Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr shot past its competitors in the Washington, D.C., market with 6.4 percent growth in gross revenue, to $1.14 billion; 8.7 percent growth in revenue per lawyer, to $1.255 million; and a 12.8 percent jump in profits per partner, to $1.81 million. It was a departure from the two previous years, when gross revenue decreased.

“We had no appreciable weaknesses,” says Robert Novick, co-manager of the firm, which is headquartered in Washington, D.C., and Boston. “We really had a very broad success in the execution of our practice, and the economy lined up well with what we’re doing.”