Announcing the 26th Edition of the Vault Guide to the Top 100 Law Firms

Published:  Dec 18, 2023

 Job Search       Law       
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Vault Law is delighted to share the 26th edition of the Vault Guide to the Top 100 Law Firms! Within the guide, you will find detailed information on the nation’s most prestigious law firms, Vault’s 2024 law firm rankings, and advice on navigating your legal career.

Articles & Rankings

The Vault Top 100 Guide includes advice articles from industry experts on legal recruiting and life in the law firm world. It also includes Vault’s law firm rankings. The Vault Law rankings are unique because they come from verified law firm associates who participate in Vault’s Annual Associate Survey. This year, over 23,000 associates participated, and through those responses, Vault produced dozens of law firm rankings, which are included in this guide.

The Vault Law prestige rankings—including the Vault Law 100, regional, and practice area rankings—come from associates ranking firms except their own. As firm policies and candidate priorities continue to shift, prestige remains a key consideration as it impacts exposure to high-profile matters, volume and variety of work, and opportunity to learn from top-in-their-field attorneys.

To complement prestige, Vault also creates quality of life and diversity rankings. These rankings are drawn from associates ranking their own firm in areas such as satisfaction, hours, compensation, diversity, associate/partner relations, transparency, selectivity in hiring, and career outlook to help you determine your best firm fit.

Law Firm Profiles

In addition to asking associates to rank firms, Vault’s Annual Associate Survey asks associates to comment on their experiences working at their firms. Our editorial team reviews these comments to find the quotes that best reflect the general tenor of feedback and rating score and to build the Vault Verdict and Associate Quotes sections of law firm profiles. This guide includes the Vault Verdict for each firm, which summarizes associate feedback on all quality of life sections. It also includes each firm's Notable Perks; you can find associate comments on more than ten other aspects of law firm life on the firm profiles at Vault.com.

We also include firm statistics, news items, and awards shared with us by the firms to provide candidates with details like salaries, firm contact information, summer associate data, locations, and more. Each profile also includes a chart showing each Vault category in which a firm ranked for the 2024 rankings. 

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While many top law firms have historically been considered relatively similar, in fact, the experience of working at each firm can be markedly different. We see firms handling the new normal of hybrid work in vastly different ways, with some offering complete flexibility and others mandating four days in office. Firms are also taking different courses when it comes to responding to the slowing of various economic sectors, just as they participated at different levels in last year's hiring boom. Firm cultures vary, as do commitments to pro bono and diversity. These distinctions will help you find the right firm to help you build your career as a successful attorney.

The 26th edition of the Vault Guide to the Top 100 Law Firms brings the profiles for the top 100 law firms to one place for you to review and, combined with the corresponding Vault.com firm profiles, provides a perspective on firm culture, quality of life, and the inner workings of the firm that is hard to find anywhere else. Use these resources to understand the distinctions between firms as you search for the right spot to land—a firm whose practices match your interests, whose culture fits your personality, and whose priorities align with yours.

You may also find these resources helpful:

Practice Perspectives: Vault’s Guide to Legal Practice Areas, 2023 edition

Vault Law Resource Center: Summer Associate Interviewing & Top-Ranked Programs

Vault Law Blog

We hope these tools are as beneficial for you as they have been for others seeking careers in law, and wish you the best in your legal career!

You may have free access to Vault’s guides and other premium content through your law school. Check with your career services office for more information!

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