The AmLaw Survey about the best law firms to work takes the microscope to 12 areas of work satisfaction, finding Nutter McClennen and Paul Hastings as the two top-ranked law firm workplaces in their latest survey, which is exactly where they ranked last year too.
To find out how third-, fourth-, and fifth-year associates rate their firms as workplaces, the AmLaw annual midlevel survey examined 12 areas that contribute to job satisfaction.
From American Lawyer:
They include relations with partners and other associates, the interest and satisfaction level of the work, training and guidance, policy on billable hours, management’s openness about firm strategies and partnership chances, the firm’s attitude toward pro bono work, compensation and benefits, and the respondents’ inclination to stay at their firm for at least two more years. Respondents graded their firms on a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being the highest score. On this chart, firms with 10 or more responses are ranked by their averages on those questions. For more details, see our methodology.
Click on the rows below for firm-specific averages for each of the 12 scoring criteria.
2012 2011 Firm Overall Score Rating
1 1 Nutter McClennen Boston 4.911 19 (68%)
2 2 Paul Hastings National 4.693 51 (94%)
3 N/A Baker Donelson Memphis 4.673 17 (22%)
4 4 Goulston & Storrs Boston 4.638 12 (75%)
5 3 Cozen O’Connor Philadelphia 4.446 18 (86%)
6 7 Gibson Dunn National 4.431 74 (26%)
7 28 Alston & Bird Atlanta 4.393 62 (36%)
8 23 Foley Hoag Boston 4.385 20 (47%)
9 16 Debevoise & Plimpton New York 4.351 23 (21%)
10 5 Ropes & Gray Boston
