It’s happened again. Skadden Arps are regarded as having the strongest brand in the survey of US law firm brands made by research outfit Acritas, who measure brands and have said Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom is first.
It is the third year in a row for Skaddens to take the title.
American Lawyer report that the other top five finishers on this year’s law firm brand index: Jones Day, Kirkland & Ellis, Baker & McKenzie and Hogan Lovells. (Scroll to the bottom of the story to see the complete list.)
Acritas drew up the latest rankings based on interviews with 581 senior in-house counsel at companies with more than $50 million in revenue. The participating lawyers were asked to name the first five firms that came to mind, as well as the three firms they think of most favorably, the three firms they consider most often for both top-level litigation and major M&A matters, and up to five firms to which they turn for most of their companies’ high-value work. An additional 123 lawyers abroad were also asked to name the firm they most often use in the U.S. Firms earned points based on where they figured in the answers that survey respondents gave.
“An average U.S. counsel is using 34 firms in a year, and we’re capturing the first five,” says Acritas vice president Elizabeth Duffy. “In a general counsel’s day-to-day scenario, they may not think past number two on the list when they pick up the phone.”
The results show that sheer size help keep law firms top of mind with potential clients. The first seven firms on the Acritas list all have more than 1,500 lawyers, and some have double that number. Only four of the top 20 have fewer than 1,000 lawyers—Sullivan & Cromwell (No. 13), Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr (No. 15), Vinson & Elkins (No. 16) and Davis Polk & Wardwell (No. 20).
