Dueling Rankings Of The Biggest Biglaw Firms In The Country: Who Comes Out On Top?

In the world of Biglaw, only one thing matters: ranking on the AmLaw 100 list. According to the AmLaw 100, firms’ revenue per lawyer (RPL) and pro bono hours are the most important factors in determining who makes the biggest law firms list. But which metric should you pay attention to? Is it RPL or pro bono hours? In this article, we’ll lay out the pros and cons of each metric, and provide our take on which is more important for determining big law firm rankings.

Why rankings matter In Biglaw

One big question that has been weighing on a lot of people is where their favorite law firm falls in the rankings. Some may be worried that their firm has moved down or been unranked altogether.

For others, it’s about knowing how their law school’s alma mater stacks up against those at the top of the list. I went through each ranking and determined who came out on top.

Latest rankings

The latest rankings for the best big law firms in the country were released this week. These prestigious firms employ lawyers who have been rated among the top 10 percent of all practicing attorneys, according to Vault’s ranking criteria.

Lawler said a major way to get onto a list like this is to make partners quickly. Five years after being hired at a firm, partners typically will be considered by Vault if they’ve attained one of three titles — equity partner, shareholder, or counsel — and meet other credential requirements. Now, on to the rankings!

Vault’s research-driven rankings are based on nearly 5,000 interviews with lawyers across big law firms in a wide range of practice areas and geographical locations.

Survey participants rate their firms on several criteria, including prestige and work/life balance. These results contribute to Vault’s annual rankings list which ranks the top 25 firms in 17 markets — New York City, Silicon Valley, D.C., Boston, Los Angeles, Miami,

Chicago and more. Among other features (like its ranking of top law schools), Vault offers guidance for recent grads looking to land a job at one of these prestigious firms. (To learn more about how you can apply your legal education in a rewarding career at one of these firms…)

Deloitte’s Global Legal Industry Survey – A Different Approach

The Deloitte Legal Global Survey is out, and with the biggest law firms in the United States such as WilmerHale and Jones Day making the top five spots on their ranking,

it becomes difficult to determine which is the largest big law firm in the country. What’s more, these are two of just four U.S.-based firms that made Deloitte’s top 10 list – an unsurprising but still surprising result considering how much has changed over the last decade or so due to globalization.

That leaves six top-tier global firms from outside of America to choose from – with a standout being DLA Piper at number three.

Lawyer Demographics 2018 – Some Surprises!

Below are the demographics for the 575 American law firms that are ranked on Chambers & Partners, the five top legal business ranking companies in the world. There were some surprises in these statistics and I would love to hear your thoughts on these findings.

Of course, this isn’t a perfect study. I’ve heard complaints from several firms who refused to provide their data or disagreed with aspects of Chambers’ methodology. But still, it gives us a good idea of what is happening at some of America’s most respected law firms.

Alumni Interviews

Ann Richards, Northwestern Law (Class of 2018)

In choosing where to work after law school, I wanted to find a place that valued the skills and perspective of its attorneys. There’s this balance at Perkins Coie, between the client-side practice that’s rooted in real estate transactions and business law and our labor-side practice in class actions. That aspect of the firm is exciting because it is so different from a lot of other firms that seem fixated on transactional lawyering.

#3 -Mintz, Levin & Cohn

We have an array of clients like Amazon, Microsoft, Uber, and Samsung. It can be challenging to find good people because there are so many large firms with deep pockets fighting for talent.

Student Surveys

Would you rather work for a top-tier firm in a small market or a lower-tier firm in a bigger market? It depends on the situation, but according to our survey respondents, 48% prefer to work for the higher tier of the firm. Our survey asked respondents if they had to choose between working at (1) a top-tier big law firm in an average-sized city, or (2) an average-sized mid-tier big law firm in a booming metropolitan area where all the amenities that make life worth living exist, which would you choose?

This was the hypothetical scenario given to them. Respondents were allowed up to three choices and could only pick one answer for each question.

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