Funds & Investment Management · speciality monitor
Secondaries & Fund Transactions: lateral monitor
Lawyers whose work centers on Secondaries & Fund Transactions and who changed firm over the last 12 months, set against the Funds & Investment Management practice and the market.
The last 12 months: November 2025 to October 2026
- 122
- Lateral moves, 12 monthsNovember 2025 to October 2026
- +40.4%
- Year on yearSettled 12-month windows
- 50.0%
- Partner share of moves
- 54
- Firms that hired
What the data show
Sartori & Partners data show 122 lateral moves in Secondaries & Fund Transactions from November 2025 to October 2026. Year on year, on windows that end a month early, the count grew 40.4% (94 to 132). That runs ahead of the wider market, which moved +9.0%.
| Measure | Here | Funds & Investment Management | Market |
|---|---|---|---|
| Partner share of moves | 50.0% | 36.7% | 27.7% |
| Counsel share of moves | 7.4% | 11.1% | 12.7% |
| Associate share of moves | 42.6% | 51.7% | 58.5% |
| Moved up a level | 12.3% | 11.4% | 12.9% |
| Changed city | 17.9% | 20.4% | 20.5% |
| Hired by firms of 1,000+ lawyers | 90.2% | 75.8% | 53.6% |
| Year on year | rose (+40.4%) | rose (+23.7%) | 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 A dash is a value we do not publish.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.
Set against the Funds & Investment Management practice as a whole, the share hired by firms of 1,000+ lawyers stands out most: 90.2% here against 75.8%, above it. Year on year it moved with the Funds & Investment Management practice as a whole: both rose.
Over the three years to October 2026, 307 lawyers moved in Secondaries & Fund Transactions, 122 of them partners (39.7%). They joined 82 different firms. 12.4% stepped up a level on the move and 15.6% changed city, against 12.3% and 21.6% across the market over the same three years. 82.2% came from firms with 1,000+ lawyers.
- Partner50.0%
- Counsel7.4%
- Associate42.6%
This is a partner market: 50.0% of movers were partners, against 27.7% market-wide. Year on year, on windows that end a month early, partner moves alone grew 74.3% (35 to 61). 12.3% of movers stepped up a level when they changed firm, against 12.9% for the market.
Lateral hires in Secondaries & Fund Transactions were spread across 54 firms. Ten firms account for 47.5% of arrivals, against 12.9% across the market: concentrated. Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher ranks first by lateral arrivals, in the 6-10 band.
- 1,000+ lawyers82.2%
- 400-999 lawyers13.1%
- under 150 lawyers3.4%
By city, London comes first (27.0% of arrivals), then New York (25.4%). 17.9% of movers also changed city, against 20.5% market-wide.
There were 158 open roles in Secondaries & Fund Transactions on law-firm career pages on November 11, 2026.
A firm recruiting in Secondaries & Fund Transactions is buying into a rising, partner-heavy flow, so the strongest candidates will hear from more than one firm.
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 | Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher | 6-10 |
| 2 | Ropes & Gray | 6-10 |
| 3 | Kirkland & Ellis | 6-10 |
| 4 | Weil Gotshal & Manges | 6-10 |
| 5 | Sidley Austin | 3-5 |
| 6 | Greenberg Traurig | 3-5 |
| 7 | Winston Taylor | 3-5 |
| 8 | Mayer Brown | 3-5 |
| 9 | Proskauer Rose | 3-5 |
| 10 | White & Case | 3-5 |
| Rank | Firm | Moves (band) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison | 6-10 |
| 2 | Kirkland & Ellis | 6-10 |
| 3 | Proskauer Rose | 6-10 |
| 4 | Sidley Austin | 6-10 |
| 5 | Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher | 3-5 |
| 6 | White & Case | 3-5 |
| 7 | Hogan Lovells Cadwalader | 3-5 |
| 8 | Greenberg Traurig | 3-5 |
| 9 | Weil Gotshal & Manges | 3-5 |
| 10 | DLA Piper | 3-5 |
Deals in Secondaries & Fund Transactions
Sartori & Partners data count 77 dated deals in Secondaries & Fund Transactions in the 12 months to October 2026 and 198 over the three years to October 2026.
Fund formation work is involved in 63.1% of them.
By client industry, Financial Sponsors comes first with 63.1%.
Kirkland & Ellis ranks first among advising firms over the period, in the 21-40 band.
| Rank | Firm | Deals (band) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kirkland & Ellis | 21-40 |
| 2 | Proskauer Rose | 11-20 |
| 3 | Ropes & Gray | 11-20 |
| 4 | Latham & Watkins | 6-10 |
| 5 | Goodwin Procter | 6-10 |
| 6 | Debevoise & Plimpton | 6-10 |
| 7 | Loyens & Loeff | 6-10 |
| 8 | Jones Day | 6-10 |
| 9 | Willkie Farr & Gallagher | 6-10 |
| 10 | Dechert | 6-10 |
Time to partner in Secondaries & Fund Transactions
36 lawyers were promoted to partner in Secondaries & Fund Transactions in the 12 months to May 2026, 165 over five years, according to Sartori & Partners data.
The median time from first year of practice to partner is 9.0 years, with the middle half between 8.0 years and 12.0 years, against a market median of 10.0 years. 81.8% made partner within 12 years.
These figures rest on 132 promotions.
Related monitors and reports
Other specialities in Funds & Investment Management
Hiring in this market
Reports
- Secondaries Lawyer Hiring Rose in 2026, and Partner Hiring Rose Most
Sartori & Partners data show secondaries and fund transactions hiring rose 40.4%, ahead of the funds practice and the lateral market, and partner hiring rose 74.3%.
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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