The American Lawyer’s list of the country’s elite law firms throws up Debevoise & Plimpton as top dog, a position it has held in four of the five years. It continues to combine near-perfect pro bono scores with top-flight revenue per lawyer and diversity numbers — scores that were high enough to overcome a slight dip in the firm’s associate satisfaction rankings. Hot on Debevoise’s heels, however, is Weil, Gotshal & Manges, which sails from 11th to second place by dramatically improving its associate satisfaction score.

The American Lawyer’s fifth annual ranking of the nation’s elite — the law firms that are best at balancing a thriving business with their obligations to the profession – shows Debevoise & Plimpton at number 1.

The next 9:

2 – Weil Gotshal
3 – Munger Tolles
4 – Latham & Watkins
5 – Patterson Belknap
6 – Paul Weiss
7 – Cleary Gottlieb
8 – Wilmer Cutler
9 – Gibson Dunn
10- Orrick Herrington