Biglaw, Rankings

The Best Law Firms To Work For In America (2018)

Did your law firm make the cut this time around?

By  
on

Last week, Vault released the 2018 edition of its closely watched law firm rankings, proving that money — in the form of Cravath’s new $180K pay scale — can buy prestige.

But can that money buy happiness?

In a companion ranking to the Vault 100, associates were asked to rank their own law firms based on categories most relevant to their overall quality of life, including satisfaction, firm culture, hours, compensation, substantive work, business outlook, career outlook, associate/partner relations, transparency, formal/informal training, and diversity. This may be surprising for some, but almost none of the firms that made the Top 10 list for being the most prestigious made the Top 10 list for being the best firms to work for.

“As law school enrollment has dropped over the last decade, law firms must compete even more fiercely for the top candidates, and this generation of law school graduates care about more than just prestige,” said Matt Moody, Vault’s Senior Law Editor. “The associates currently working at a law firm offer the best window into what life is really like at any particular firm, and Vault’s Quality of Life Rankings and firm profiles summarize this information so that law students and laterals can carefully weigh their options.”

There was a huge amount of movement in the Top 10 this year. Which firms made the cut? Without any further ado, here are the Top 10 Best Law Firms to Work For based on Vault’s Annual Associate Survey for 2018:

  1. Paul Hastings LLP (+4)
  2. Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP (+2)
  3. O’Melveny & Myers LLP (-2)
  4. Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP (-1)
  5. Ropes & Gray LLP (-3)
  6. Proskauer Rose LLP (+9)
  7. Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner, LLP (+3)
  8. Thompson & Knight LLP (-2)
  9. Foley Hoag LLP (+10)
  10. Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP (-1)

Gibson Dunn is the only law firm that made it into the Top 10 on both of Vault’s rankings. Kudos on keeping your own associates so incredibly happy.

Sponsored

The No. 1 firms in each of Vault’s Quality of Life categories are:

Congratulations to all 25 of the Biglaw firms that made the latest edition of the Vault Best Firms to Work For rankings. How did your firm do? Email us, text us at (646) 820-8477, or tweet us @atlblog to let us know how you feel.

Best Law Firms to Work For [Vault]

Earlier: Vault 100 Rankings: The Most Prestigious Law Firms In America (2018)

Sponsored

Staci ZaretskyStaci Zaretsky has been an editor at Above the Law since 2011. She’d love to hear from you, so please feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments. You can follow her on Twitter or connect with her on LinkedIn.

Topics

, , , , ,