | Greenberg Traurig | 3-5 |
| Rank | Firm | Moves (band) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Littler Mendelson | 6-10 |
| 2 | Ogletree Deakins | 6-10 |
| 3 | Fisher & Phillips | 6-10 |
| 4 | Dentons | 3-5 |
| 5 | Steptoe | 3-5 |
| 6 | Clark Hill | 3-5 |
Deals in Labor & Union Relations
Sartori & Partners data count 45 dated deals in Labor & Union Relations in the 12 months to October 2026 and 140 over the three years to October 2026.
Disputes & investigations work is involved in 74.3% of them.
By client industry, Government & Public Sector comes first with 15.7%.
Liebert Cassidy Whitmore ranks first among advising firms over the period, in the 11-20 band.
| Rank | Firm | Deals (band) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Liebert Cassidy Whitmore | 11-20 |
| 2 | Heuking | 11-20 |
| 3 | Morgan, Lewis & Bockius | 6-10 |
| 4 | Fasken Martineau DuMoulin | 6-10 |
| 5 | Warner Norcross + Judd | 6-10 |
| 6 | Williams & Connolly | 3-5 |
| 7 | Jones Day | 3-5 |
| 8 | Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath | 3-5 |
| 9 | Benesch Friedlander Coplan & Aronoff | 3-5 |
Time to partner in Labor & Union Relations
46 lawyers were promoted to partner in Labor & Union Relations in the 12 months to May 2026, 223 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. 69.2% made partner within 12 years.
These figures rest on 159 promotions.
Related monitors and reports
Other specialities in Employment & Labor
Hiring in this market
Reports
- Labor Relations Lawyer Hiring Fell 19.8% While the Market Grew
Fewer labor and union relations lawyers changed firms: 134 moves in the settled 12 months against 167 a year earlier, so hiring fell 19.8%. Employment and labor rose 6.9% and the whole market rose 9.0%.
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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