Capital Markets · speciality monitor
Public Finance & Bond Counsel: lateral monitor
Lawyers whose work centers on Public Finance & Bond Counsel and who changed firm over the last 12 months, set against the Capital Markets practice and the market.
The last 12 months: November 2025 to October 2026
- 49
- Lateral moves, 12 monthsNovember 2025 to October 2026
- +21.4%
- Year on yearSettled 12-month windows
- 44.9%
- Partner share of moves
- 23
- Firms that hired
What the data show
From November 2025 to October 2026, Sartori & Partners recorded 49 lateral moves in Public Finance & Bond Counsel. On settled windows the count went from 42 to 51 (+21.4%), a change inside the noise of the two counts, so we read it as flat.
| Measure | Here | Capital Markets | Market |
|---|---|---|---|
| Partner share of moves | 44.9% | 31.5% | 27.7% |
| Counsel share of moves (three years) | 15.1% | 11.2% | 12.1% |
| Associate share of moves | 46.9% | 56.5% | 58.5% |
| Moved up a level | 20.4% | 15.1% | 12.9% |
| Changed city | 26.5% | 23.8% | 20.5% |
| Hired by firms of 1,000+ lawyers | 56.2% | 69.1% | 53.6% |
| Year on year | flat (+21.4%) | flat (+6.7%) | 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 A dash is a value we do not publish.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 Capital Markets practice as a whole, the widest gap is the partner share, which is higher here: 44.9% against 31.5%. Year on year it moved with the Capital Markets practice as a whole: both flat.
Over the three years to October 2026, 126 lawyers moved in Public Finance & Bond Counsel, 49 of them partners (38.9%). They joined 54 different firms. 16.7% stepped up a level on the move and 23.9% changed city, against 12.3% and 21.6% across the market over the same three years. 32.7% came from firms with 1,000+ lawyers.
- Partner44.9%
- Associate46.9%
At 44.9%, the partner share of arrivals sits above the market's 27.7%. A step up in title came with 20.4% of moves (market 12.9%).
- 1,000+ lawyers56.2%
- 400-999 lawyers22.9%
- 150-399 lawyers14.6%
The 12-month firm table is below our naming threshold, so this part reads the three years to October 2026. Lateral hires in Public Finance & Bond Counsel were spread across 54 firms. Ten firms account for 43.5% of arrivals, against 12.2% across the market: concentrated. Kutak Rock ranks first by lateral arrivals, in the 6-10 band.
- 1,000+ lawyers32.7%
- 400-999 lawyers42.9%
- 150-399 lawyers14.3%
- under 150 lawyers10.2%
A change of city came with 26.5% of moves (market 20.5%).
Group moves were 34.7% of the total (market 1.5%).
With volume in Public Finance & Bond Counsel 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 | Kutak Rock | 6-10 |
| 2 | Chapman and Cutler | 6-10 |
| 3 | Nixon Peabody | 6-10 |
| 4 | Norton Rose Fulbright | 6-10 |
| 5 | Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe | 6-10 |
| 6 | Greenberg Traurig | 3-5 |
| 7 | Jackson Walker | 3-5 |
| 8 | Croke Fairchild Duarte & Beres | 3-5 |
| 9 | Ballard Spahr | 3-5 |
Deals in Public Finance & Bond Counsel
Sartori & Partners data count 307 dated deals in Public Finance & Bond Counsel in the 12 months to October 2026 and 781 over the three years to October 2026.
Capital markets work is involved in 83.5% of them and Project & infrastructure finance in 4.1%.
By client industry, Government & Public Sector comes first with 77.2%.
A&O Shearman ranks first among advising firms over the period, in the 101-150 band.
| Rank | Firm | Deals (band) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | A&O Shearman | 101-150 |
| 2 | Clifford Chance | 61-100 |
| 3 | Linklaters | 61-100 |
| 4 | White & Case | 41-60 |
| 5 | Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen & Hamilton | 41-60 |
| 6 | Arnold & Porter | 41-60 |
| 7 | Kutak Rock | 41-60 |
| 8 | Davis Polk & Wardwell | 21-40 |
| 9 | DLA Piper | 21-40 |
| 10 | Bass, Berry & Sims | 21-40 |
Time to partner in Public Finance & Bond Counsel
56 lawyers were promoted to partner in Public Finance & Bond Counsel 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 8.0 years and 13.0 years, against a market median of 10.0 years. 70.2% made partner within 12 years.
These figures rest on 47 promotions.
Related monitors and reports
Other specialities in Capital Markets
Hiring in this market
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.