Corporate & M&A · speciality monitor
Shareholder Activism & Disputes Advisory: lateral monitor
Lawyers whose work centers on Shareholder Activism & Disputes Advisory and who changed firm over the last 12 months, set against the Corporate & M&A practice and the market.
The last 12 months: November 2025 to October 2026
- 32
- Lateral moves, 12 monthsNovember 2025 to October 2026
- -8.8%
- Year on yearSettled 12-month windows
- 65.6%
- Partner share of moves
- 24
- Firms that hired
What the data show
From November 2025 to October 2026, Sartori & Partners recorded 32 lateral moves in Shareholder Activism & Disputes Advisory. On settled windows the count went from 34 to 31 (-8.8%), a change inside the noise of the two counts, so we read it as flat.
| Measure | Here | Corporate & M&A | Market |
|---|---|---|---|
| Partner share of moves | 65.6% | 29.9% | 27.7% |
| Counsel share of moves (three years) | 11.8% | 10.2% | 12.1% |
| Associate share of moves | 28.1% | 57.7% | 58.5% |
| Moved up a level (three years) | 14.0% | 11.4% | 12.3% |
| Changed city (three years) | 15.2% | 22.5% | 21.6% |
| Hired by firms of 1,000+ lawyers | 71.9% | 62.6% | 53.6% |
| Year on year | flat (-8.8%) | rose (+15.8%) | 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 A dash is a value we do not publish.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 Corporate & M&A practice as a whole, the widest gap is the partner share, which is higher here: 65.6% against 29.9%. Year on year it held flat while the Corporate & M&A practice as a whole rose.
Over the three years to October 2026, 93 lawyers moved in Shareholder Activism & Disputes Advisory, 55 of them partners (59.1%). They joined 45 different firms. 14.0% stepped up a level on the move and 15.2% changed city, against 12.3% and 21.6% across the market over the same three years. 63.0% came from firms with 1,000+ lawyers.
- Partner65.6%
- Associate28.1%
At 65.6%, the partner share of arrivals sits above the market's 27.7%.
- 1,000+ lawyers63.0%
- 400-999 lawyers16.3%
- 150-399 lawyers12.0%
- under 150 lawyers8.7%
The 12-month firm table is below our naming threshold, so this part reads the three years to October 2026. 45 firms hired at least one lateral in Shareholder Activism & Disputes Advisory in the window. Ten firms account for 51.6% of arrivals, against 12.2% across the market: concentrated. First on the hiring table is Sidley Austin, with arrivals in the 6-10 band.
City figures here cover the three years to October 2026. New York ranks first among destination cities with 61.3% of arrivals.
With volume in Shareholder Activism & Disputes Advisory 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 | Sidley Austin | 6-10 |
| 2 | Sullivan & Cromwell | 6-10 |
| 3 | Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen & Hamilton | 3-5 |
| 4 | Kirkland & Ellis | 3-5 |
| 5 | Freshfields | 3-5 |
| 6 | Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP & Affiliates | 3-5 |
| 7 | Paul Hastings | 3-5 |
| 8 | Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison | 3-5 |
| 9 | White & Case | 3-5 |
| 10 | Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld | 3-5 |
Deals in Shareholder Activism & Disputes Advisory
Sartori & Partners data count 47 dated deals in Shareholder Activism & Disputes Advisory in the 12 months to October 2026 and 141 over the three years to October 2026.
M&A work is involved in 19.1% of them.
By client industry, Asset Management & Funds comes first with 32.6%.
Olshan Frome Wolosky ranks first among advising firms over the period, in the 41-60 band.
| Rank | Firm | Deals (band) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Olshan Frome Wolosky | 41-60 |
| 2 | Latham & Watkins | 11-20 |
| 3 | Davis Polk & Wardwell | 11-20 |
| 4 | McDermott Will & Schulte | 6-10 |
| 5 | White & Case | 6-10 |
| 6 | Sidley Austin | 3-5 |
| 7 | Kirkland & Ellis | 3-5 |
| 8 | Jones Day | 3-5 |
| 9 | Cooley | 3-5 |
| 10 | Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati | 3-5 |
Time to partner in Shareholder Activism & Disputes Advisory
69 lawyers were promoted to partner in Shareholder Activism & Disputes Advisory over five years, according to Sartori & Partners data.
The median time from first year of practice to partner is 9.5 years, with the middle half between 8.8 years and 11.0 years, against a market median of 10.0 years. 87.5% made partner within 12 years.
These figures rest on 56 promotions.
Related monitors and reports
Other specialities in Corporate & M&A
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.