Real Estate · speciality monitor
REITs & Real Estate Funds: lateral monitor
Lawyers whose work centers on REITs & Real Estate Funds 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
- 72
- Lateral moves, 12 monthsNovember 2025 to October 2026
- +9.1%
- Year on yearSettled 12-month windows
- 50.0%
- Partner share of moves
- 46
- Firms that hired
What the data show
In the Sartori & Partners lateral record, 72 lawyers joined a new firm in REITs & Real Estate Funds from November 2025 to October 2026. On settled windows the count went from 66 to 72 (+9.1%), a change inside the noise of the two counts, so we read it as flat.
| Measure | Here | Real Estate | Market |
|---|---|---|---|
| Partner share of moves | 50.0% | 28.9% | 27.7% |
| Counsel share of moves | 13.9% | 14.6% | 12.7% |
| Associate share of moves | 36.1% | 56.4% | 58.5% |
| Moved up a level | 15.3% | 13.6% | 12.9% |
| Changed city | 15.4% | 20.4% | 20.5% |
| Hired by firms of 1,000+ lawyers | 76.1% | 44.0% | 53.6% |
| Year on year | flat (+9.1%) | 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 A dash is a value we do not publish.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 share hired by firms of 1,000+ lawyers, which is higher here: 76.1% against 44.0%. Year on year it held flat while the Real Estate practice as a whole rose.
Over the three years to October 2026, 197 lawyers moved in REITs & Real Estate Funds, 116 of them partners (58.9%). They joined 102 different firms. 14.7% stepped up a level on the move and 14.4% changed city, against 12.3% and 21.6% across the market over the same three years. 69.3% came from firms with 1,000+ lawyers.
- Partner50.0%
- Counsel13.9%
- Associate36.1%
Partners make up 50.0% of arrivals, against 27.7% across the market: a partner-heavy flow. On settled windows partner moves alone went from 39 to 36 (-7.7%), a change inside the noise of the two counts, so we read it as flat. 15.3% of movers stepped up a level when they changed firm, against 12.9% for the market.
- 1,000+ lawyers76.1%
- 400-999 lawyers15.5%
Lateral hires in REITs & Real Estate Funds were spread across 46 firms. Ten firms account for 43.1% of arrivals, against 12.9% across the market: concentrated. Greenberg Traurig ranks first by lateral arrivals, in the 6-10 band.
- 1,000+ lawyers69.3%
- 400-999 lawyers15.9%
- 150-399 lawyers7.4%
- under 150 lawyers7.4%
City figures here cover the three years to October 2026. New York ranks first among destination cities with 17.3% of arrivals. A change of city came with 15.4% of moves (market 20.5%).
There were 46 open roles in REITs & Real Estate Funds on law-firm career pages on November 11, 2026.
With volume in REITs & Real Estate Funds 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 | Greenberg Traurig | 6-10 |
| 2 | Polsinelli | 3-5 |
| 3 | Mayer Brown | 3-5 |
| 4 | Jones Day | 3-5 |
| Rank | Firm | Moves (band) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Paul Hastings | 6-10 |
| 2 | Greenberg Traurig | 6-10 |
| 3 | Ashurst Perkins Coie | 3-5 |
| 4 | Burr & Forman | 3-5 |
| 5 | DLA Piper | 3-5 |
| 6 | Mayer Brown | 3-5 |
| 7 | Troutman Pepper Locke | 3-5 |
| 8 | Polsinelli | 3-5 |
| 9 | Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson | 3-5 |
| 10 | Jones Day | 3-5 |
Deals in REITs & Real Estate Funds
Sartori & Partners data count 201 dated deals in REITs & Real Estate Funds in the 12 months to October 2026 and 502 over the three years to October 2026.
Real estate work is involved in 91.6% of them.
By client industry, Real Estate comes first with 72.5%.
Greenberg Traurig ranks first among advising firms over the period, in the 21-40 band.
| Rank | Firm | Deals (band) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Greenberg Traurig | 21-40 |
| 2 | Clifford Chance | 21-40 |
| 3 | DLA Piper | 21-40 |
| 4 | Jones Day | 21-40 |
| 5 | CMS | 11-20 |
| 6 | Dentons | 11-20 |
| 7 | Hogan Lovells Cadwalader | 11-20 |
| 8 | White & Case | 11-20 |
| 9 | Simmons & Simmons | 11-20 |
| 10 | Latham & Watkins | 11-20 |
Time to partner in REITs & Real Estate Funds
21 lawyers were promoted to partner in REITs & Real Estate Funds in the 12 months to May 2026, 118 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. 74.2% made partner within 12 years.
These figures rest on 93 promotions.
Related monitors and reports
Other specialities in Real Estate
Hiring in this market
Reports
- REIT and Real Estate Fund Lawyers Go to Firms of 1,000+ Lawyers
REIT and real estate fund lawyers move to the largest firms: firms of 1,000+ lawyers took 76.1% of their lateral moves, against 44.0% in real estate and 53.6% in the market. Partners made 50.0% of those moves.
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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