Highlights from the 2025 Best Law Firms to Work For Rankings

Today, Vault announced its Best Law Firm to Work For rankings. These rankings are based on associates’ assessments of their own firms. Over 20,000 associates at large law firms participated in Vault’s survey, which was fielded in early 2024. These rankings are based entirely on associate perception—the survey asked associates to rate their satisfaction with their current career outlook, the quality of work assignments they are given, their firm’s commitment to diversity, their compensation package, and other factors.

• O’Melveny & Myers LLP won the title of Best Law Firm to Work For. The Los Angeles-based firm has ranked in the top three Best Law Firms to Work For every year in the past decade. The firm also took the top spot in multiple other ranking categories this year, including Firm Culture, Wellness (the firm has a full-time Director of Wellbeing), Career Outlook, Quality of Work, and Formal Training. Associates at O’Melveny who participated in Vault’s survey appreciate having flexibility with work location and unlimited hours for pro bono and 50 hours for DEI-related work credited to their billable hour target. They also appreciate that the path to partnership seems realistic and that the firm does a good job of retaining talent through non-partner-track positions and supports attorneys looking to exit to in-house roles. The firm also ranked first in the Best Summer Associate Programs rankings, which is based on questions answered by junior associates looking back on and rating their summer experience at the firm. Respondents reported that the firm’s summer program included intensive mock deal and mock litigation training and a Disneyland trip.

• The No. 2 firm in the Best Law Firm to Work For rankings was Morgan Lewis, & Bockius LLP. where associates appreciate the firm’s laid-back culture. Morgan Lewis also received top marks for Compensation, with associates praising the firm for setting Cravath-scale salaries across all offices, including the Philadelphia headquarters. Attorneys at firms in smaller markets are generally less likely to receive Cravath-scale compensation than their counterparts in New York City and other large markets.

• The No. 3 ranked firm was Clifford Chance US LLP (the U.S. arm of the London-based giant), which held the No. 1 spot last year. U.S. associates praised the firm’s “open door policy” and “one firm” approach. Vault recently published A Look at Magic Circle Firms in the U.S., which takes a close look at why U.S. offices of London’s Magic Circle firms (such as Clifford Chance) often perform well on quality-of-life indicators.

• Three new firms joined the top ten Best Law Firms to Work For list this year, including Linklaters (another Magic Circle firm with U.S. offices), which also ranked first in Associate/Partner relations, with associates noting the partnership’s transparency regarding firm matters. Michigan-based Warner Norcross + Judd LLP and Texas-based Bracewell were the other additions.

• O’Melveny earned the top spot in Vault’s Best Law Firms for Overall Diversity and Best Law Firms for Racial & Ethnic Diversity rankings. California-based Hanson Bridgett LLP was No. 1 for Diversity for Women, Clifford Chance US was No. 1 for Diversity for LGBTQ+ Individuals, and Morgan Lewis was No. 1 for Diversity for Individuals with Disabilities.

• Last week, the Vault 100, a list of the most prestigious law firms in the nation (according to associates) was released. Among the firms in the Vault 20, three firms were also in the top 20 in Vault’s Best Law Firms to Work For. Latham & Watkins, the No. 4 firm in the Vault 100 (and the only firm to be ranked in every one of the 25 practice areas Vault ranks), was No. 18 on the Best Law Firms to Work For list. With no true headquarters, Latham was founded in Los Angeles and currently employs the most attorneys in New York City. Los Angeles-based Gibson Dunn was No. 10 in the Vault 100 and No. 16 in the Best Law Firms to Work For rankings. Williams & Connolly LLP, a litigation powerhouse with only one office, in Washington, DC, was No. 19 in the prestige and No. 14 in the Best Law Firms to Work For rankings. Williams & Connolly was higher on the Best Law Firms to Work For list than any other firm that is solely focused on litigation.

The full Best Law Firms to Work For ranking are available at https://vault.com/best-companies-to-work-for/law/best-law-firms-to-work-for.