A Bold Challenge

When doesn't size necessarily matter? When we leave the gross-revenue rankings and look at average profits per partner -- especially when we combine Am Law 100 and 200 firms for an absolute ranking by profits per partner of all 200 top-grossing firms. The intersection of these two groups of firms is illustrated below by boldfacing the names of firms from the second-hundred list. As we report in "Little Wachtells," it's no accident for second-hundred firms to do well on this chart. Our figures reflect profits among equity partners only: net operating income after deducting compensation for nonequity partners. "N/A" denotes a firm that merged or was not on the list last year. For definitions of partners, see the methodology section.
 
Profits Per Partner
 
Rank By
Profits Per
Partner		 Firm Rank By
Revenue
Per Lawyer		 Change In
Profits per
Partner
from 1998		 Profits Per
Partner
1 Wachtell, Lipton 1 9.1% $3,385,000
2 Robins, Kaplan 2 5.0% $3,055,000
3 Cravath 4 2.9% $2,110,000
4 Sullivan & Cromwell 3 8.7% $1,790,000
5 Cahill Gordon 9 6.9% $1,710,000
6 Simpson Thacher 6 10.8% $1,655,000
7 Davis Polk 5 5.1% $1,610,000
8 Skadden, Arps 8 16.1% $1,600,000
9 Kirkland & Ellis 13 30.7% $1,340,000
10 Milbank, Tweed 12 15.3% $1,275,000
11 Cleary, Gottlieb 7 14.1% $1,225,000
11 Debevoise & Plimpton 14 1.9% $1,225,000
13 Shearman & Sterling 19 8.6% $1,135,000
14 Willkie Farr 15 15.3% $1,100,000
15 Paul, Weiss 10 27.5% $1,050,000
15 Rogers & Wells¹ 21 38.1% $1,050,000
17 Latham & Watkins 20 10.0% $1,005,000
18 Weil, Gotshal 15 10.1% $980,000
19 Dewey Ballantine 27 10.8% $950,000
20 Cadwalader 29 14.4% $935,000
21 Gibson, Dunn 17 11.3% $905,000
22 Brobeck, Phleger 33 44.4% $855,000
22 Fried, Frank 26 12.4% $855,000
24 Goodwin, Procter 61 14.4% $835,000
24 Wilson Sonsini 41 34.6% $835,000
26 Schulte Roth 48 10.4% $825,000
27 Chadbourne & Parke 17 32.2% $815,000
28 Bingham Dana 53 15.9% $800,000
28 Brown & Wood 57 33.0% $800,000
28 Swidler Berlin 51 0.2% $800,000
31 McDermott, Will 37 5.5% $785,000
32 Pennie & Edmonds 34 28.0% $780,000
33 Graham & James 29 156.9% $775,000
34 King & Spalding 57 6.2% $770,000
35 Testa, Hurwitz 23 15.3% $760,000
36 Ropes & Gray 23 6.6% $750,000
37 Hale and Dorr 34 20.3% $740,000
37 Jones, Day 66 5.6% $740,000
37 O'Melveny & Myers 41 14.0% $740,000
37 Proskauer Rose 48 11.9% $740,000
41 White & Case 72 8.9% $725,000
42 Winston & Strawn 76 0.4% $715,000
43 Kramer Levin 53 3.5% $710,000
44 Fish & Neave 39 -5.3% $700,000
45 Mayer, Brown 36 7.5% $695,000
46 Kaye, Scholer 25 11.6% $690,000
47 Paul, Hastings 57 7.7% $675,000
48 Cooley Godward 57 17.5% $665,000
49 Munger, Tolles 32 9.4% $660,000
49 Orrick, Herrington 61 7.2% $660,000
51 Curtis, Mallet-Prevost 114 6.5% $655,000
52 Fenwick & West 76 5.0% $645,000
53 Katten Muchin 72 7.1% $635,000
54 Arnold & Porter 29 11.9% $630,000
54 Stroock & Stroock 45 6.1% $630,000
56 Mintz, Levin 65 15.6% $625,000
56 Williams & Connolly 10 -8.9% $625,000
58 LeBoeuf, Lamb 101 12.7% $620,000
59 Irell & Manella 21 18.5% $615,000
60 Greenberg Traurig 68 3.4% $605,000
60 Morrison & Foerster 80 17.5% $605,000
62 Akin, Gump 101 11.5% $585,000
62 Vinson & Elkins 45 11.1% $585,000
64 Alston & Bird 101 18.0% $580,000
64 Andrews & Kurth 68 27.3% $580,000
64 Dechert Price 85 19.5% $580,000
67 Howrey & hender² 51 5.5% $575,000
67 Kelley Drye 83 12.1% $575,000
67 Sidley & Austin 41 0.0% $575,000
70 Finnegan, Henderson 48 22.4% $550,000
70 Patterson, Belknap 45 17.5% $550,000
72 Choate, Hall 41 8.8% $535,000
72 Hogan & Hartson 105 4.7% $535,000
74 Covington & Burling 55 9.8% $530,000
74 Jenkens & Gilchrist 61 36.6% $530,000
74 Wilmer, Cutler 38 9.5% $530,000
77 Dickstein Shapiro 72 10.2% $525,000
78 Patton Boggs 127 28.4% $520,000
78 Winthrop, Stimson 40 25.8% $520,000
80 Fish & Richardson 28 n/a $515,000
80 Shaw Pittman 110 1.9% $515,000
82 Altheimer & Gray 127 24.1% $510,000
83 Baker Botts 68 10.3% $505,000
83 McCutchen, Doyle 80 4.8% $505,000
83 Morgan, Lewis 87 7.9% $505,000
83 Pillsbury Madison 55 44.2% $505,000
87 Crowell & Moring 110 0.0% $500,000
87 Haynes and Boone 133 13.8% $500,000
87 Kenyon & Kenyon 96 -8.9% $500,000
87 Piper Marbury 110 n/a $500,000
91 Wiley, Rein 90 6.7% $495,000
92 Fulbright & Jaworski 101 12.6% $490,000
92 Steel Hector 113 19.7% $490,000
92 Sutherland Asbill 105 12.5% $490,000
95 Baker & McKenzie 179 -7.3% $485,000
95 Nelson Mullins 143 7.7% $350,000
95 Sheppard, Mullin 80 28.2% $485,000
97 Thacher Proffitt 127 15.2% $480,000
98 Heller Ehrman 66 9.3% $470,000
98 Rosenman & Colin 85 10.9% $470,000
100 Shook, Hardy 96 57.7% $465,000
100 Thelen Reid 87 14.2% $465,000
102 Chapman and Cutler 96 6.8% $460,000
103 Gray Cary 94 19.1% $450,000
103 Long Aldridge 136 n/a $450,000
106 Hughes Hubbard 96 7.1% $450,000
106 Hunton & Williams 92 6.1% $440,000
107 Jenner & Block 68 5.2% $435,000
107 Squire, Sanders 150 10.7% $435,000
107 Steptoe & Johnson 87 5.8% $435,000
110 Battle Fowler³ 83 -20.5% $430,000
110 Manatt, Phelps 114 19.4% $430,000
110 McCarter & English 156 4.8% $430,000
113 Coudert Brothers 121 7.3% $425,000
113 Hughes & Luce 133 12.9% $425,000
115 Snell & Wilmer 162 5.2% $410,000
116 Gardere & Wynne 114 12.0% $405,000
116 Loeb & Loeb 61 -6.0% $405,000
116 Palmer & Dodge 76 6.3% $405,000
116 Preston Gates 114 24.7% $405,000
120 Foley, Hoag 72 0.2% $400,000
120 Schiff Hardin 105 7.3% $400,000
120 Whitman Breed 114 8.1% $400,000
123 Holland & Knight 156 5.3% $395,000
124 Bracewell & Patterson 136 2.4% $385,000
124 Bryan Cave 156 4.9% $385,000
124 Cozen and O'Connor 170 -1.3% $385,000
124 Kirkpatrick & Lockhart 133 14.4% $385,000
128 Foley & Lardner 96 4.0% $380,000
128 Nixon Peabody 136 n/a $380,000
128 Seyfarth Shaw 127 5.1% $380,000
131 Buchanan Ingersoll 162 7.4% $375,000
131 Gardner, Carton 114 4.5% $375,000
131 Moore & Van Allen 125 n/a $375,000
134 Edwards & Angell 150 5.3% $370,000
134 Kilpatrick Stockton 154 7.3% $370,000
134 Powell, Goldstein 136 0.9% $370,000
134 Sonnenschein Nath 92 0.4% $370,000
134 Vedder, Price 121 13.6% $370,000
139 Blank Rome1 121 17.7% $365,000
139 Locke Liddell 127 n/a $365,000
141 Bell, Boyd 114 19.0% $360,000
141 Day, Berry 94 6.7% $360,000
141 Honigman Miller 76 -13.9% $360,000
141 Venable, Baetjer 150 0.0% $360,000
145 Arnold White1 90 3.5% $355,000
145 Epstein Becker 136 2.6% $355,000
145 Perkins Coie 127 5.4% $355,000
145 Sedgwick, Detert 179 -2.2% $355,000
145 Troutman Sanders 174 17.9% $355,000
150 Arent Fox 121 -1.2% $350,000
150 Ballard Spahr 143 5.1% $350,000
150 Crosby, Heafey 143 8.8% $350,000
150 Jackson, Lewis 174 7.0% $350,000
150 McKenna & Cuneo 156 7.3% $350,000
150 Schnader Harrison 162 11.4% $350,000
150 Winstead Sechrest 167 -2.7% $350,000
158 Duane, Morris 156 14.4% $345,000
158 Luce, Forward 143 13.9% $345,000
158 Thompson & Knight 162 15.0% $345,000
158 Womble Carlyle 105 25.3% $345,000
162 Baker & Hostetler 143 10.3% $340,000
163 Reed Smith 183 12.6% $335,000
164 Cummings & Lockwood 143 2.2% $330,000
164 Drinker Biddle 156 0.2% $330,000
164 Jackson Walker 167 -4.5% $330,000
164 Littler Mendelson 105 0.9% $330,000
164 Stoel Rives 150 12.1% $330,000
169 Akerman, Senterfitt 182 5.4% $325,000
169 Miller, Canfield 185 -3.0% $325,000
171 Ice Miller 196 n/a $320,000
172 Dorsey & Whitney 137 -2.5% $315,000
172 Lord, Bissell 169 -7.4% $315,000
172 Pepper Hamilton 154 6.8% $315,000
175 Barnes & Thornburg 195 5.5% $305,000
176 Michael Best 185 3.4% $300,000
176 Wolf, Block 125 4.6% $300,000
178 McGuire, Woods 169 -4.4% $295,000
179 Baker, Donelson 177 n/a $290,000
179 Thompson Hine 173 7.4% $290,000
181 Hinshaw & Culbertson 199 7.2% $285,000
182 Faegre & Benson 137 1.7% $280,000
182 Holland & Hart 166 12.6% $280,000
184 Eckert Seamans 196 -7.2% $270,000
184 Lane Powell 143 25.7% $270,000
184 Quarles & Brady 178 -3.8% $270,000
184 Wilson, Elser 185 -6.7% $270,000
188 Baker & Daniels 189 14.4% $265,000
188 Blackwell Sanders 200 -24.7% $265,000
188 Davis Wright 161 35.0% $265,000
191 Arter & Hadden 169 -9.9% $260,000
191 Oppenheimer Wolff 189 -0.8% $260,000
193 Dykema Gossett 182 -4.1% $255,000
193 Porter Wright 192 -16.7% $255,000
195 Kutak Rock 193 10.0% $250,000
195 Smith Helms 178 n/a $250,000
197 Thompson Coburn 193 5.2% $240,000
198 Holme Roberts 173 n/a $230,000
198 Saul, Ewing 185 4.2% $230,000
200 Vorys, Sater4 189 n/a $215,000
1 Firm merged in 2000 with Clifford Chance.
2 Firm merged in 2000 with Arnold White & Durkee.
3 Firm merged in 2000 with Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker.
4 Percent change is not available for Vorys, Sater due to a restatement of 1998 results.
 
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