King & Spalding breezed past the billon-dollar mark in revenue last year, becoming the first Atlanta-based firm to do so, reporting gross revenue of nearly $1.02 billion, a 9 percent increase over 2014. Profits per partner rose to $2.515 million, another record for the firm, while revenue per lawyer increased 3.3 percent, to $1.09 million.

Chairman Robert Hays attributes the firm’s growth to increased demand in six high-value areas: global disputes, government investigations, energy, financial institutions, life sciences and health care, and technology. “We are trying to move increasingly into high-value practices where clients need very specialized legal services,” Hays says.