A-List 2025: Munger reigns, Jenner rockets, and who actually moved the needle
The American Lawyer’s A-List isn’t about who shouts the loudest about profits, blending money and meaning: revenue per lawyer, pro bono, associate satisfaction, racial inclusion, and women in the equity partnership.
Get three or more of those humming and you move fast and smoothly up the AmLaw list, coast on billables alone and you don’t.
The American Lawyer’s A-List is still the closest thing BigLaw has to a balanced scorecard. It weights five inputs—revenue per lawyer, pro bono, associate satisfaction, racial inclusion, and women’s share of the equity—and distills them into one uncomfortable truth: you don’t get to call yourself “elite” if your culture is on life support. (Yes, money still matters but it’s not enough on its own.)
After last year’s AmLaw 100 rankings, which saw a sharp uplift in profits per equity partner (PEP) with 54 firms posting $1 billion or more in revenues.
AmLaw Podium unchanged — and that’s the story
1) Munger, Tolles & Olson sits at No. 1 again — fourth straight year, and 11th time overall. That’s not a hot streak; that’s institutional muscle.
2) Ropes & Gray takes No. 2, making it nine consecutive years in the A-List top three. Quietly relentless.
3) WilmerHale rounds out the podium for the second year running — consistency pays.
Who moved, who didn’t (and why)
Jenner & Block’s jump to No. 4 — the largest move on the table — tracks their long-running dominance on pro bono. If you’re wondering whether the soft stuff matters, there’s your answer.
Arnold & Porter at No. 6 and O’Melveny at No. 7 show how dull, methodical excellence wins A-List years in a row — less fireworks, more follow-through.
Akin (No. 13) keeps turning up; Cleary Gottlieb holds No. 20 — in a season when associate experience and inclusion scores broke ties.
Zoom out: the market wind is (mostly) at their backs
Q2 2025 was surprisingly brisk: demand up 1.6% and worked rates up 7.4% year-over-year, per the Thomson Reuters Institute’s LFFI (Reuters covered it too). That’s helpful fuel for firms investing in training, retention and pro bono work, the very inputs the A-List tracks.
But don’t confuse tailwind with autopilot: the same data flags softer productivity and squishier collections. Translation: culture is now a risk-control tool, not just a recruiting slogan.
Even beyond Am Law, everyone is measuring “well-rounded” performance. Bloomberg Law just launched a Leading Law Firms list that weights financial strength, talent, growth, and strategy/innovation — it’s the same tune in a different key.
What this tells clients
If you’re buying legal services (or considering a move), A-List stalwarts signal steady benches and fewer self-inflicted dramas.
The top-20 firms aren’t perfect — they’re just measurably better at turning values into outcomes. Above the Law’s recap puts it plainly: A-List rewards firms that can do elite work and keep their promises to their own people and communities.
Source notes (select)
- Munger’s No. 1 (fourth straight; 11th overall).
- Ropes & Gray No. 2; nine years in the top three.
- WilmerHale top-three for the second year running.
- Jenner & Block No. 4; biggest jump (+10).
- Arnold & Porter No. 6 (16th A-List).
- O’Melveny No. 7; 14 consecutive A-Lists.
- Akin No. 13 (10 A-Lists in 11 years).
- Market context (LFFI demand +1.6%, worked rates +7.4%).
