Pensions, Benefits & Executive Compensation · speciality monitor
Retirement & Pension Plans: lateral monitor
Lawyers whose work centers on Retirement & Pension Plans and who changed firm over the last 12 months, set against the Pensions, Benefits & Executive Compensation practice and the market.
The last 12 months: November 2025 to October 2026
- 58
- Lateral moves, 12 monthsNovember 2025 to October 2026
- +15.1%
- Year on yearSettled 12-month windows
- 43.1%
- Partner share of moves
- 45
- Firms that hired
What the data show
From November 2025 to October 2026, Sartori & Partners recorded 58 lateral moves in Retirement & Pension Plans. On settled windows the count went from 53 to 61 (+15.1%), a change inside the noise of the two counts, so we read it as flat.
| Measure | Here | Pensions, Benefits & Executive Compensation | Market |
|---|---|---|---|
| Partner share of moves | 43.1% | 30.2% | 27.7% |
| Counsel share of moves | 15.5% | 19.8% | 12.7% |
| Associate share of moves | 41.4% | 48.8% | 58.5% |
| Moved up a level | 15.5% | 17.5% | 12.9% |
| Changed city | 22.7% | 17.3% | 20.5% |
| Hired by firms of 1,000+ lawyers | 48.3% | 61.9% | 53.6% |
| Year on year | flat (+15.1%) | rose (+16.6%) | 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 A dash is a value we do not publish.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 Pensions, Benefits & Executive Compensation practice as a whole, the widest gap is the share hired by firms of 1,000+ lawyers, which is lower here: 48.3% against 61.9%. Year on year it held flat while the Pensions, Benefits & Executive Compensation practice as a whole rose.
Over the three years to October 2026, 173 lawyers moved in Retirement & Pension Plans, 73 of them partners (42.2%). They joined 118 different firms. 16.8% stepped up a level on the move and 21.5% changed city, against 12.3% and 21.6% across the market over the same three years. 58.7% came from firms with 1,000+ lawyers.
- Partner43.1%
- Counsel15.5%
- Associate41.4%
At 43.1%, the partner share of arrivals sits above the market's 27.7%. On settled windows partner moves alone went from 24 to 26 (+8.3%), a change inside the noise of the two counts, so we read it as flat. A step up in title came with 15.5% of moves (market 12.9%).
The 12-month firm table is below our naming threshold, so this part reads the three years to October 2026. Lateral hires in Retirement & Pension Plans were spread across 118 firms. The ten firms at the head of the hiring table took 23.1% of arrivals (12.2% market-wide), so hiring here is moderately concentrated. Epstein Becker & Green ranks first by lateral arrivals, in the 6-10 band.
- 1,000+ lawyers58.7%
- 400-999 lawyers22.7%
- 150-399 lawyers14.7%
- under 150 lawyers4.0%
City figures here cover the three years to October 2026. By city, Chicago comes first (13.3% of arrivals), then Washington, DC (12.1%). A change of city came with 22.7% of moves (market 20.5%).
There were 125 open roles in Retirement & Pension Plans on law-firm career pages on November 11, 2026.
For a firm planning a hire in Retirement & Pension Plans, 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 | Epstein Becker & Green | 6-10 |
| 2 | Foley & Lardner | 3-5 |
| 3 | Akerman | 3-5 |
| 4 | Eversheds Sutherland | 3-5 |
| 5 | Holland & Knight | 3-5 |
| 6 | Greenberg Traurig | 3-5 |
| 7 | Nixon Peabody | 3-5 |
| 8 | Ogletree Deakins | 3-5 |
| 9 | Littler Mendelson | 3-5 |
| 10 | Hogan Lovells Cadwalader | 3-5 |
Deals in Retirement & Pension Plans
Sartori & Partners data count 55 dated deals in Retirement & Pension Plans in the 12 months to October 2026 and 166 over the three years to October 2026.
Disputes & investigations work is involved in 42.2% of them and Other in 29.5%.
By client industry, Asset Management & Funds comes first with 32.5%.
Slaughter and May ranks first among advising firms over the period, in the 11-20 band.
| Rank | Firm | Deals (band) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Slaughter and May | 11-20 |
| 2 | Mayer Brown | 11-20 |
| 3 | Osborne Clarke | 6-10 |
| 4 | Macfarlanes | 6-10 |
| 5 | Gowling WLG | 6-10 |
| 6 | Travers Smith | 3-5 |
| 7 | Squire Patton Boggs | 3-5 |
| 8 | King & Spalding | 3-5 |
| 9 | Jones Day | 3-5 |
| 10 | Eversheds Sutherland | 3-5 |
Time to partner in Retirement & Pension Plans
80 lawyers were promoted to partner in Retirement & Pension Plans over five years, according to Sartori & Partners data.
The median time from first year of practice to partner is 12.0 years, with the middle half between 10.0 years and 15.0 years, against a market median of 10.0 years. 60.9% made partner within 12 years.
These figures rest on 69 promotions.
Related monitors and reports
Other specialities in Pensions, Benefits & Executive Compensation
Hiring in this market
Reports
- Retirement Plan Lawyers: Chicago and Washington Lead the Moves
Retirement and pension plan hiring runs through Chicago and Washington, DC: over three years they took 13.3% and 12.1% of moves, against 7.0% and 7.4% in the wider benefits practice, which New York leads at 17.5%.
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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