Intellectual Property · speciality monitor
Patent: Electrical, Computer & Software: lateral monitor
Lawyers whose work centers on Patent: Electrical, Computer & Software 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
- 186
- Lateral moves, 12 monthsNovember 2025 to October 2026
- +6.8%
- Year on yearSettled 12-month windows
- 40.9%
- Partner share of moves
- 91
- Firms that hired
What the data show
In the Sartori & Partners lateral record, 186 lawyers joined a new firm in Patent: Electrical, Computer & Software from November 2025 to October 2026. On settled windows the count went from 177 to 189 (+6.8%), a change inside the noise of the two counts, so we read it as flat.
| Measure | Here | Intellectual Property | Market |
|---|---|---|---|
| Partner share of moves | 40.9% | 34.4% | 27.7% |
| Counsel share of moves | 14.0% | 11.4% | 12.7% |
| Associate share of moves | 40.9% | 49.7% | 58.5% |
| Moved up a level | 10.8% | 12.6% | 12.9% |
| Changed city | 19.2% | 15.9% | 20.5% |
| Hired by firms of 1,000+ lawyers | 41.4% | 48.6% | 53.6% |
| Year on year | flat (+6.8%) | 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 A dash is a value we do not publish.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 associate share stands out most: 40.9% here against 49.7%, below it. Year on year it moved with the Intellectual Property practice as a whole: both flat.
Over the three years to October 2026, 527 lawyers moved in Patent: Electrical, Computer & Software, 201 of them partners (38.1%). They joined 174 different firms. 13.7% stepped up a level on the move and 21.6% changed city, against 12.3% and 21.6% across the market over the same three years. 54.4% came from firms with 1,000+ lawyers.
- Partner40.9%
- Counsel14.0%
- Associate40.9%
This is a partner market: 40.9% of movers were partners, against 27.7% market-wide. On settled windows partner moves alone went from 70 to 76 (+8.6%), a change inside the noise of the two counts, so we read it as flat. A step up in title came with 10.8% of moves (market 12.9%).
91 firms hired at least one lateral in Patent: Electrical, Computer & Software in the window. Ten firms account for 29.9% of arrivals, against 12.9% across the market: moderately concentrated. Winston Taylor ranks first by lateral arrivals, in the 11-20 band.
- 1,000+ lawyers54.4%
- 400-999 lawyers24.5%
- 150-399 lawyers9.6%
- under 150 lawyers11.5%
By city, Washington, DC comes first (19.4% of arrivals), then San Francisco (17.2%). 19.2% of movers also changed city, against 20.5% market-wide.
Group moves were 6.5% of the total (market 1.5%).
There were 248 open roles in Patent: Electrical, Computer & Software on law-firm career pages on November 11, 2026.
With volume in Patent: Electrical, Computer & Software 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 | Winston Taylor | 11-20 |
| 2 | Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton | 6-10 |
| 3 | Latham & Watkins | 6-10 |
| 4 | Holland & Hart | 3-5 |
| 5 | Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen & Hamilton | 3-5 |
| 6 | Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman | 3-5 |
| 7 | Flaster Greenberg | 3-5 |
| 8 | Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton | 3-5 |
| 9 | Procopio, Cory, Hargreaves & Savitch | 3-5 |
| 10 | Shook, Hardy & Bacon | 3-5 |
| Rank | Firm | Moves (band) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Winston Taylor | 6-10 |
| 2 | Holland & Hart | 3-5 |
| 3 | Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton | 3-5 |
| 4 | Merchant & Gould | 3-5 |
Deals in Patent: Electrical, Computer & Software
Sartori & Partners data count 119 dated deals in Patent: Electrical, Computer & Software in the 12 months to October 2026 and 377 over the three years to October 2026.
Disputes & investigations work is involved in 94.7% of them.
By client industry, Technology & Software comes first with 35.8%.
Finnegan Henderson Farabow Garrett & Dunner ranks first among advising firms over the period, in the 21-40 band.
| Rank | Firm | Deals (band) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Finnegan Henderson Farabow Garrett & Dunner | 21-40 |
| 2 | Jones Day | 21-40 |
| 3 | WilmerHale | 11-20 |
| 4 | Sterne Kessler Goldstein Fox | 11-20 |
| 5 | Bird & Bird | 11-20 |
| 6 | Kirkland & Ellis | 11-20 |
| 7 | King & Spalding | 11-20 |
| 8 | Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher | 11-20 |
| 9 | Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan | 6-10 |
| 10 | Mayer Brown | 6-10 |
Time to partner in Patent: Electrical, Computer & Software
58 lawyers were promoted to partner in Patent: Electrical, Computer & Software in the 12 months to May 2026, 255 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. 78.5% made partner within 12 years.
These figures rest on 223 promotions.
Related monitors and reports
Other specialities in Intellectual Property
Hiring in this market
Reports
- Software Patent Lawyer Hiring: San Francisco and Washington
Electrical, computer and software patent hiring runs through two cities. San Francisco indexes at 535 and Washington, DC at 346 against the market, while New York sits at 80.
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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