There were two big moves on this list. See if you can spot them without looking to last year’s numbers:
1. Wachtell Lipton: $4,755,000
2. Quinn Emanuel: $4,485,000
3. Cahill Gordon: $3,780,000
4. Sullivan & Cromwell: $3,675,000
5. Paul Weiss: $3,620,000
6. Cravath: $3,290,000
7. Kirkland & Ellis: $3,280,000
8. Simpson Thacher & Bartlett: $3,165,000
9. Gibson Dunn: $2,945,000
9. Slaughter and May: $2,945,000
In case you didn’t notice, Cahill Gordon managed to snag the third-place spot this time around. The firm didn’t appear in the top 10 rankings list for Global 100 profits per partner last year — in fact, the firm didn’t appear on that list at all last year, because its total revenue wasn’t big enough to make the Global 100 cut (even though its PPP was still plenty high). Congrats to all the Cahill partners who are still rolling around in money in their spare time (even after paying out summer bonuses).
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It’s also worth noting that this year, even though partners at the firm are bringing home more cash ($2,875,000 versus $2,685,000), Cleary Gottlieb was pushed out of the top 10, and now rests in the #12 ranked position. But that’s nothing to scoff at; defending scofflaw sovereigns pays quite well.
With that out of the way, let’s talk about the size of these Biglaw behemoths that are raking in all of this cash. According to Am Law, the year over year growth rate for lawyers in Global 100 firms was 6.3 percent, with average headcount just under 1,250. These are the 10 largest firms in this year’s Global 100 rankings:
1. Baker & McKenzie: 4,245
2. DLA Piper: 3,962
3. Dacheng: 3,681
4. Norton Rose Fulbright: 3,547
5. Yingke: 2,689
6. King & Wood Mallesons: 2,596
7. Dentons: 2,503
8. Clifford Chance: 2,480
9. Jones Day: 2,464
10. CMS Legal Services: 2,343
Baker & McKenzie continues to reign at the top of the list, after last year surpassing the 4,000-lawyer mark for the first time. In second place, with 74 fewer attorneys than last year, DLA Piper maintains its law firm largeness. New to the top 10 are Norton Rose Fulbright, King & Wood Mallesons, and Dentons, each merger-product firms. Norton Rose Fulbright’s growth has been referred to as “particularly startling,” considering the fact that it’s almost quadrupled in size in just one year’s time. Either way, these firms have a stranglehold on summoning top talent to their offices, and it’s not going to change any time soon.
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There’s much more information to be gleaned from the Global 100 rankings, and you can access additional commentary and charts via this portal page. We welcome your insights and observations in the comments.
2014 Global 100: Top-Grossing Law Firms in the World [American Lawyer]
A Year of Slow But Solid Growth for Global 100 Firms [American Lawyer]
The Global 100: Most Revenue [American Lawyer]
The Global 100: Most Profits Per Partner [American Lawyer]
The Global 100: Most Revenue Per Lawyer [American Lawyer]
The Global 100: Most Lawyers [American Lawyer]
Earlier: Bow Before The Global 100, The Top-Grossing Law Firms On The Planet