Real Estate · speciality monitor
Real Estate Disputes: lateral monitor
Lawyers whose work centers on Real Estate Disputes and who changed firm over the last 12 months, set against the Real Estate practice and the market.
The last 12 months: November 2025 to October 2026
- 172
- Lateral moves, 12 monthsNovember 2025 to October 2026
- -8.4%
- Year on yearSettled 12-month windows
- 44.8%
- Partner share of moves
- 120
- Firms that hired
What the data show
Sartori & Partners data show 172 lateral moves in Real Estate Disputes from November 2025 to October 2026. On settled windows the count went from 203 to 186 (-8.4%), a change inside the noise of the two counts, so we read it as flat.
| Measure | Here | Real Estate | Market |
|---|---|---|---|
| Partner share of moves | 44.8% | 28.9% | 27.7% |
| Counsel share of moves | 13.4% | 14.6% | 12.7% |
| Associate share of moves | 41.9% | 56.4% | 58.5% |
| Moved up a level | 16.9% | 13.6% | 12.9% |
| Changed city | 23.1% | 20.4% | 20.5% |
| Hired by firms of 1,000+ lawyers | 28.8% | 44.0% | 53.6% |
| Year on year | flat (-8.4%) | rose (+7.9%) | 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 A dash is a value we do not publish.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 Real Estate practice as a whole, the widest gap is the partner share, which is higher here: 44.8% against 28.9%. Year on year it held flat while the Real Estate practice as a whole rose.
Over the three years to October 2026, 623 lawyers moved in Real Estate Disputes, 246 of them partners (39.5%). They joined 270 different firms. 17.0% stepped up a level on the move and 18.8% changed city, against 12.3% and 21.6% across the market over the same three years. 30.1% came from firms with 1,000+ lawyers.
- Partner44.8%
- Counsel13.4%
- Associate41.9%
At 44.8%, the partner share of arrivals sits above the market's 27.7%. On settled windows partner moves alone went from 86 to 78 (-9.3%), a change inside the noise of the two counts, so we read it as flat. A step up in title came with 16.9% of moves (market 12.9%).
- 1,000+ lawyers28.8%
- 400-999 lawyers30.0%
- 150-399 lawyers25.3%
- under 150 lawyers15.9%
Lateral hires in Real Estate Disputes were spread across 120 firms. Ten firms account for 21.5% of arrivals, against 12.9% across the market: moderately concentrated. First on the hiring table is Dentons, with arrivals in the 6-10 band.
- 1,000+ lawyers30.1%
- 400-999 lawyers22.4%
- 150-399 lawyers21.3%
- under 150 lawyers26.1%
New York ranks first among destination cities with 12.8% of arrivals. 23.1% of movers also changed city, against 20.5% market-wide.
There were 45 open roles in Real Estate Disputes on law-firm career pages on November 11, 2026.
For a firm planning a hire in Real Estate Disputes, 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 | Dentons | 6-10 |
| 2 | Fox Rothschild | 3-5 |
| 3 | Offit Kurman | 3-5 |
| 4 | Baker Donelson Bearman Caldwell & Berkowitz | 3-5 |
| 5 | Holland & Knight | 3-5 |
| 6 | Knights | 3-5 |
| 7 | Addleshaw Goddard | 3-5 |
| 8 | Morrison & Foerster | 3-5 |
| 9 | CMS | 3-5 |
| 10 | Mishcon de Reya | 3-5 |
| Rank | Firm | Moves (band) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Spencer Fane | 6-10 |
| 2 | Taft Stettinius & Hollister | 6-10 |
| 3 | Keystone Law | 6-10 |
| 4 | Knights | 6-10 |
| 5 | Greenberg Traurig | 3-5 |
| 6 | Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani | 3-5 |
| 7 | Dentons | 3-5 |
| 8 | Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith | 3-5 |
| 9 | Fox Rothschild | 3-5 |
| 10 | Holland & Knight | 3-5 |
Deals in Real Estate Disputes
Sartori & Partners data count 44 dated deals in Real Estate Disputes in the 12 months to October 2026 and 118 over the three years to October 2026.
Disputes & investigations work is involved in 41.5% of them and Real estate in 29.7%.
By client industry, Real Estate comes first with 65.3%.
Time to partner in Real Estate Disputes
50 lawyers were promoted to partner in Real Estate Disputes in the 12 months to May 2026, 317 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. 73.2% made partner within 12 years.
These figures rest on 246 promotions.
Related monitors and reports
Other specialities in Real Estate
Hiring in this market
Reports
- Real Estate Litigation Lawyers in 2026: Beyond the Big Platforms
Real estate litigators move away from the largest firms: 28.8% joined firms of 1,000+ lawyers in 12 months, while firms of 150-399 lawyers and under 150 lawyers together took 41.2%, against 29.1% across the real estate practice.
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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