Product Liability: lateral monitor

In the Sartori & Partners lateral record, 524 lawyers joined a new firm in Product Liability from November 2025 to October 2026. On settled windows the count went from 535 to 534 (-0.2%), which we read as flat. The market as a whole moved +9.0%, so this flow lagged it.

Over the three years to October 2026, 1,631 lawyers moved in Product Liability, 575 of them partners (35.3%). They joined 377 different firms. 15.6% stepped up a level on the move and 18.7% changed city, against 12.3% and 21.6% across the market over the same three years. 45.6% came from firms with 1,000+ lawyers.

At 33.8%, the partner share of arrivals sits above the market's 27.7%. On settled windows partner moves alone went from 199 to 176 (-11.6%), a change inside the noise of the two counts, so we read it as flat. 16.8% of movers stepped up a level when they changed firm, against 12.9% for the market.

186 firms hired at least one lateral in Product Liability in the window. The ten firms at the head of the hiring table took 29.4% of arrivals (12.9% market-wide), so hiring here is moderately concentrated. Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani ranks first by lateral arrivals, in the 21-40 band.

By city, New York comes first (10.7% of arrivals), then Los Angeles (10.7%). A change of city came with 18.7% of moves (market 20.5%).

Group moves were 1.0% of the total (market 1.5%).

There were 1,048 open roles in Product Liability on law-firm career pages on November 11, 2026.

With volume in Product Liability holding level, a hire depends on a specific reason to move, which a firm has to put in front of the candidate.

Sartori & Partners data count 196 dated deals in Product Liability in the 12 months to October 2026 and 467 over the three years to October 2026.

Disputes & investigations work is involved in 99.1% of them.

By client industry, Pharma & Biotech comes first with 14.6%.

King & Spalding ranks first among advising firms over the period, in the 41-60 band.