There are many different and exciting ways to rank law firms. How prestigious are they? How much money are they making? How much take-home cash do partners earn? How big are they?
Yes, size continues to matter when it comes to Biglaw, and thankfully, the New York Law Journal recently unleashed its annual NYLJ 100, a ranking of the largest law firms in New York covering the previous calendar year. As luck would have it, many Biglaw firms increased their New York City headcounts in 2023, and the top 100 firms in the city netted a 4% increase in attorneys over their 2022 numbers. If you’ve ever wondered about headcounts, this is the ranking for you.
In total, about 25,736 attorneys were working in the New York offices of the state’s 100 largest law firms last year. In fact, just about three-quarters of these law firms saw a headcount increase of some sort — highlighting that New York law firms are still in growth mode.
The top 15 biggest firms (numbers show attorneys in New York) are not surprising. Let’s take a moment to gawk at Manhattan’s Biglaw behemoths:
1. Kirkland & Ellis: 842
2. Paul Weiss: 803
3. Davis Polk: 782
4. Simpson Thacher: 735
5. Latham: 717
6. Skadden: 650
7. Debevoise: 648
8. Weil Gotshal: 603
9. Sullivan & Cromwell: 535
10. Fried Frank: 493
11. Milbank: 481
12. Willkie: 458
13. Gibson Dunn: 454
14. Ropes & Gray: 453
15. Sidley: 448
15. Cravath: 448
Congratulations once again to Kirkland for employing more lawyers in New York than any other firm. This firm wins the award for putting the “big” in Biglaw in the Big Apple.
Head to the NYLJ if you’re curious about the firms ranked 16-100.
NYLJ 100 Firms By Headcount [New York Law Journal]
Big Law’s New York Offices More Than Doubled Am Law 100 Head Count Gains [New York Law Journal]
Staci Zaretsky is a senior editor at Above the Law, where she’s worked since 2011. She’d love to hear from you, so please feel free to email her with any tips, questions, comments, or critiques. You can follow her on X/Twitter and Threads or connect with her on LinkedIn.
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