Private Client & Estates · speciality monitor
Trust & Estate Litigation: lateral monitor
Lawyers whose work centers on Trust & Estate Litigation and who changed firm over the last 12 months, set against the Private Client & Estates practice and the market.
The last 12 months: November 2025 to October 2026
- 57
- Lateral moves, 12 monthsNovember 2025 to October 2026
- -30.1%
- Year on yearSettled 12-month windows
- 40.4%
- Partner share of moves
- 46
- Firms that hired
What the data show
From November 2025 to October 2026, Sartori & Partners recorded 57 lateral moves in Trust & Estate Litigation. On settled windows the count went from 83 to 58, down 30.1% year on year. The market as a whole moved +9.0%, so this flow lagged it.
| Measure | Here | Private Client & Estates | Market |
|---|---|---|---|
| Partner share of moves | 40.4% | 32.6% | 27.7% |
| Counsel share of moves | 19.3% | 12.7% | 12.7% |
| Associate share of moves | 40.4% | 54.7% | 58.5% |
| Moved up a level | 26.3% | 16.0% | 12.9% |
| Changed city | 28.6% | 25.6% | 20.5% |
| Hired by firms of 1,000+ lawyers | 23.2% | 18.9% | 53.6% |
| Year on year | fell (-30.1%) | flat (+9.1%) | 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 A dash is a value we do not publish.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 Private Client & Estates practice as a whole, the widest gap is the associate share, which is lower here: 40.4% against 54.7%. Year on year it fell while the Private Client & Estates practice as a whole held flat.
Over the three years to October 2026, 215 lawyers moved in Trust & Estate Litigation, 79 of them partners (36.7%). They joined 127 different firms. 20.9% stepped up a level on the move and 26.6% changed city, against 12.3% and 21.6% across the market over the same three years. 29.6% came from firms with 1,000+ lawyers.
- Partner40.4%
- Counsel19.3%
- Associate40.4%
At 40.4%, the partner share of arrivals sits above the market's 27.7%. On settled windows partner moves alone went from 30 to 23 (-23.3%), a change inside the noise of the two counts, so we read it as flat. A step up in title came with 26.3% of moves (market 12.9%).
- 1,000+ lawyers23.2%
- 400-999 lawyers37.5%
- 150-399 lawyers23.2%
- under 150 lawyers16.1%
The 12-month firm table is below our naming threshold, so this part reads the three years to October 2026. 127 firms hired at least one lateral in Trust & Estate Litigation in the window. Ten firms account for 21.6% of arrivals, against 12.2% across the market: moderately concentrated. First on the hiring table is Husch Blackwell, with arrivals in the 6-10 band.
- 1,000+ lawyers29.6%
- 400-999 lawyers30.6%
- 150-399 lawyers24.5%
- under 150 lawyers15.3%
City figures here cover the three years to October 2026. New York ranks first among destination cities with 11.2% of arrivals. A change of city came with 28.6% of moves (market 20.5%).
As moves in Trust & Estate Litigation ease, the candidates worth hiring are mostly not looking, so a search here starts with outreach rather than inbound.
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 | Husch Blackwell | 6-10 |
| 2 | Offit Kurman | 6-10 |
| 3 | Gunster | 3-5 |
| 4 | Holland & Knight | 3-5 |
| 5 | Loeb & Loeb | 3-5 |
| 6 | Buchalter | 3-5 |
| 7 | Taft Stettinius & Hollister | 3-5 |
| 8 | McDermott Will & Schulte | 3-5 |
| 9 | Birketts | 3-5 |
| 10 | Dorsey & Whitney | 3-5 |
Deals in Trust & Estate Litigation
Sartori & Partners data count 34 dated deals in Trust & Estate Litigation in the 12 months to October 2026 and 102 over the three years to October 2026.
Disputes & investigations work is involved in 95.1% of them.
By client industry, Private Wealth & Family Offices comes first with 34.3%.
Time to partner in Trust & Estate Litigation
25 lawyers were promoted to partner in Trust & Estate Litigation in the 12 months to May 2026, 107 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 9.5 years and 14.0 years, against a market median of 10.0 years. 67.8% made partner within 12 years.
These figures rest on 87 promotions.
Related monitors and reports
Other specialities in Private Client & Estates
Hiring in this market
Reports
- Trust and Estate Litigation Hiring Fell as Private Client Held Flat
Trust and estate litigation hiring fell 30.1%, from 83 to 58 moves, while private client hiring held flat (+9.1%) and the market rose 9.0%. Those who did move joined at a higher title in 26.3% of cases, against 16.0% in the practice.
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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