Projects & Infrastructure · speciality monitor
Project Finance: lateral monitor
Lawyers whose work centers on Project Finance 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
- 172
- Lateral moves, 12 monthsNovember 2025 to October 2026
- -7.4%
- Year on yearSettled 12-month windows
- 44.2%
- Partner share of moves
- 69
- Firms that hired
What the data show
In the Sartori & Partners lateral record, 172 lawyers joined a new firm in Project Finance from November 2025 to October 2026. On settled windows the count went from 190 to 176 (-7.4%), a change inside the noise of the two counts, so we read it as flat.
| Measure | Here | Projects & Infrastructure | Market |
|---|---|---|---|
| Partner share of moves | 44.2% | 38.6% | 27.7% |
| Counsel share of moves | 9.9% | 12.2% | 12.7% |
| Associate share of moves | 45.3% | 48.4% | 58.5% |
| Moved up a level | 17.4% | 15.1% | 12.9% |
| Changed city | 23.1% | 22.3% | 20.5% |
| Hired by firms of 1,000+ lawyers | 82.6% | 71.1% | 53.6% |
| Year on year | flat (-7.4%) | 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 A dash is a value we do not publish.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 share hired by firms of 1,000+ lawyers stands out most: 82.6% here against 71.1%, above it. Year on year it moved with the Projects & Infrastructure practice as a whole: both flat.
Over the three years to October 2026, 545 lawyers moved in Project Finance, 211 of them partners (38.7%). They joined 124 different firms. 14.5% stepped up a level on the move and 23.6% changed city, against 12.3% and 21.6% across the market over the same three years. 76.2% came from firms with 1,000+ lawyers.
- Partner44.2%
- Counsel9.9%
- Associate45.3%
This is a partner market: 44.2% of movers were partners, against 27.7% market-wide. On settled windows partner moves alone went from 71 to 78 (+9.9%), a change inside the noise of the two counts, so we read it as flat. 17.4% of movers stepped up a level when they changed firm, against 12.9% for the market.
Lateral hires in Project Finance were spread across 69 firms. Ten firms account for 36.8% of arrivals, against 12.9% across the market: concentrated. First on the hiring table is Latham & Watkins, with arrivals in the 6-10 band.
- 1,000+ lawyers76.2%
- 400-999 lawyers14.8%
- 150-399 lawyers4.1%
- under 150 lawyers4.9%
New York ranks first among destination cities with 18.6% of arrivals, followed by London (12.2%). A change of city came with 23.1% of moves (market 20.5%).
There were 260 open roles in Project Finance on law-firm career pages on November 11, 2026.
For a firm planning a hire in Project Finance, 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 | Latham & Watkins | 6-10 |
| 2 | Norton Rose Fulbright | 6-10 |
| 3 | Sidley Austin | 6-10 |
| 4 | Clifford Chance | 6-10 |
| 5 | Milbank | 6-10 |
| 6 | Mayer Brown | 6-10 |
| 7 | Ashurst Perkins Coie | 6-10 |
| 8 | Eversheds Sutherland | 3-5 |
| 9 | White & Case | 3-5 |
| 10 | Paul Hastings | 3-5 |
| Rank | Firm | Moves (band) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Baker Botts | 6-10 |
| 2 | Norton Rose Fulbright | 6-10 |
| 3 | Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe | 6-10 |
| 4 | Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld | 6-10 |
| 5 | Mayer Brown | 6-10 |
| 6 | Ashurst Perkins Coie | 6-10 |
| 7 | Clifford Chance | 6-10 |
| 8 | A&O Shearman | 3-5 |
| 9 | Greenberg Traurig | 3-5 |
| 10 | Sidley Austin | 3-5 |
Deals in Project Finance
Sartori & Partners data count 374 dated deals in Project Finance in the 12 months to October 2026 and 919 over the three years to October 2026.
Project & infrastructure finance work is involved in 93.0% of them and Banking & lending in 4.5%.
By client industry, Power & Renewables comes first with 66.9%.
Clifford Chance ranks first among advising firms over the period, in the 101-150 band.
| Rank | Firm | Deals (band) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Clifford Chance | 101-150 |
| 2 | White & Case | 61-100 |
| 3 | Latham & Watkins | 41-60 |
| 4 | CMS | 41-60 |
| 5 | Milbank | 41-60 |
| 6 | Watson Farley & Williams | 21-40 |
| 7 | Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer | 21-40 |
| 8 | DLA Piper | 21-40 |
| 9 | Hogan Lovells Cadwalader | 21-40 |
| 10 | Norton Rose Fulbright | 21-40 |
Time to partner in Project Finance
46 lawyers were promoted to partner in Project Finance in the 12 months to May 2026, 203 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. 63.0% made partner within 12 years.
These figures rest on 127 promotions.
Related monitors and reports
Other specialities in Projects & Infrastructure
Hiring in this market
Reports
- Project Finance Lawyers: A Large-Firm Market
Project finance hiring is a large-firm market on both sides of the move: firms of 1,000+ lawyers took 82.6% of laterals, against 53.6% market-wide, and over 3 years 76.2% of movers had left a firm of that size, against 56.6%. Power and renewables drive the work.
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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