Regulatory & Compliance · speciality monitor
Telecom & Media Regulation: lateral monitor
Lawyers whose work centers on Telecom & Media Regulation and who changed firm over the last 12 months, set against the Regulatory & Compliance practice and the market.
The last 12 months: November 2025 to October 2026
- 25
- Lateral moves, 12 monthsNovember 2025 to October 2026
- +30.0%
- Year on yearSettled 12-month windows
- 40.0%
- Partner share of moves
- 21
- Firms that hired
What the data show
In the Sartori & Partners lateral record, 25 lawyers joined a new firm in Telecom & Media Regulation from November 2025 to October 2026. On settled windows the count went from 20 to 26 (+30.0%), a change inside the noise of the two counts, so we read it as flat.
| Measure | Here | Regulatory & Compliance | Market |
|---|---|---|---|
| Partner share of moves | 40.0% | 42.5% | 27.7% |
| Counsel share of moves | 20.0% | 16.0% | 12.7% |
| Associate share of moves | 40.0% | 40.5% | 58.5% |
| Moved up a level | 24.0% | 14.7% | 12.9% |
| Changed city (three years) | 22.0% | 20.1% | 21.6% |
| Hired by firms of 1,000+ lawyers | 72.0% | 53.1% | 53.6% |
| Year on year | flat (+30.0%) | flat (+0.5%) | 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 A dash is a value we do not publish.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 Regulatory & Compliance practice as a whole, the share hired by firms of 1,000+ lawyers stands out most: 72.0% here against 53.1%, above it. Year on year it moved with the Regulatory & Compliance practice as a whole: both flat.
Over the three years to October 2026, 74 lawyers moved in Telecom & Media Regulation, 29 of them partners (39.2%). They joined 46 different firms. 14.9% stepped up a level on the move and 22.0% changed city, against 12.3% and 21.6% across the market over the same three years. 72.4% came from firms with 1,000+ lawyers.
- Partner40.0%
- Counsel20.0%
- Associate40.0%
This is a partner market: 40.0% of movers were partners, against 27.7% market-wide. 24.0% of movers stepped up a level when they changed firm, against 12.9% for the market.
- 1,000+ lawyers72.0%
- 400-999 lawyers24.0%
The 12-month firm table is below our naming threshold, so this part reads the three years to October 2026. Lateral hires in Telecom & Media Regulation were spread across 46 firms. Ten firms account for 47.2% of arrivals, against 12.2% across the market: concentrated. First on the hiring table is Cooley, with arrivals in the 6-10 band.
- 1,000+ lawyers72.4%
- 400-999 lawyers10.3%
- under 150 lawyers12.1%
City figures here cover the three years to October 2026. Washington, DC ranks first among destination cities with 37.8% of arrivals.
With volume in Telecom & Media Regulation 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 | Cooley | 6-10 |
| 2 | Greenberg Traurig | 6-10 |
| 3 | Dentons | 3-5 |
| 4 | CMS | 3-5 |
| 5 | Bird & Bird | 3-5 |
| 6 | Squire Patton Boggs | 3-5 |
Deals in Telecom & Media Regulation
Sartori & Partners data count 27 over the three years to October 2026.
Time to partner in Telecom & Media Regulation
41 lawyers were promoted to partner in Telecom & Media Regulation over five years, according to Sartori & Partners data.
The median time from first year of practice to partner is 11.0 years, with the middle half between 9.0 years and 11.2 years, against a market median of 10.0 years. 85.7% made partner within 12 years.
These figures rest on 28 promotions.
Related monitors and reports
Other specialities in Regulatory & Compliance
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].
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