Private Client & Estates · speciality monitor
Wealth & Family Office: lateral monitor
Lawyers whose work centers on Wealth & Family Office 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
- 59
- Lateral moves, 12 monthsNovember 2025 to October 2026
- +116.7%
- Year on yearSettled 12-month windows
- 61.0%
- Partner share of moves
- 33
- Firms that hired
What the data show
From November 2025 to October 2026, Sartori & Partners recorded 59 lateral moves in Wealth & Family Office. Measured on settled 12-month windows, 65 moves against 30 the year before, the count rose 116.7%. That runs ahead of the wider market, which moved +9.0%.
| Measure | Here | Private Client & Estates | Market |
|---|---|---|---|
| Partner share of moves | 61.0% | 32.6% | 27.7% |
| Counsel share of moves (three years) | 9.7% | 15.0% | 12.1% |
| Associate share of moves | 33.9% | 54.7% | 58.5% |
| Moved up a level | 22.0% | 16.0% | 12.9% |
| Changed city | 14.3% | 25.6% | 20.5% |
| Hired by firms of 1,000+ lawyers | 30.5% | 18.9% | 53.6% |
| Year on year | rose (+116.7%) | 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 A dash is a value we do not publish.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 partner share, which is higher here: 61.0% against 32.6%. Year on year it rose while the Private Client & Estates practice as a whole held flat.
Over the three years to October 2026, 134 lawyers moved in Wealth & Family Office, 70 of them partners (52.2%). They joined 71 different firms. 17.9% stepped up a level on the move and 23.7% changed city, against 12.3% and 21.6% across the market over the same three years. 43.8% came from firms with 1,000+ lawyers.
- Partner61.0%
- Associate33.9%
Partners make up 61.0% of arrivals, against 27.7% across the market: a partner-heavy flow. A step up in title came with 22.0% of moves (market 12.9%).
- 1,000+ lawyers30.5%
- 400-999 lawyers55.9%
- 150-399 lawyers8.5%
33 firms hired at least one lateral in Wealth & Family Office in the window. The ten firms at the head of the hiring table took 52.5% of arrivals (12.9% market-wide), so hiring here is concentrated. Dorsey & Whitney ranks first by lateral arrivals, in the 6-10 band.
- 1,000+ lawyers43.8%
- 400-999 lawyers27.6%
- 150-399 lawyers15.2%
- under 150 lawyers13.3%
City figures here cover the three years to October 2026. London ranks first among destination cities with 14.9% of arrivals. 14.3% of movers also changed city, against 20.5% market-wide.
There were 49 open roles in Wealth & Family Office on law-firm career pages on November 11, 2026.
For a firm hiring in Wealth & Family Office, the pool is moving and partners are part of it: expect competing offers and budget time for a contested process.
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 | Dorsey & Whitney | 6-10 |
| 2 | Charles Russell Speechlys | 3-5 |
| 3 | FBT Gibbons | 3-5 |
| 4 | Holland & Knight | 3-5 |
| 5 | Haynes and Boone | 3-5 |
| 6 | Taft Stettinius & Hollister | 3-5 |
| Rank | Firm | Moves (band) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Charles Russell Speechlys | 6-10 |
| 2 | Dorsey & Whitney | 3-5 |
| 3 | FBT Gibbons | 3-5 |
| 4 | Mishcon de Reya | 3-5 |
| 5 | Holland & Knight | 3-5 |
| 6 | Taft Stettinius & Hollister | 3-5 |
Deals in Wealth & Family Office
Sartori & Partners data count 25 over the three years to October 2026.
By client industry, Private Wealth & Family Offices comes first with 100.0%.
POELLATH ranks first among advising firms over the period, in the 6-10 band.
| Rank | Firm | Deals (band) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | POELLATH | 6-10 |
| 2 | Withers Worldwide | 3-5 |
Time to partner in Wealth & Family Office
63 lawyers were promoted to partner in Wealth & Family Office 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 10.0 years and 14.5 years, against a market median of 10.0 years. 56.4% made partner within 12 years.
These figures rest on 39 promotions.
Related monitors and reports
Other specialities in Private Client & Estates
Hiring in this market
Reports
- Wealth & Family Office Lawyer Hiring More Than Doubled (2.2 Times)
Lateral hiring of wealth and family office lawyers rose 116.7%, from 30 to 65 settled moves, while hiring across private client and estates held flat (+9.1%). Partners made 61.0% of the moves, against 32.6% 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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