Antitrust & Competition · speciality monitor
Merger Control: lateral monitor
Lawyers whose work centers on Merger Control and who changed firm over the last 12 months, set against the Antitrust & Competition practice and the market.
The last 12 months: November 2025 to October 2026
- 142
- Lateral moves, 12 monthsNovember 2025 to October 2026
- -7.9%
- Year on yearSettled 12-month windows
- 35.9%
- Partner share of moves
- 58
- Firms that hired
What the data show
Sartori & Partners data show 142 lateral moves in Merger Control from November 2025 to October 2026. On settled windows the count went from 152 to 140 (-7.9%), a change inside the noise of the two counts, so we read it as flat.
| Measure | Here | Antitrust & Competition | Market |
|---|---|---|---|
| Partner share of moves | 35.9% | 32.4% | 27.7% |
| Counsel share of moves | 7.7% | 11.8% | 12.7% |
| Associate share of moves | 55.6% | 55.0% | 58.5% |
| Moved up a level | 14.1% | 13.3% | 12.9% |
| Changed city | 23.0% | 19.3% | 20.5% |
| Hired by firms of 1,000+ lawyers | 85.2% | 66.1% | 53.6% |
| Year on year | flat (-7.9%) | flat (+7.7%) | 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 A dash is a value we do not publish.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 Antitrust & Competition practice as a whole, the widest gap is the share hired by firms of 1,000+ lawyers, which is higher here: 85.2% against 66.1%. Year on year it moved with the Antitrust & Competition practice as a whole: both flat.
Over the three years to October 2026, 419 lawyers moved in Merger Control, 118 of them partners (28.2%). They joined 115 different firms. 13.4% stepped up a level on the move and 24.6% changed city, against 12.3% and 21.6% across the market over the same three years. 76.7% came from firms with 1,000+ lawyers.
- Partner35.9%
- Counsel7.7%
- Associate55.6%
This is a partner market: 35.9% of movers were partners, against 27.7% market-wide. On settled windows partner moves alone went from 39 to 51 (+30.8%), a change inside the noise of the two counts, so we read it as flat. 14.1% of movers stepped up a level when they changed firm, against 12.9% for the market.
Lateral hires in Merger Control were spread across 58 firms. Ten firms account for 50.0% of arrivals, against 12.9% across the market: concentrated. First on the hiring table is Latham & Watkins, with arrivals in the 11-20 band.
- 1,000+ lawyers76.7%
- 400-999 lawyers14.4%
- 150-399 lawyers4.4%
- under 150 lawyers4.6%
By city, Brussels comes first (23.9% of arrivals), then London (16.2%). 23.0% of movers also changed city, against 20.5% market-wide.
5.6% of moves came as part of a group, against 1.5% market-wide.
There were 51 open roles in Merger Control on law-firm career pages on November 11, 2026.
With volume in Merger Control 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 | Latham & Watkins | 11-20 |
| 2 | Kirkland & Ellis | 6-10 |
| 3 | Hogan Lovells Cadwalader | 6-10 |
| 4 | Covington & Burling | 6-10 |
| 5 | Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison | 3-5 |
| 6 | Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati | 3-5 |
| 7 | Paul Hastings | 3-5 |
| 8 | Weil Gotshal & Manges | 3-5 |
| 9 | Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher | 3-5 |
| 10 | King & Spalding | 3-5 |
| Rank | Firm | Moves (band) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kirkland & Ellis | 11-20 |
| 2 | Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison | 6-10 |
| 3 | Norton Rose Fulbright | 3-5 |
| 4 | Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati | 3-5 |
| 5 | Hogan Lovells Cadwalader | 3-5 |
| 6 | Paul Hastings | 3-5 |
| 7 | Sidley Austin | 3-5 |
| 8 | Latham & Watkins | 3-5 |
| 9 | King & Spalding | 3-5 |
Deals in Merger Control
Sartori & Partners data count 68 dated deals in Merger Control in the 12 months to October 2026 and 219 over the three years to October 2026.
Regulatory & antitrust work is involved in 63.0% of them and M&A in 20.5%.
By client industry, Technology & Software comes first with 12.3%.
Jones Day ranks first among advising firms over the period, in the 11-20 band.
| Rank | Firm | Deals (band) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jones Day | 11-20 |
| 2 | Freshfields | 11-20 |
| 3 | Linklaters | 6-10 |
| 4 | Morrison & Foerster | 6-10 |
| 5 | Clifford Chance | 6-10 |
| 6 | Gleiss Lutz | 6-10 |
| 7 | Kirkland & Ellis | 6-10 |
| 8 | CMS | 6-10 |
| 9 | Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer | 6-10 |
| 10 | Sullivan & Cromwell | 3-5 |
Time to partner in Merger Control
40 lawyers were promoted to partner in Merger Control in the 12 months to May 2026, 190 over five years, according to Sartori & Partners data.
The median time from first year of practice to partner is 11.0 years, with the middle half between 9.0 years and 13.0 years, against a market median of 10.0 years. 72.8% made partner within 12 years.
These figures rest on 103 promotions.
Related monitors and reports
Other specialities in Antitrust & Competition
Hiring in this market
Reports
- Merger Control Hiring: Brussels at the Center
Merger control hiring is a Brussels market: the city took 23.9% of moves, an index of 2,783 against the market, and the top 10 hirers took 50.0%. Year on year, hiring held flat (-7.9%).
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].
For law firm leaders
Planning a partner hire in this market?
We run retained partner searches using the same data behind this page.