Family · speciality monitor
Marital Agreements: lateral monitor
Lawyers whose work centers on Marital Agreements and who changed firm over the last 12 months, set against the Family practice and the market.
The last 12 months: November 2025 to October 2026
- 35
- Lateral moves, 12 monthsNovember 2025 to October 2026
- +16.1%
- Year on yearSettled 12-month windows
- 45.7%
- Partner share of moves
- 20
- Firms that hired
What the data show
Sartori & Partners data show 35 lateral moves in Marital Agreements from November 2025 to October 2026. On settled windows the count went from 31 to 36 (+16.1%), a change inside the noise of the two counts, so we read it as flat.
| Measure | Here | Family | Market |
|---|---|---|---|
| Partner share of moves | 45.7% | 43.2% | 27.7% |
| Counsel share of moves (three years) | 7.0% | 7.8% | 12.1% |
| Associate share of moves | 45.7% | 46.6% | 58.5% |
| Moved up a level | 20.0% | 20.5% | 12.9% |
| Changed city | 21.7% | 27.1% | 20.5% |
| Hired by firms of 1,000+ lawyers (three years) | 5.4% | 8.3% | 52.5% |
| Year on year | flat (+16.1%) | flat (+22.4%) | 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 A dash is a value we do not publish.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 Family practice as a whole, the share who changed city stands out most: 21.7% here against 27.1%, below it. Year on year it moved with the Family practice as a whole: both flat.
Over the three years to October 2026, 100 lawyers moved in Marital Agreements, 41 of them partners (41.0%). They joined 44 different firms. 16.0% stepped up a level on the move and 33.9% changed city, against 12.3% and 21.6% across the market over the same three years. 13.2% came from firms with 1,000+ lawyers.
- Partner45.7%
- Associate45.7%
Partners make up 45.7% of arrivals, against 27.7% across the market: a partner-heavy flow. 20.0% of movers stepped up a level when they changed firm, against 12.9% for the market.
- 400-999 lawyers65.7%
- 150-399 lawyers20.0%
The 12-month firm table is below our naming threshold, so this part reads the three years to October 2026. Lateral hires in Marital Agreements were spread across 44 firms. The ten firms at the head of the hiring table took 55.7% of arrivals (12.2% market-wide), so hiring here is concentrated. Keystone Law ranks first by lateral arrivals, in the 6-10 band.
- 1,000+ lawyers13.2%
- 400-999 lawyers34.2%
- 150-399 lawyers13.2%
- under 150 lawyers39.5%
City figures here cover the three years to October 2026. London ranks first among destination cities with 22.0% of arrivals. 21.7% of movers also changed city, against 20.5% market-wide.
With volume in Marital Agreements 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 | Keystone Law | 6-10 |
| 2 | Knights | 6-10 |
| 3 | Irwin Mitchell | 6-10 |
| 4 | Mills & Reeve | 6-10 |
| 5 | Penningtons Manches Cooper | 3-5 |
| 6 | Withers Worldwide | 3-5 |
| 7 | Mishcon de Reya | 3-5 |
| 8 | Offit Kurman | 3-5 |
| 9 | Birketts | 3-5 |
| 10 | Obermayer Rebmann Maxwell & Hippel | 3-5 |
| Rank | Firm | Moves (band) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Keystone Law | 6-10 |
| 2 | Knights | 6-10 |
| 3 | Offit Kurman | 3-5 |
| 4 | Mills & Reeve | 3-5 |
Time to partner in Marital Agreements
61 lawyers were promoted to partner in Marital Agreements over five years, according to Sartori & Partners data.
The median time from first year of practice to partner is 14.0 years, with the middle half between 11.0 years and 17.0 years, against a market median of 10.0 years. 44.0% made partner within 12 years.
These figures rest on 25 promotions.
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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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