AmLaw A List Law Firm Makeup

Munger Tolles continue to hold the top spot in the Law.com A List law firm rankings.

The rankings are to identify the most well-rounded law firms in the United States, taking into account such factors as money (of course) – ie revenue per lawyer, along with pro bono work, Associate satisfaction, diversity and female equity partnership percentage.

Each of these factors is weighted to produce an overall score. The exact weightings can change from year to year, but they generally aim to balance financial performance with other important aspects of law firm culture and social responsibility.

The revenue per lawyer calculation is a key financial metric that indicates the firm’s economic health and efficiency. It’s calculated by dividing the firm’s total revenue by its number of lawyers.

The pro bono metric measures the average number of pro bono hours per lawyer and the percentage of lawyers who perform more than 20 hours of pro bono work annually.

Associate satisfaction is typically based on survey responses from junior to midlevel associates about various aspects of firm life, including work quality, compensation, benefits, training, and work-life balance.

Diversity score evaluates the percentage of minority lawyers and minority partners in the firm. It’s an important measure of the firm’s commitment to fostering a diverse and inclusive workplace.

Female equity partner percentage looks at the proportion of women in the firm’s equity partnership, reflecting gender diversity at the highest levels of the firm.

Evolving A List Law Rankings

One interesting aspect of the rankings is that they can sometimes highlight firms that may not be the largest or highest-grossing, but excel in areas like pro bono work or associate satisfaction. This can lead to some surprises in the rankings compared to lists that focus solely on revenue or profit.

The A-List is typically limited to the top 20 or 25 firms, and making it onto this list is considered a significant achievement in the legal industry. Firms that consistently appear on the A-List are often seen as leaders not just in financial performance, but in firm culture and social responsibility as well, which plays into the associate and recruitment appeal of particular law firms.

2024 A-List rankings:

1. Munger Tolles (Los Angeles)
2. Ropes & Gray (National)
3. WilmerHale (National)
4. Morgan Lewis (National)
5. Orrick (National)
6. Skadden (National)
7. Cleary Gottlieb (International)
8. Akin (National)
9. Willkie (New York)
10. Gibson Dunn (National)
11. Morrison & Foerster (National)
12. Arnold & Porter (National)
13. Latham (National)
14. Jenner & Block (Chicago)
15. O’Melveny (Los Angeles)
16. Covington (Washington, D.C.)
17. Debevoise (New York) – tied for 16th place
18. Paul Weiss (New York)
19. Weil (New York)
20. Patterson Belknap (New York)

Although the law rankings differ, as you would expect, the consistent top-ranking law firms (with this year’s top firm ranking in parenthesis) include Ropes & Gray, (2), Latham & Watkins, (13), O’Melveny & Myers (15), Cleary Gottlieb (7), Gibson Dunn & Crutcher (10), Orrick Herrington & Stucliffe (5).

The A-List recognizes firms based on both financial and cultural metrics, with each category scored on a 100-point scale.

The Most Prestigious Law Firm List –