What the firms on the 2003 A-List have in common is outstanding results across the four categories. For example, 14 of the top 20 firms finished in the top quarter of The Am Law 200 in three of the four categories, and two firms — Arnold & Porter and Latham & Watkins — were four for four. Doing well in any single category wasn’t enough. For example, only eight of the top 20 firms on the RPL chart made The Am Law A-List in 2003.
Here’s the Top 50:
2003 Rank
The categories: Firm/ Location/ Score RPL(Revenues per Lawyer)/ Score Pro Bono /Score Midlevel Associates/ Score Diversity score
1 Davis Polk & Wardwell New York 1,094 198 185 146 182
2 Debevoise & Plimpton New York 1,065 177 192 192 135
3 Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison New York 1,064 197 191 95 193
4 Arnold & Porter Washington, D.C. 1,063 163 197 164 179
5 Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen & Hamilton New York 1,048 188 184 123 181
6 Latham & Watkins National 1,035 157 193 181 154
7 Cravath, Swaine & Moore New York 1,028 188 188 86 190
8 Sullivan & Cromwell New York 1,018 199 186 86 162
9 Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom New York 1,007 191 182 83 178
10 Patterson, Belknap, Webb & Tyler New York 1,005 146 200 170 143
10 Wilmer, Cutler & Pickering Washington, D.C. 1,005 163 198 143 140
12 Heller Ehrman White & McAuliffe San Francisco 985 163 190 91 188
13 Hale and Dorr Boston 959 168 161 187 114
14 Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson New York 955 151 183 100 187
15 Covington & Burling Washington, D.C. 950 139 199 149 125
16 Simpson Thacher & Bartlett New York 932 196 173 0 194
17 Bingham McCutchen National 925 146 151 155 176
18 Jenner & Block Chicago 921 151 194 146 85
19 Weil, Gotshal & Manges New York 914 185 129 127 159
20 Willkie Farr & Gallagher New York 904 173 165 118 110
21 Howrey Simon Arnold & White Washington, D.C. 903 135 179 116 159
21 Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi Minneapolis 903 168 158 188 63
23 Chadbourne & Parke New York 900 171 131 127 169
24 Hogan & Hartson Washington, D.C. 888 127 160 189 125
25 O’Melveny & Myers Los Angeles 887 180 134 86 173
26 Stroock & Stroock & Lavan New York 878 154 166 113 125
27 Morrison & Foerster San Francisco 864 138 196 0 196
28 Dewey Ballantine New York 863 166 141 99 150
29 Palmer & Dodge Boston 833 110 178 176 81
30 Pillsbury Winthrop San Francisco 832 157 132 71 183
31 Alston & Bird Atlanta 830 100 168 200 94
32 Hunton & Williams Richmond 821 100 177 108 159
33 Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher Los Angeles 816 189 103 130 102
34 Cooley Godward Palo Alto 808 123 143 102 174
35 Greenberg Traurig National 805 133 119 142 159
36 Winston & Strawn Chicago 799 131 123 139 152
37 Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft New York 796 172 110 89 143
38 Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati Palo Alto 794 138 115 89 199
39 Hughes Hubbard & Reed New York 790 127 175 0 186
40 Sutherland Asbill & Brennan Atlanta 780 73 187 186 74
41 Proskauer Rose New York 775 152 131 108 101
42 King & Spalding Atlanta 774 148 105 134 134
42 Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel New York 774 143 147 127 67
44 Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy New York 773 193 95 0 197
45 Munger, Tolles & Olson Los Angeles 768 195 189 0 0
46 Dickstein Shapiro Morin & Oshinsky Washington, D.C. 763 186 129 133 0
47 Kirkland & Ellis Chicago 760 190 113 154 0
48 Carlton Fields Tampa 758 38 162 196 162
49 Fish & Neave New York 755 183 63 70 193
50 Sidley Austin Brown & Wood National 753 148 101 158 97
