Tax · speciality monitor
State & Local Tax: lateral monitor
Lawyers whose work centers on State & Local Tax and who changed firm over the last 12 months, set against the Tax practice and the market.
The last 12 months: November 2025 to October 2026
- 36
- Lateral moves, 12 monthsNovember 2025 to October 2026
- +36.7%
- Year on yearSettled 12-month windows
- 25.0%
- Partner share of moves
- 28
- Firms that hired
What the data show
From November 2025 to October 2026, Sartori & Partners recorded 36 lateral moves in State & Local Tax. On settled windows the count went from 30 to 41 (+36.7%), a change inside the noise of the two counts, so we read it as flat.
| Measure | Here | Tax | Market |
|---|---|---|---|
| Partner share of moves | 25.0% | 37.9% | 27.7% |
| Counsel share of moves | 36.1% | 12.6% | 12.7% |
| Associate share of moves | 38.9% | 48.5% | 58.5% |
| Moved up a level (three years) | 20.0% | 15.7% | 12.3% |
| Changed city | 31.0% | 21.1% | 20.5% |
| Hired by firms of 1,000+ lawyers | 38.9% | 49.9% | 53.6% |
| Year on year | flat (+36.7%) | rose (+23.8%) | 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 A dash is a value we do not publish.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.
Set against the Tax practice as a whole, the counsel share stands out most: 36.1% here against 12.6%, above it. Year on year it held flat while the Tax practice as a whole rose.
Over the three years to October 2026, 95 lawyers moved in State & Local Tax, 34 of them partners (35.8%). They joined 63 different firms. 20.0% stepped up a level on the move and 31.6% changed city, against 12.3% and 21.6% across the market over the same three years. 30.6% came from firms with 1,000+ lawyers.
- Partner25.0%
- Counsel36.1%
- Associate38.9%
The level mix sits close to the market: partners are 25.0% of arrivals, against 27.7% market-wide.
- 1,000+ lawyers38.9%
- 400-999 lawyers19.4%
- 150-399 lawyers33.3%
The 12-month firm table is below our naming threshold, so this part reads the three years to October 2026. 63 firms hired at least one lateral in State & Local Tax in the window. Ten firms account for 37.0% of arrivals, against 12.2% across the market: concentrated. Taft Stettinius & Hollister ranks first by lateral arrivals, in the 6-10 band.
- 1,000+ lawyers30.6%
- 400-999 lawyers29.0%
- 150-399 lawyers19.4%
- under 150 lawyers21.0%
A change of city came with 31.0% of moves (market 20.5%).
With volume in State & Local Tax 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 | Taft Stettinius & Hollister | 6-10 |
| 2 | Holland & Knight | 6-10 |
| 3 | Greenberg Traurig | 3-5 |
| 4 | DLA Piper | 3-5 |
| 5 | Eversheds Sutherland | 3-5 |
Deals in State & Local Tax
Sartori & Partners data count 54 over the three years to October 2026.
Disputes & investigations work is involved in 88.9% of them.
Blank Rome ranks first among advising firms over the period, in the 6-10 band.
| Rank | Firm | Deals (band) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Blank Rome | 6-10 |
| 2 | Jones Day | 3-5 |
| 3 | Akerman | 3-5 |
Time to partner in State & Local Tax
65 lawyers were promoted to partner in State & Local Tax 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 8.0 years and 12.0 years, against a market median of 10.0 years. 77.2% made partner within 12 years.
These figures rest on 57 promotions.
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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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