New York may have the top ranked law firm in the country, but there are many firms in the United States that deserve recognition for their prestige.
Vault recently released its 2013 list of the Best Law Firms in Each U.S. Region. The ranking was divided into 12 regions of the country: Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Miami, Mid-Atlantic, Midwest, New York, Northern California, Southern California, Pacific Northwest, Texas and Washington D.C.
“[The list] gives associates and law students an opportunity to focus on the prestige within a region,” said Rachel Marx, law editor of Vault, a career services and research company. “Sometimes the overall prestige rankings are focused on the biggest markets, so this gives our readers an chance to see what the most prestigious firms are within the location they are interested in.”
Approximately 17,000 associates who were only allowed to rank the firms within their own region took the survey.
Location is an important factor when looking for any job. Certain regions of the country may be a better fit depending on the attorney’s area of expertise.
“Different legal markets have different practice focuses, cultures and practice strengths,” Marx said. “For example, in Texas you se a lot of strong energy and oil firms, and in the Pacific-northwest you’ll see a lot of tech-focused firms.”
Law students beginning their on-campus interviews can expect to see many of the ranked firms from their region participate in the process at their university.
“The list especially [benefits] students who are attending regional schools, since a lot of them are from that area and want to stay and practice in that area,” Marx said.
Even though the job market has tightened, there are still opportunities at many of the best-ranked regional firms. Marx said summer programs are still offered, although the class sizes may be smaller.
“Most of these firms still have summer programs, so they’re still hiring law students,” Marx said. “I think it’s a nationwide trend that the job market has tightened for lawyers…but most of these firms are still hiring and many of them are also hiring lateral associates.”
The top law firm in each U.S. region:
Atlanta: Ropes & Gray LLP (Boston)
Boston: King & Spalding (Atlanta)
Chicago: Kirkland & Ellis LLP (Chicago)
Miami: Greenberg Traurig, LLP
Mid-Atlantic: Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP and Affiliates (New York)
Midwest: Jones Day (Washington D.C.)
New York: Wachtell, Lipton Rosen & Katz (New York)
Northern California: Morrison & Foerster LLP (San Francisco)
Southern California: Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP (Los Angeles)
Pacific Northwest: Perkins Coie LLP (Seattle)
Texas: Baker Botts LLP (Houston)
Washington D.C.: Covington & Burling LLP (Washington D.C.)
For complete rankings click here
