Good News For The Am Law 100 -- Profits Per Partner Were Up In 2018

Paydays were pretty sweet at these firms.

One of the most fun statistics that is generated by the annual Am Law 100 is the profits per equity partner (PEP). It’s an opportunity for outsiders to get a look at just how those big-time revenue numbers get turned into million dollar+ paydays.

Things looked good for equity partners in the top 100 law firms last year. The PEP saw an increase across the Am Law 100 of 6.5 percent. Plus, 29 firms had a growth rate over 10 percent, and 16 had a profit margin of 50 percent or higher. Not bad.

But now let’s get to the information we all know you really want. Which firms had the highest PEP? So without further ado, here’s the top 20 firms by profits per equity partner — you’ll note all of them have a PEP number over $3 million, which is pretty impressive. If you want the full Am Law 100 ranking of firms by PEP, check out Law.com.

  1. Wachtell $6,530,000
  2. Kirkland $5,037,000
  3. Paul Weiss $5,020,000
  4. Cravath $4,620,000
  5. Quinn Emmanuel $4,533,000
  6. Sullivan & Cromwell $4,509,000
  7. Davis Polk $4,406,000
  8. Simpson Thacher $4,088,000
  9. Weil $3,835,000
  10. Milbank $3,825,000
  11. Skadden $3,716,000
  12. Latham $3,452,000
  13. Cahill $3,432,000
  14. Gibson Dunn $3,345,000
  15. Boies Schiller $3,273,000
  16. Fried Frank $3,268,000
  17. Debevoise $3,265,000
  18. Paul Hastings $3,254,000
  19. Cleary $3,162,000
  20. Willkie Farr $3,089,000

headshotKathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, and host of The Jabot podcast. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter (@Kathryn1).

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