What It Is: An annually updated grades-based ranking of a variety of considerations from insider ratings and industry ratings to firm morale and culture.

Why It Matters To You: The ranking is easily sortable by categories so you can weigh the various considerations for yourself. Look at rankings based on the aspects that matter most to you from location, compensation, hours, culture, and more.

Considerations: The methodology is thorough with a minimum threshold of survey responses based on firm size required to be included, but it is important to note that not all firms featured are ranked in all categories. The average response overall is tabulated as a “B.”

Created By: Above The Law

What It Is: This is a ranking that provides a targeted look at the top firms in 9 major markets: Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, Silicon Valley and Washington, DC.

Why It Matters To You: Most legal careers are dependent on personal and professional connections in a particular community, each with its own courthouse culture and folkways. This might be less true for those practicing in a more “globalized” large law firm context, yet a firm’s practice and culture in one market do not necessarily translate everywhere.

Considerations: Included in this ranking are market-specific questions, inquiring about both the reputation of firms in each survey participant's city as well as each firm's desirability as a potential employer. City-specific firm choices are limited to offices with at least 50 lawyers.

Created By: Above The Law

What It Is: Industry-leading ranking of law firms and lawyers around the world.

Why It Matters To You: Highly searchable directory allows you to find the highest ranking law firms and individuals lawyers, by practice area and jurisdiction, anywhere in world.

Considerations: Extensive, well-documented, and well-respected methodology earns Chambers a global reputation for accuracy and reliability. A must-see if you’re considering law practice outside the U.S. Importantly, the rankings consider small law firms, boutique law firms, individual lawyers, as well as BigLaw. 

Created By: Chambers & Partners

What It Is: Ranks law firms by practice area, considering factors such as expertise, responsiveness, understanding of a business and its needs, cost-effectiveness, civility, and integrity.

Why It Matters To You: If you know what practice areas interest you, you can check out this list to see what firms excel in them. The ranking is also easily sortable by state and/or city. Also take a look at the profiles of lawyers at these firms to get a sense of what needs to be done to succeed on these career paths.

Considerations: Remember no list is perfect. Large firms have more clients and more clout. As with many of these lists, large firms are over-represented while small firms and boutiques are under-represented. There are plenty of excellent lawyers doing excellent work in excellent firms that—because of the way rankings are constructed—may never appear on these lists.

Created By: U.S. News & World Reports

What It Is: Yearly ranking of firms by regions, including Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Miami, Mid-Atlantic, Midwest, Mountain States, New York, Pacific Northwest, Southern California, Texas, and Washington, D.C.

Why It Matters To You: Associates rate the reputations of peer firms in their own region. These rankings reveal the most prestigious law firms by region across the U.S.

Considerations: Each regional ranking is based on associates who actually work in that region. There is a significant backlog of years in order to easily trace the rise and fall of various regional law firms and includes more specific regions than a lot of the other rankings that either focus solely on metropolises or combine large swaths of the country into neat categories.

Created by: Vault

What It Is: List of leading midsize law firms with fewer than 150 attorneys.

Why It Matters To You: Check this out if you like the idea of being a big fish in a small pond, work-life balance, and a better chance at making partner.

Considerations: Easily sorted by practice areas and locations, although the firms are not ranked. Prioritizes leading law firms with fewer attorneys.

Created By: Vault