New York drew the most reported law firm moves this week
Public law news reported 15 moves from 2026-10-09 to 2026-10-15. New York had 5 of them, every one a lateral hire, in fund finance, real estate, real estate finance and capital markets.
New York led the window with 5 of 15 reported moves, and every New York move was a lateral hire. Hogan Lovells Cadwalader, Haynes Boone, Thompson Coburn, McDermott Will & Schulte and Mayer Brown were the gaining firms there.
- New York had 5 of 15 reported moves, more than any other metro.
- Every New York move was a lateral hire, with fund finance, real estate, real estate finance and capital markets named.
- Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom added 5 DLA Piper mass torts lawyers in Chicago.
- Tyson & Mendes opened in Austin and lost a lawyer to Thompson Coburn in the same window.
- The window had 0 mergers and 1 office opening.
Where the moves clustered
Public law news reported 15 moves between 2026-10-09 and 2026-10-15. Of those, 11 were laterals, 3 were group moves and 1 was an office opening. There were 0 mergers.
I sorted the list by city. New York had 5 of the 15. No other metro had more than 2. Houston, Washington, DC and Miami each had 2.
Every New York move was a lateral hire. None was a group move or an office opening. The New York side of the window was individual arrivals, firm by firm.
| Moves reported | 15 |
| Individual laterals | 11 |
| Group moves | 3 |
| Office openings | 1 |
| Mergers | 0 |
| Firm adding people | Moves |
|---|---|
| Sorrels Law | 1 |
| Sidley Austin | 1 |
| Jones Walker | 1 |
| Hogan Lovells Cadwalader | 1 |
| Haynes Boone | 1 |
| Clark Hill PLC | 1 |
| City | Moves |
|---|---|
| New York | 5 |
| Houston | 2 |
| Washington, DC | 2 |
| Miami | 2 |
| Pittsburgh | 1 |
| Austin | 1 |
The New York hires, firm by firm
Hogan Lovells Cadwalader added a fund finance lawyer. Haynes Boone added a real estate lawyer from Loeb & Loeb. McDermott Will & Schulte hired Paul K. Kovachev, a real estate finance lawyer from Greenberg Traurig, for its New York office.
Mayer Brown added a former CFTC senior counsel in capital markets. Thompson Coburn hired a former prosecutor from Tyson & Mendes.
The practices named in New York were fund finance, real estate, real estate finance and capital markets. Loeb & Loeb and Greenberg Traurig each lost a real estate lawyer to a rival hiring in New York.
Group moves and a new office elsewhere
The group moves all happened outside New York. Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom added 5 mass torts and products liability litigation lawyers from DLA Piper to its Chicago office. Clark Hill PLC expanded in Pittsburgh with an estate planning group from Strassburger McKenna Gutnick & Gefsky. Sorrels Law added 2 Houston litigators from solo firms.
Tyson & Mendes opened an Austin office and added 3 lawyers from Chartwell Law Offices. In the same window, Tyson & Mendes lost a former prosecutor to Thompson Coburn. It is the only firm on both the gaining and losing lists.
The rest of the map
In Washington, DC, Sidley Austin hired a Treasury official as a litigation partner. Dentons added a K&L Gates lawyer to its Healthcare practice there.
In Miami, Jones Walker added a maritime lawyer from Maltzman & Partners PA. Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough added an international tax, estate planning and private wealth lawyer from Berger Singerman.
In Houston, Bissinger Oshman Williams & Strasburger added a litigation and trial lawyer. In Denver, Berry Appleman & Leiden brought in an immigration lawyer from Ogletree Deakins Nash Smoak & Stewart PC to lead the office. By practice, litigation led with 2 moves.
What it means if you compete in New York
If your firm competes for real estate or finance work in New York, the field shifted this week. Haynes Boone, McDermott Will & Schulte, Hogan Lovells Cadwalader and Mayer Brown each have a new arrival in those practices to put in front of the market.
A lateral arrival is the moment a firm's marketing team has the most to announce. The rival's news, bio and practice page go live while the hire is fresh. Your own practice pages sit next to that news in the same searches and the same inboxes.
For Loeb & Loeb and Greenberg Traurig, the same week is a departure. Any firm in that position has a practice page that now describes a team that changed.
This is a count of reported moves only. It shows what public law news carried in 7 days.
Every move in the count
| Date | Type | Firm | From | Practice | City | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10-14 | Group | Sorrels Law | litigation | Houston | Law360 Pulse Texas | |
| 10-14 | Lateral | Sidley Austin | litigation | Washington, DC | Law360 Pulse DC | |
| 10-14 | Lateral | Jones Walker | Maltzman & Partners PA | maritime | Miami | Law360 Pulse Mid-Law |
| 10-14 | Lateral | Hogan Lovells Cadwalader | fund finance | New York | Law360 Private Equity | |
| 10-14 | Lateral | Haynes Boone | Loeb & Loeb | real estate | New York | Law360 Legal Industry |
| 10-14 | Group | Clark Hill PLC | Strassburger McKenna Gutnick & Gefsky | estate planning | Pittsburgh | Law360 Pulse Pennsylvania |
| 10-13 | Office | Tyson & Mendes | Chartwell Law Offices | Austin | Law360 Pulse Mid-Law | |
| 10-13 | Lateral | Thompson Coburn | Tyson & Mendes | New York | Law360 Pulse Mid-Law | |
| 10-13 | Group | Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom | DLA Piper | mass torts and products liability litigation | Chicago | Law360 Legal Industry |
| 10-13 | Lateral | Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough | Berger Singerman | international tax, estate planning and private wealth | Miami | Law360 Pulse Florida |
| 10-13 | Lateral | McDermott Will & Schulte | Greenberg Traurig | real estate finance | New York | Law360 Private Equity |
| 10-13 | Lateral | Mayer Brown | capital markets | New York | Law360 Pulse NY | |
| 10-13 | Lateral | Dentons | K&L Gates | Healthcare | Washington, DC | Law360 Pulse DC |
| 10-09 | Lateral | Bissinger Oshman Williams & Strasburger | litigation and trial | Houston | Law360 Pulse Texas | |
| 10-09 | Lateral | Berry Appleman & Leiden | Ogletree Deakins Nash Smoak & Stewart PC | immigration | Denver | Law360 Pulse Mid-Law |
Frequently asked questions
Which city had the most reported moves?
New York, with 5 of the 15 reported moves. Houston, Washington, DC and Miami each had 2. Every New York move was a lateral hire.
Were there any mergers in the window?
No. The count shows 0 mergers between 2026-10-09 and 2026-10-15. The 15 moves were 11 laterals, 3 group moves and 1 office opening.
Which firm gained and lost people in the same window?
Tyson & Mendes. It opened an Austin office with 3 lawyers from Chartwell Law Offices and lost a former prosecutor to Thompson Coburn in New York. It is the only firm on both lists.
Does this include every move that happened?
No. It counts moves that public news feeds reported in the window. Moves nobody announced are not here.
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Method: law firm news headlines from 35 public RSS feeds, captured daily, October 9, 2026 to October 15, 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.