The New, Best Way To Rank Biglaw Firms

Expect something entirely different.

Ever wonder which Biglaw firms are really the best? Not *just* the ones that pull in the most money year after year, but the ones that are, overall, the healthiest? Well, have we got the ranking for you!

Leopard Solutions, in conjunction with Above the Law and Adam Smith, Esq., have come up with a new way to check in on the state of the law firm industry. Introducing the Leopard Law Firm Index. As part of the index, over 4,200 firms are given a score — from 0 to 500 — based on the overall health of the firm.

So, what is this rating based on?

Because, sure, revenue is important — but it isn’t everything, not even close. So this index looks at a a variety of factors to create the Top 250 list including:

  1. Growth/declines in attorney head count;
  2. Growth/declines in revenue per lawyer (RPL) over a five-year period, indicating increases or declines in how clients value the lawyers at a firm​;
  3. Relative success in lateral recruiting and retention (partners and associates)​;
  4. Insider Score – surveys of attorneys at the firm about their workplace​ (done in partnership with Above the Law);
  5. Relative success in recruiting and retaining entry-level lawyers​;
  6. Lawyer promotions;
  7. Ethnic diversity within the firm.

What’s more, these rating are dynamic — the index is updated twice weekly. Because, let’s be honest, if we can take any lesson from 2020 it’s that things can change QUICKLY. That means no law firms that have shuttered their doors remain on the list like a vestigial tail, they’re culled as things change, so you get real-time information about the state of Biglaw. As Laura Leopard, Founder and CEO of Leopard Solutions, notes:

Sponsored

“We see firms each year that go under but are still ranked among the top firms in the country by other entities. We also believe that financials do not tell the entire story about firm health. The data points we use in The Leopard Law Firm Index track firm strength and weaknesses in a real-time basis in an effort to give greater insight into the legal landscape. We knew there was a better way to do it and so we did it.”

So, let’s stop talking about the details and get to what everyone REALLY wants to know: who’s at the top of the Leopard Law Firm Index? The Leopard Top 250 ranks the best firms, based on the index rating. Without further ado, here’s the top 10 (as of today — remember, these things can, and will change):

1. Kirkland & Ellis LLP

2. Latham & Watkins LLP

3. Greenberg Traurig LLP

Sponsored

4. Holland & Knight LLP

5. Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP

6. Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP

7. Dentons

8. Cooley

8. Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LL

10. Troutman Pepper Hamilton Sanders LLP

10. Debevoise & Plimpton LLP

10. Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati

It also means different firms made the Leopard Top 250 than the Am Law 200. Here are some examples of who is in the Leopard Top 250 that missed the most recent Am Law 200:

Gunderson Dettmer Stough Villeneuve Franklin & Hachigian LLP
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer
Allen & Overy LLP
Quintairos Prieto Wood & Boyer, PA
Eversheds Sutherland LLP
Wood, Smith, Henning & Berman LLP
Atkinson, Andelson, Loya, Ruud & Romo
Maynard Cooper & Gale PC
Cordell & Cordell PC
Clyde & Co.
Clifford Chance
Jones Walker
Warner Norcross & Judd LLP
Godfrey & Khan SC

And if there are winners, that means there are losers. Here’re the Am Law 200 firms that missed out (as of April 2) on the Leopard Top 250:

Boies Schiller Flexner LLP
Cole Schotz
Curtis, Mallet-Prevost, Colt & Mosle LLP
Herrick, Feinstein LLP
Hughes Hubbard & Reed LLP
Irell & Manella LLP
Jeffer Mangels Butler & Mitchell LLP
Rutan & Tucker, LLP
Schiff Hardin LLP
Sullivan & Worcester
Frost Brown Todd
Hinckley Allen & Snyder LLP
Buckley LLP
Kobre & Kim LLP

So take a gander at the Index for yourself and see exactly what’s going on in Biglaw right now.


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).