Financial Services Regulatory · speciality monitor
Payments & Fintech Regulation: lateral monitor
Lawyers whose work centers on Payments & Fintech Regulation and who changed firm over the last 12 months, set against the Financial Services Regulatory practice and the market.
The last 12 months: November 2025 to October 2026
- 53
- Lateral moves, 12 monthsNovember 2025 to October 2026
- +5.4%
- Year on yearSettled 12-month windows
- 39.6%
- Partner share of moves
- 36
- Firms that hired
What the data show
In the Sartori & Partners lateral record, 53 lawyers joined a new firm in Payments & Fintech Regulation from November 2025 to October 2026. On settled windows the count went from 56 to 59 (+5.4%), a change inside the noise of the two counts, so we read it as flat.
| Measure | Here | Financial Services Regulatory | Market |
|---|---|---|---|
| Partner share of moves | 39.6% | 47.9% | 27.7% |
| Counsel share of moves | 18.9% | 14.5% | 12.7% |
| Associate share of moves | 41.5% | 37.6% | 58.5% |
| Moved up a level | 11.3% | 13.7% | 12.9% |
| Changed city (three years) | 11.6% | 18.3% | 21.6% |
| Hired by firms of 1,000+ lawyers | 86.8% | 66.7% | 53.6% |
| Year on year | flat (+5.4%) | rose (+19.6%) | 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 A dash is a value we do not publish.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 Financial Services Regulatory practice as a whole, the share hired by firms of 1,000+ lawyers stands out most: 86.8% here against 66.7%, above it. Year on year it held flat while the Financial Services Regulatory practice as a whole rose.
Over the three years to October 2026, 160 lawyers moved in Payments & Fintech Regulation, 66 of them partners (41.2%). They joined 80 different firms. 12.5% stepped up a level on the move and 11.6% changed city, against 12.3% and 21.6% across the market over the same three years. 68.5% came from firms with 1,000+ lawyers.
- Partner39.6%
- Counsel18.9%
- Associate41.5%
At 39.6%, the partner share of arrivals sits above the market's 27.7%. Year on year partner moves alone held level (27 to 27 on settled windows, 0.0%). 11.3% of movers stepped up a level when they changed firm, against 12.9% for the market.
The 12-month firm table is below our naming threshold, so this part reads the three years to October 2026. Lateral hires in Payments & Fintech Regulation were spread across 80 firms. Ten firms account for 28.9% of arrivals, against 12.2% across the market: moderately concentrated. First on the hiring table is Simmons & Simmons, with arrivals in the 6-10 band.
- 1,000+ lawyers68.5%
- 400-999 lawyers21.0%
- under 150 lawyers7.7%
City figures here cover the three years to October 2026. By city, London comes first (19.4% of arrivals), then Washington, DC (13.1%).
There were 76 open roles in Payments & Fintech Regulation on law-firm career pages on November 11, 2026.
For a firm planning a hire in Payments & Fintech Regulation, 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 | Simmons & Simmons | 6-10 |
| 2 | A&O Shearman | 3-5 |
| 3 | Winston Taylor | 3-5 |
| 4 | Greenberg Traurig | 3-5 |
| 5 | Dentons | 3-5 |
| 6 | Davis Wright Tremaine | 3-5 |
| 7 | DLA Piper | 3-5 |
| 8 | Osborne Clarke | 3-5 |
| 9 | White & Case | 3-5 |
| 10 | Latham & Watkins | 3-5 |
Deals in Payments & Fintech Regulation
Sartori & Partners data count 36 dated deals in Payments & Fintech Regulation in the 12 months to October 2026 and 83 over the three years to October 2026.
Regulatory & antitrust work is involved in 48.2% of them.
By client industry, Fintech & Payments comes first with 49.4%.
Time to partner in Payments & Fintech Regulation
61 lawyers were promoted to partner in Payments & Fintech Regulation 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. 66.7% made partner within 12 years.
These figures rest on 42 promotions.
Related monitors and reports
Other specialities in Financial Services Regulatory
Hiring in this market
Reports
- Payments and Fintech Regulation: Where Crypto Meets Payments
Fintech and payments clients appear on 49.4% of the speciality's matters and crypto clients on 28.9%, while 86.8% of its lateral moves went to firms of 1,000+ lawyers.
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.