Market moves: New York leads, Clark Hill builds in Houston
Public law news reported 18 moves from October 26 to November 1, 2026. New York had the most, and Clark Hill made 2 immigration hires in Houston on back-to-back days.
New York had 4 of the 18 reported moves from October 26 to November 1, 2026, more than any other metro. Clark Hill and FBT Gibbons each logged 2 moves, and Clark Hill's were both immigration hires in Houston.
- Public news reported 18 moves this week: 15 laterals, 2 group moves, 1 office opening and no mergers.
- New York led with 4 moves, followed by Washington, DC, Dallas and Houston with 3 each.
- Clark Hill added an H-2 visa specialist and then Ashley Foret Dees and team, both in Houston.
- Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton and Morrison Foerster each gained a lawyer and lost a lawyer in the same week.
- Each arrival is the hiring firm's best moment to announce, and each departure is a client conversation for the firm left behind.
New York led the week
Public law news reported 18 moves from October 26 to November 1, 2026. Most were laterals: 15 of them. There were 2 group moves, 1 office opening and no mergers.
New York had 4 moves, more than any other metro. Washington, DC, Dallas and Houston had 3 each. Miami had 2. Atlanta and Palo Alto had 1 each.
The New York moves came from large firms. Morrison Foerster added a group from Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison, including a business litigation leader. King & Spalding added a real estate and funds lawyer from Clifford Chance. Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton added a private equity veteran from Simpson Thacher & Bartlett. FBT Gibbons hired real estate and tax partners.
No practice dominated. Litigation had 2 moves. Every other practice had 1.
| Moves reported | 18 |
| Individual laterals | 15 |
| Group moves | 2 |
| Office openings | 1 |
| Mergers | 0 |
| Firm adding people | Moves |
|---|---|
| FBT Gibbons | 2 |
| Clark Hill | 2 |
| Sullivan & Cromwell | 1 |
| Polsinelli | 1 |
| Buchalter | 1 |
| Saul Ewing | 1 |
| City | Moves |
|---|---|
| New York | 4 |
| Washington, DC | 3 |
| Dallas | 3 |
| Houston | 3 |
| Miami | 2 |
| Atlanta | 1 |
Clark Hill built an immigration bench in Houston
Clark Hill made the clearest cluster of the week. On October 26 it added an H-2 visa program specialist from Berry Appleman & Leiden to its Houston office. On October 27 it added Ashley Foret Dees, described as a leading H-2 immigration attorney, and her team, also in Houston.
That is 2 moves, same firm, same city, same narrow practice, on consecutive days. Law360 Texas and LawFuel reported them separately. A competitor reading 1 headline would miss the shape.
Womble Bond Dickinson also added a real estate lawyer in Houston, which rounded out the city's 3 moves.
FBT Gibbons and the Dallas moves
FBT Gibbons was the other firm with 2 moves. It added a former construction business attorney in Dallas, from The Beck Group, and hired real estate and tax partners in New York.
Dallas had 3 moves in all. Besides FBT Gibbons, Buchalter added a tax lawyer from Jackson Walker, and Winston Taylor added a mergers and acquisitions lawyer from Baker McKenzie. Each was a different practice.
Firms on both sides of the ledger
Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton gained and lost in the same week. Sullivan & Cromwell added a Cleary partner as antitrust co-head in Washington, DC. Cleary added its private equity hire in New York.
Morrison Foerster did the same. It added the Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison group in New York and lost a venture capital lawyer to Lowenstein Sandler in Palo Alto.
Elsewhere, Polsinelli added a healthcare litigator from ArentFox Schiff in Washington, DC, and Venable added an SEC counsel there. Saul Ewing added a lawyer from Smith Gambrell & Russell in Atlanta. Cole Schotz PC added a Miami litigator from Meland Budwick PA, and Mazzola Lindstrom opened a Miami office. Clyde & Co. added 2 partners to its aviation team.
What it means if you compete there
If your firm sells business immigration in Houston, Clark Hill now has a team there that it can talk about. Expect that firm's content and outreach to follow. The question for you is whether your own immigration lawyers are visible to the same employers.
If you compete in New York real estate, private equity or litigation, 4 firms just added people they can announce. A lateral arrival is the moment a firm's marketing team has the most to announce: a new name, a new practice story, a reason to contact clients.
For the firms that lost people, such as Clifford Chance, Simpson Thacher & Bartlett, Jackson Walker and Berry Appleman & Leiden, the same week is a client retention moment. The departure is public. The clients will have read it.
I count only moves that public news reported. Moves nobody announced are not in this count.
Every move in the count
| Date | Type | Firm | From | Practice | City | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10-30 | Lateral | Sullivan & Cromwell | Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton | antitrust | Washington, DC | Law360 Pulse DC |
| 10-30 | Lateral | Polsinelli | ArentFox Schiff | healthcare litigation | Washington, DC | Law360 Pulse DC |
| 10-30 | Lateral | Buchalter | Jackson Walker | tax | Dallas | Law360 Texas |
| 10-29 | Lateral | Saul Ewing | Smith Gambrell & Russell | intellectual property | Atlanta | Law360 Pulse Mid-Law |
| 10-29 | Group | Morrison Foerster | Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison | litigation | New York | Law360 Pulse NY |
| 10-29 | Lateral | FBT Gibbons | The Beck Group | construction | Dallas | Law360 Texas |
| 10-28 | Office | Mazzola Lindstrom | Miami | Law360 Pulse Florida | ||
| 10-28 | Lateral | FBT Gibbons | Michelman & Robinson; Baker McKenzie | commercial real estate; tax | New York | Law360 Corporate |
| 10-27 | Lateral | Womble Bond Dickinson | real estate | Houston | Law360 Texas | |
| 10-27 | Lateral | Venable | Washington, DC | Law360 Pulse DC | ||
| 10-27 | Lateral | Lowenstein Sandler | Morrison Foerster | emerging companies and venture capital | Palo Alto | Law360 Pulse Mid-Law |
| 10-27 | Lateral | King & Spalding | Clifford Chance | real estate and funds | New York | Law360 New York |
| 10-27 | Lateral | Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton | Simpson Thacher & Bartlett | mergers and acquisitions and private equity transactions | New York | Law360 Private Equity |
| 10-27 | Group | Clark Hill | H-2 Immigration | Houston | LawFuel | |
| 10-26 | Lateral | Winston Taylor | Baker McKenzie | mergers and acquisitions and private equity | Dallas | Law360 Private Equity |
| 10-26 | Lateral | Cole Schotz PC | Meland Budwick PA | litigation | Miami | Law360 Florida |
| 10-26 | Lateral | Clyde & Co. | aviation | Law360 Pulse Georgia | ||
| 10-26 | Lateral | Clark Hill | Berry Appleman & Leiden | business immigration | Houston | Law360 Texas |
Frequently asked questions
Which city had the most law firm moves this week?
New York had 4 of the 18 reported moves. Washington, DC, Dallas and Houston followed with 3 each. Miami had 2, and Atlanta and Palo Alto had 1 each.
Which firms added the most people?
Clark Hill and FBT Gibbons each logged 2 moves. Clark Hill's were both immigration hires in Houston. FBT Gibbons added in Dallas and New York.
Were there any mergers?
No mergers were reported in the window. The week had 15 laterals, 2 group moves and 1 office opening, the Mazzola Lindstrom office in Miami.
Does this capture every lateral move?
No. It counts moves that public law news reported from October 26 to November 1, 2026. A move nobody announced does not appear here.
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Method: law firm news headlines from 35 public RSS feeds, captured daily, October 26, 2026 to November 1, 2026. Firm, practice and city are read from each headline and summary; a field the text does not state is left blank. The same move reported twice is counted once. US moves only.
This counts moves that public news feeds reported in the window. Moves nobody announced are not here.