Intellectual Property · speciality monitor
Patent: Life Sciences & Chemistry: lateral monitor
Lawyers whose work centers on Patent: Life Sciences & Chemistry 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
- 131
- Lateral moves, 12 monthsNovember 2025 to October 2026
- -9.0%
- Year on yearSettled 12-month windows
- 40.5%
- Partner share of moves
- 74
- Firms that hired
What the data show
Sartori & Partners data show 131 lateral moves in Patent: Life Sciences & Chemistry from November 2025 to October 2026. On settled windows the count went from 145 to 132 (-9.0%), a change inside the noise of the two counts, so we read it as flat.
| Measure | Here | Intellectual Property | Market |
|---|---|---|---|
| Partner share of moves | 40.5% | 34.4% | 27.7% |
| Counsel share of moves | 13.7% | 11.4% | 12.7% |
| Associate share of moves | 32.1% | 49.7% | 58.5% |
| Moved up a level | 13.7% | 12.6% | 12.9% |
| Changed city | 17.6% | 15.9% | 20.5% |
| Hired by firms of 1,000+ lawyers | 54.2% | 48.6% | 53.6% |
| Year on year | flat (-9.0%) | 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 A dash is a value we do not publish.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: 32.1% 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, 398 lawyers moved in Patent: Life Sciences & Chemistry, 154 of them partners (38.7%). They joined 150 different firms. 13.6% stepped up a level on the move and 19.8% changed city, against 12.3% and 21.6% across the market over the same three years. 66.6% came from firms with 1,000+ lawyers.
- Partner40.5%
- Counsel13.7%
- Associate32.1%
This is a partner market: 40.5% of movers were partners, against 27.7% market-wide. On settled windows partner moves alone went from 58 to 50 (-13.8%), a change inside the noise of the two counts, so we read it as flat. A step up in title came with 13.7% of moves (market 12.9%).
- 1,000+ lawyers54.2%
- 400-999 lawyers23.7%
- 150-399 lawyers16.8%
- under 150 lawyers5.3%
Lateral hires in Patent: Life Sciences & Chemistry were spread across 74 firms. Ten firms account for 32.7% of arrivals, against 12.9% across the market: concentrated. White & Case ranks first by lateral arrivals, in the 6-10 band.
- 1,000+ lawyers66.6%
- 400-999 lawyers15.1%
- 150-399 lawyers9.8%
- under 150 lawyers8.5%
Boston ranks first among destination cities with 21.4% of arrivals. A change of city came with 17.6% of moves (market 20.5%).
Group moves were 13.7% of the total (market 1.5%).
There were 254 open roles in Patent: Life Sciences & Chemistry on law-firm career pages on November 11, 2026.
For a firm planning a hire in Patent: Life Sciences & Chemistry, 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 | White & Case | 6-10 |
| 2 | Taft Stettinius & Hollister | 3-5 |
| 3 | Womble Bond Dickinson | 3-5 |
| 4 | Morrison & Foerster | 3-5 |
| 5 | Blank Rome | 3-5 |
| 6 | Goodwin Procter | 3-5 |
| 7 | Merchant & Gould | 3-5 |
| 8 | FisherBroyles | 3-5 |
| Rank | Firm | Moves (band) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney | 11-20 |
| 2 | Merchant & Gould | 6-10 |
| 3 | White & Case | 3-5 |
| 4 | McDermott Will & Schulte | 3-5 |
| 5 | Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton | 3-5 |
| 6 | FisherBroyles | 3-5 |
| 7 | Baker Botts | 3-5 |
| 8 | Dickinson Wright | 3-5 |
| 9 | Taft Stettinius & Hollister | 3-5 |
| 10 | Taylor Wessing | 3-5 |
Deals in Patent: Life Sciences & Chemistry
Sartori & Partners data count 183 dated deals in Patent: Life Sciences & Chemistry in the 12 months to October 2026 and 519 over the three years to October 2026.
Disputes & investigations work is involved in 42.6% of them and Venture & growth in 16.0%.
By client industry, Pharma & Biotech comes first with 85.4%.
Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati ranks first among advising firms over the period, in the 101-150 band.
| Rank | Firm | Deals (band) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati | 101-150 |
| 2 | Jones Day | 41-60 |
| 3 | Finnegan Henderson Farabow Garrett & Dunner | 21-40 |
| 4 | Goodwin Procter | 21-40 |
| 5 | Cooley | 21-40 |
| 6 | Sterne Kessler Goldstein Fox | 11-20 |
| 7 | Ropes & Gray | 11-20 |
| 8 | Brown Rudnick | 11-20 |
| 9 | Taylor Wessing | 11-20 |
| 10 | Freshfields | 6-10 |
Time to partner in Patent: Life Sciences & Chemistry
35 lawyers were promoted to partner in Patent: Life Sciences & Chemistry in the 12 months to May 2026, 189 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. 82.7% made partner within 12 years.
These figures rest on 156 promotions.
Related monitors and reports
Other specialities in Intellectual Property
Hiring in this market
Reports
- Life Sciences Patent Hiring in 2026: Boston Over-Indexes
Boston drew 21.4% of life sciences and chemistry patent moves, an index of 826 against the market, and 13.7% came as teams. Hiring held flat (-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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