Biglaw

Vault 'Quality Of Life' Rankings: The Best Law Firms To Work For In America (2020)

Did your law firm make the cut this time around?

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Last week, Vault released the 2020 edition of its closely watched law firm rankings, proving that money — in the form of Cravath’s perennially competitive 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, compensation, hours, quality of work, business outlook, career outlook, associate/partner relations, formal and informal training, pro bono, transparency, and overall diversity. So many associates responded to this year’s survey (about 20,000), that Vault has expanded its Overall Best Law Firms to Work For ranking from 25 firms to 50 firms. 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.

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 2020:

  1. O’Melveny & Myers (no change)
  2. Latham & Watkins (+8)
  3. Clifford Chance US (no change)
  4. Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe (+2)
  5. Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson (-3)
  6. Ropes & Gray (+2)
  7. Paul Hastings (-3)
  8. Jackson Walker (not ranked; first time in Top 10)
  9. Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton (+5)
  10. Choate Hall & Stewart (not ranked; first time in Top 10)

Once again, Latham 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.

It’s also worth noting that O’Melveny made history this year, as the first firm to ever earn the No. 1 spot in the overall ranking for each major category (Overall Best Law Firm to Work For, Overall Diversity, and Overall Best Summer Associate Program). Latham, on the other hand, was the only firm to rank in the Top 10 for every quality of life ranking. That said, here are the No. 1 firms in each Quality of Life category:

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Congratulations to each of the Biglaw firms that made the latest edition of the Vault Best Firms to Work For rankings, and a huge congratulations to O’Melveny for completely sweeping the 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.

Check back with us tomorrow to see the Best Summer Associate Program rankings.

Best Law Firms to Work For (2020) [Vault]

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Staci ZaretskyStaci 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 Twitter or connect with her on LinkedIn.

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