Projects & Infrastructure · speciality monitor
Project Development: lateral monitor
Lawyers whose work centers on Project Development and who changed firm over the last 12 months, set against the Projects & Infrastructure practice and the market.
The last 12 months: November 2025 to October 2026
- 98
- Lateral moves, 12 monthsNovember 2025 to October 2026
- -7.7%
- Year on yearSettled 12-month windows
- 44.9%
- Partner share of moves
- 52
- Firms that hired
What the data show
Sartori & Partners data show 98 lateral moves in Project Development from November 2025 to October 2026. On settled windows the count went from 117 to 108 (-7.7%), a change inside the noise of the two counts, so we read it as flat.
| Measure | Here | Projects & Infrastructure | Market |
|---|---|---|---|
| Partner share of moves | 44.9% | 38.6% | 27.7% |
| Counsel share of moves | 14.3% | 12.2% | 12.7% |
| Associate share of moves | 39.8% | 48.4% | 58.5% |
| Moved up a level | 17.3% | 15.1% | 12.9% |
| Changed city | 25.6% | 22.3% | 20.5% |
| Hired by firms of 1,000+ lawyers | 75.5% | 71.1% | 53.6% |
| Year on year | flat (-7.7%) | flat (+1.3%) | 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 A dash is a value we do not publish.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 Projects & Infrastructure practice as a whole, the associate share stands out most: 39.8% here against 48.4%, below it. Year on year it moved with the Projects & Infrastructure practice as a whole: both flat.
Over the three years to October 2026, 317 lawyers moved in Project Development, 134 of them partners (42.3%). They joined 109 different firms. 15.5% stepped up a level on the move and 25.4% 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.
- Partner44.9%
- Counsel14.3%
- Associate39.8%
At 44.9%, the partner share of arrivals sits above the market's 27.7%. On settled windows partner moves alone went from 45 to 51 (+13.3%), a change inside the noise of the two counts, so we read it as flat. A step up in title came with 17.3% of moves (market 12.9%).
Lateral hires in Project Development were spread across 52 firms. The ten firms at the head of the hiring table took 43.9% of arrivals (12.9% market-wide), so hiring here is concentrated. First on the hiring table is Baker Botts, with arrivals in the 6-10 band.
- 1,000+ lawyers66.6%
- 400-999 lawyers21.5%
- 150-399 lawyers8.2%
- under 150 lawyers3.8%
City figures here cover the three years to October 2026. By city, London comes first (12.0% of arrivals), then Houston (9.1%). 25.6% of movers also changed city, against 20.5% market-wide.
There were 187 open roles in Project Development on law-firm career pages on November 11, 2026.
With volume in Project Development 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 | Baker Botts | 6-10 |
| 2 | Latham & Watkins | 6-10 |
| 3 | Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe | 6-10 |
| 4 | Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld | 3-5 |
| 5 | Norton Rose Fulbright | 3-5 |
| 6 | Taft Stettinius & Hollister | 3-5 |
| 7 | Greenberg Traurig | 3-5 |
| 8 | Kirkland & Ellis | 3-5 |
| 9 | White & Case | 3-5 |
| 10 | Mayer Brown | 3-5 |
| Rank | Firm | Moves (band) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld | 6-10 |
| 2 | Baker Botts | 6-10 |
| 3 | White & Case | 3-5 |
| 4 | Greenberg Traurig | 3-5 |
| 5 | Mayer Brown | 3-5 |
| 6 | Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe | 3-5 |
| 7 | Bird & Bird | 3-5 |
| 8 | Willkie Farr & Gallagher | 3-5 |
| 9 | Ashurst Perkins Coie | 3-5 |
| 10 | Dentons | 3-5 |
Deals in Project Development
Sartori & Partners data count 223 dated deals in Project Development in the 12 months to October 2026 and 606 over the three years to October 2026.
Project & infrastructure finance work is involved in 79.4% of them and M&A in 7.3%.
By client industry, Power & Renewables comes first with 57.6%.
Latham & Watkins ranks first among advising firms over the period, in the 21-40 band.
| Rank | Firm | Deals (band) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Latham & Watkins | 21-40 |
| 2 | Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer | 21-40 |
| 3 | Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe | 21-40 |
| 4 | DLA Piper | 21-40 |
| 5 | Clifford Chance | 21-40 |
| 6 | Watson Farley & Williams | 21-40 |
| 7 | White & Case | 11-20 |
| 8 | CMS | 11-20 |
| 9 | Linklaters | 11-20 |
| 10 | Dentons | 11-20 |
Time to partner in Project Development
32 lawyers were promoted to partner in Project Development in the 12 months to May 2026, 136 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 14.0 years, against a market median of 10.0 years. 63.2% made partner within 12 years.
These figures rest on 87 promotions.
Related monitors and reports
Other specialities in Projects & Infrastructure
Hiring in this market
Reports
- Project Development Lawyers: A Power and Renewables Bench
Project development is power and renewables work: those clients were involved in 57.6% of its dated matters over three years. Hiring held flat (-7.7%), and it runs through firms of 1,000+ lawyers and through London and Houston.
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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