This is the National Law Journal‘s 32d annual survey of the nation’s 250 largest law firms, covering the period from Oct. 1, 2008, to Sept. 30, 2009. The NLJ sent surveys to about 300 law firms to determine the 250 largest. Eligibility is based on a firm’s total number of attorneys, not including contract or temporary attorneys. In order to qualify, a firm must have employed more lawyers based in the United States than in any other single country.
Firms are ranked by the total number of full-time equivalent attorneys, rather than just full-time attorneys. In some cases, due to rounding, this calculation yielded slightly higher or lower numbers than the figures submitted by the law firms. In case of a tie, we rank firms by the actual number of attorneys before rounding. If the tie persists, we rank firms by the total number of partners, and then the number of equity partners. The city listed next to the firm name is the firm’s principal or largest office. The “other” category included the total number of nonpartner, nonassociate lawyers at the firm. Generally, the category included counsel, of counsel, senior counsel and staff attorneys.
