Technology, Data & Privacy · speciality monitor
Privacy & Data Protection: lateral monitor
Lawyers whose work centers on Privacy & Data Protection and who changed firm over the last 12 months, set against the Technology, Data & Privacy practice and the market.
The last 12 months: November 2025 to October 2026
- 192
- Lateral moves, 12 monthsNovember 2025 to October 2026
- +2.0%
- Year on yearSettled 12-month windows
- 33.9%
- Partner share of moves
- 112
- Firms that hired
What the data show
In the Sartori & Partners lateral record, 192 lawyers joined a new firm in Privacy & Data Protection from November 2025 to October 2026. Year on year the count held level (201 to 205 on settled windows, +2.0%). It fell behind the market's own change of +9.0%.
| Measure | Here | Technology, Data & Privacy | Market |
|---|---|---|---|
| Partner share of moves | 33.9% | 33.2% | 27.7% |
| Counsel share of moves | 10.4% | 13.4% | 12.7% |
| Associate share of moves | 55.7% | 51.2% | 58.5% |
| Moved up a level | 11.5% | 14.8% | 12.9% |
| Changed city | 19.3% | 18.4% | 20.5% |
| Hired by firms of 1,000+ lawyers | 52.6% | 58.4% | 53.6% |
| Year on year | flat (+2.0%) | rose (+32.6%) | 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 A dash is a value we do not publish.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.
Against the Technology, Data & Privacy practice as a whole, the widest gap is the share hired by firms of 1,000+ lawyers, which is lower here: 52.6% against 58.4%. Year on year it held flat while the Technology, Data & Privacy practice as a whole rose.
Over the three years to October 2026, 622 lawyers moved in Privacy & Data Protection, 201 of them partners (32.3%). They joined 216 different firms. 11.7% stepped up a level on the move and 22.3% changed city, against 12.3% and 21.6% across the market over the same three years. 60.0% came from firms with 1,000+ lawyers.
- Partner33.9%
- Counsel10.4%
- Associate55.7%
This is a partner market: 33.9% of movers were partners, against 27.7% market-wide. On settled windows partner moves alone went from 56 to 70 (+25.0%), a change inside the noise of the two counts, so we read it as flat. 11.5% of movers stepped up a level when they changed firm, against 12.9% for the market.
- 1,000+ lawyers52.6%
- 400-999 lawyers31.8%
- 150-399 lawyers11.5%
- under 150 lawyers4.2%
Lateral hires in Privacy & Data Protection were spread across 112 firms. The ten firms at the head of the hiring table took 23.7% of arrivals (12.9% market-wide), so hiring here is moderately concentrated. First on the hiring table is Jones Day, with arrivals in the 6-10 band.
- 1,000+ lawyers60.0%
- 400-999 lawyers18.3%
- 150-399 lawyers8.7%
- under 150 lawyers13.1%
London ranks first among destination cities with 12.5% of arrivals. A change of city came with 19.3% of moves (market 20.5%).
There were 441 open roles in Privacy & Data Protection on law-firm career pages on November 11, 2026.
With volume in Privacy & Data Protection 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 | Jones Day | 6-10 |
| 2 | Clark Hill | 3-5 |
| 3 | Bird & Bird | 3-5 |
| 4 | CMS | 3-5 |
| 5 | Ashurst Perkins Coie | 3-5 |
| 6 | Baker McKenzie | 3-5 |
| 7 | Dentons | 3-5 |
| 8 | Fieldfisher | 3-5 |
| 9 | Hill Dickinson | 3-5 |
| 10 | Morrison & Foerster | 3-5 |
| Rank | Firm | Moves (band) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Keystone Law | 6-10 |
| 2 | Bird & Bird | 6-10 |
| 3 | Crowell & Moring | 3-5 |
| 4 | Dentons | 3-5 |
| 5 | Morrison & Foerster | 3-5 |
| 6 | Norton Rose Fulbright | 3-5 |
| 7 | DLA Piper | 3-5 |
| 8 | DWF | 3-5 |
| 9 | Reed Smith | 3-5 |
| 10 | White & Case | 3-5 |
Deals in Privacy & Data Protection
Sartori & Partners data count 51 dated deals in Privacy & Data Protection in the 12 months to October 2026 and 160 over the three years to October 2026.
Disputes & investigations work is involved in 79.4% of them.
By client industry, Technology & Software comes first with 29.4%.
Bass, Berry & Sims ranks first among advising firms over the period, in the 11-20 band.
| Rank | Firm | Deals (band) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bass, Berry & Sims | 11-20 |
| 2 | Latham & Watkins | 11-20 |
| 3 | Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani | 6-10 |
| 4 | Jones Day | 6-10 |
| 5 | Baker & Hostetler | 6-10 |
| 6 | King & Spalding | 6-10 |
| 7 | Fasken Martineau DuMoulin | 3-5 |
| 8 | Boies Schiller Flexner | 3-5 |
| 9 | Taft Stettinius & Hollister | 3-5 |
| 10 | Stibbe | 3-5 |
Time to partner in Privacy & Data Protection
65 lawyers were promoted to partner in Privacy & Data Protection in the 12 months to May 2026, 338 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 13.0 years, against a market median of 10.0 years. 74.1% made partner within 12 years.
These figures rest on 220 promotions.
Related monitors and reports
Other specialities in Technology, Data & Privacy
Hiring in this market
Reports
- Privacy Lawyers Held Still While Tech Hiring Rose in 2026
Sartori & Partners data show privacy hiring held flat (+2.0%) against a practice that rose 32.6% and a market that rose 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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