Welcome to our annual A-List ranking, which aims to highlight the most well-rounded firms—the best of the best. On this list, profits don't reign supreme, nor does size. Since its inception, the A-List has recognized firms based on a combination of factors, both financial and cultural: revenue per lawyer, pro bono commitment, associate satisfaction and racial diversity, with RPL and pro bono given double weight. And now, for the second year in a row, we also include a score for gender diversity—more specifically, the percentage of women equity partners.

We added that fifth scoring metric last year, as we felt it was important to honor the firms that have made the most progress in advancing women in the partnership ranks. Although women now make up almost half of all associates at large firms—46 percent, according to our sibling publication The National Law Journal—their numbers still drop off drastically at more senior levels. The NLJ reports that only 19 percent of all Big Law partners are female.

So we added the fifth component to the A-List formula: a female equity partner score. Like the other A-List metrics, it measures firms' relative performance: We rank Am Law 200 firms by their percentage of female equity partners, and base their score in that category on that ranking.