Intellectual Property · speciality monitor
Patent: Mechanical & Medical Devices: lateral monitor
Lawyers whose work centers on Patent: Mechanical & Medical Devices 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
- 94
- Lateral moves, 12 monthsNovember 2025 to October 2026
- -8.1%
- Year on yearSettled 12-month windows
- 42.6%
- Partner share of moves
- 65
- Firms that hired
What the data show
Sartori & Partners data show 94 lateral moves in Patent: Mechanical & Medical Devices from November 2025 to October 2026. On settled windows the count went from 99 to 91 (-8.1%), a change inside the noise of the two counts, so we read it as flat.
| Measure | Here | Intellectual Property | Market |
|---|---|---|---|
| Partner share of moves | 42.6% | 34.4% | 27.7% |
| Counsel share of moves | 13.8% | 11.4% | 12.7% |
| Associate share of moves | 41.5% | 49.7% | 58.5% |
| Moved up a level | 10.6% | 12.6% | 12.9% |
| Changed city | 17.7% | 15.9% | 20.5% |
| Hired by firms of 1,000+ lawyers | 33.0% | 48.6% | 53.6% |
| Year on year | flat (-8.1%) | 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 A dash is a value we do not publish.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 share hired by firms of 1,000+ lawyers stands out most: 33.0% here against 48.6%, below it. Year on year it moved with the Intellectual Property practice as a whole: both flat.
Over the three years to October 2026, 296 lawyers moved in Patent: Mechanical & Medical Devices, 141 of them partners (47.6%). They joined 131 different firms. 15.9% stepped up a level on the move and 17.6% 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.
- Partner42.6%
- Counsel13.8%
- Associate41.5%
At 42.6%, the partner share of arrivals sits above the market's 27.7%. On settled windows partner moves alone went from 54 to 38, down 29.6% year on year. A step up in title came with 10.6% of moves (market 12.9%).
The 12-month firm table is below our naming threshold, so this part reads the three years to October 2026. 131 firms hired at least one lateral in Patent: Mechanical & Medical Devices in the window. The ten firms at the head of the hiring table took 19.2% of arrivals (12.2% market-wide), so hiring here is moderately concentrated. First on the hiring table is Greenberg Traurig, with arrivals in the 6-10 band.
- 1,000+ lawyers51.6%
- 400-999 lawyers19.1%
- 150-399 lawyers17.7%
- under 150 lawyers11.6%
City figures here cover the three years to October 2026. Washington, DC ranks first among destination cities with 12.2% of arrivals, followed by New York (11.8%). A change of city came with 17.7% of moves (market 20.5%).
There were 56 open roles in Patent: Mechanical & Medical Devices on law-firm career pages on November 11, 2026.
With volume in Patent: Mechanical & Medical Devices 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 | Greenberg Traurig | 6-10 |
| 2 | Morgan, Lewis & Bockius | 6-10 |
| 3 | Taft Stettinius & Hollister | 6-10 |
| 4 | Husch Blackwell | 6-10 |
| 5 | Alston & Bird | 3-5 |
| 6 | ArentFox Schiff | 3-5 |
| 7 | Davis Wright Tremaine | 3-5 |
| 8 | Merchant & Gould | 3-5 |
| 9 | Morrison & Foerster | 3-5 |
| 10 | Nixon Peabody | 3-5 |
Deals in Patent: Mechanical & Medical Devices
Sartori & Partners data count 47 dated deals in Patent: Mechanical & Medical Devices in the 12 months to October 2026 and 152 over the three years to October 2026.
Disputes & investigations work is involved in 90.1% of them.
By client industry, Medical Devices comes first with 32.9%.
Sterne Kessler Goldstein Fox ranks first among advising firms over the period, in the 6-10 band.
| Rank | Firm | Deals (band) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sterne Kessler Goldstein Fox | 6-10 |
| 2 | Jones Day | 6-10 |
| 3 | Knobbe Martens | 6-10 |
| 4 | Cooley | 6-10 |
| 5 | Mayer Brown | 3-5 |
| 6 | Haynes and Boone | 3-5 |
| 7 | Finnegan Henderson Farabow Garrett & Dunner | 3-5 |
| 8 | Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton | 3-5 |
| 9 | Stradling Yocca Carlson & Rauth | 3-5 |
| 10 | Quarles & Brady | 3-5 |
Time to partner in Patent: Mechanical & Medical Devices
29 lawyers were promoted to partner in Patent: Mechanical & Medical Devices in the 12 months to May 2026, 147 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 12.0 years, against a market median of 10.0 years. 80.3% made partner within 12 years.
These figures rest on 137 promotions.
Related monitors and reports
Other specialities in Intellectual Property
Hiring in this market
Reports
- Medical Device Patents: Fewer Partners on the Move, Down 29.6%
Partner moves in mechanical and medical device patent work fell 29.6% year on year, from 54 to 38. Hiring at all levels held flat (-8.1%), and partner hiring in intellectual property held flat (+8.0%): the drop is a partner story.
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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