Cravath is most prestigious law firm for ninth straight year; Kirkland takes No. 1 in General Corporate Practice

The Vault 100 ranking is based on scores from more than 20,000 law firm associates surveyed earlier this year.

NEW YORK, June 18, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — For the ninth year running, Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP tops the Vault 100 as the most prestigious firm in the United States. Cravath, which associates in Vault’s survey refer to as “the gold standard,” has U.S. offices in New York City and Washington, DC. The Vault 100 ranking is based on scores from more than 20,000 law firm associates surveyed earlier this year. Vault’s top 10 most prestigious firms for 2025 are:

#1 Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP                            #6 Kirkland & Ellis

#2 Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz                          #7 Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP

#3 Skadden                                                                 #8 Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP

#4 Latham & Watkins                                                #9 Simpson Thacher

#5 Sullivan & Cromwell LLP                                     #10 Gibson Dunn

In addition to the Vault 100, Vault has also released 14 regional rankings and 24 practice area rankings. Some highlights include:

• Kirkland & Ellis took the No. 1 spots in General Corporate and Banking & Financial Services, bringing the firm to five No. 1 practice area rankings and two No.1 regional rankings. Kirkland, the largest law firm in the world by revenue, also moved up one spot to No. 6 in the Vault 100.
• Cravath moved up to No. 1 in the Securities Litigation practice area. The top-ranked firm was unchanged in General Commercial Litigation and Appellate Litigation, where Quinn Emanuel and Williams & Connolly maintained their respective No. 1 rankings.
• Paul, Weiss ranked No. 1 in White Collar for the first time. Paul, Weiss also moved up one spot to No. 8 in the Vault 100.
• Gibson Dunn moved up to the No. 1 spot in the Real Estate ranking. The California-based firm also retook the No.1 spot in the Mountain States ranking.
• Another fast-growing region that saw a change at the top was the South Atlantic region, where Atlanta-based King & Spalding claimed the No. 1 spot.
• The top firms in the biggest markets remained unchanged from last year: Cravath in New York City; Covington & Burling in Washington, DC; Latham & Watkins in Southern California; Vinson & Elkins in Texas; Morrison Foerster in Northern California; Kirkland & Ellis in Chicago; and Ropes & Gray in Boston.

“Cravath continued its position as the most prestigious firm according to associates in our survey, as the firm continued to set a high bar across compensation and in the quality of lawyering across multiple practice areas,” said Eric Stutzke, SVP & General Manager of Vault.  Stutzke continued, “Our associate survey also revealed movement within core practice area rankings, resulting in Kirkland taking five #1 spots, including in General Corporate Practice for the first time.”

About Vault Law

Vault Law, an Infobase company, is the most comprehensive and trusted resource for law students and laterals to research law firms, delivering the insider perspective and essential information that candidates need to make successful career decisions.

SOURCE Vault Law

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