San Francisco Law Firms

San Francisco

Tourism is the backbone of the San Francisco economy. Its frequent portrayal in music, film, and popular culture has made the city and its landmarks recognizable worldwide. It is the city where Tony Bennett left his heart, where the Birdman of Alcatraz spent many of his final years, and where Rice-a-Roni was said to be the favorite treat. San Francisco attracts the fifth highest number of foreign tourists of any city in the United States and claims Pier 39 near Fisherman's Wharf to be the third-most popular tourist attraction in the nation. More than 15 million visitors came to San Francisco in 2005, injecting nearly $7.5 billion into the economy. With a large hotel and restaurant infrastructure and a world-class facility in the Moscone Center, San Francisco also is a top-ten North American destination for conventions and conferences.

Many large financial institutions, multinational banks and venture capital firms are based in or have set up regional headquarters in the city. With over thirty international financial institutions, six Fortune 500 companies and a large support infrastructure of professional services, including law, public relations, architecture, and graphic design also populating the downtown, San Francisco is one of ten Beta World Cities.

San Francisco's economy has increasingly become tied to that of Silicon Valley to the south, sharing a need for highly educated workers with specialized skills. It has been positioning itself as a biotechnology and biomedical hub and research center. The Mission Bay neighborhood, site of a second campus of UCSF, fosters a budding industry and serves as headquarters of the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine, the public agency funding stem cell research programs statewide.

Small businesses with fewer than ten employees and self-employed firms make up 85 percent of city establishments. The number of San Franciscans employed by firms of greater than 1000 employees has fallen by half since 1977. The penetration of national big box retail chains into the city has been slow. In an effort to buoy small privately owned businesses in San Francisco, the Small Business Commission supports a publicity campaign to keep a larger share of retail dollars in the local economy, while the Board of Supervisors has used the planning code to limit the neighborhoods in which "formula retail" establishments can set up shop, an effort affirmed by San Francisco voters.

Law firms headquartered in San Francisco include Morrison & Foerster, Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe and Heller Ehrman.

Methodology

This ranking is based on how much over 6,000 associates like their own firms. This ranking does not include prestige, salary or other factors except as they influence how much an associate enjoys working at his or her firm, and how likely said associate is to stay at his or her current firm. Associates from all law firms did not participate. Only firms with 10 or more respondents are included.

The Best San Francisco Firms to Work For

Rank	Law Firm	Main Office	Total Midlevels	Response Rate	Score (0-100)
1	Shook, Hardy & Bacon	Kansas City, Missouri	91	11%	86.0
2	Baker & McKenzie	International	80	30%	84.6
3	Schnader Harrison Segal & Lewis	Philadelphia	21	86%	83.6
4	Dorsey & Whitney	Minneapolis	107	27%	82.8
4	Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe	San Francisco	102	49%	82.8
6	Cooley Godward	Palo Alto	98	60%	81.8
7	Stoel Rives	Portland, Oregon	45	44%	81.0
7	Seyfarth Shaw	National	88	52%	80.8
9	Munger, Tolles & Olson	Los Angeles	51	57%	80.0
9	Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton	Los Angeles	74	39%	80.0
9	Howrey	Washington, D.C.	102	61%	79.6
12	Drinker Biddle & Reath	Philadelphia	74	46%	78.8
12	Nixon Peabody	National	78	23%	78.8
14	Chapman and Cutler	Chicago	17	94%	77.6
15	Morrison & Foerster	San Francisco	167	60%	77.2
16	LeBoeuf, Lamb, Greene & MacRae	National	122	49%	76.2
17	Jones Day	National	324	17%	75.0
17	Reed Smith	Pittsburgh	156	52%	74.6
17	Sedgwick, Detert, Moran & Arnold	San Francisco	50	30%	74.6
20	Dechert	National	182	34%	73.8
21	Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman	National	137	51%	73.4
21	Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker	National	163	96%	73.0
21	McKenna Long & Aldridge	National	46	72%	72.6
24	DLA Piper Rudnick Gray Cary	National	232	53%	72.2
24	Latham & Watkins	National	463	32%	72.2
24	Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal	Chicago	78	23%	71.8
24	Sidley Austin	National	283	47%	71.6
24	Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati	Palo Alto	142	36%	71.6
29	Fenwick & West	Mountain View, CA	59	22%	70.8
30	Morgan, Lewis & Bockius	National	268	47%	70.4
30	Kirkpatrick & Lockhart Nicholson Graham	Pittsburgh	142	62%	70.2
30	Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld	National	120	49%	70.0
30	Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher	Los Angeles	219	47%	69.8
30	Foley & Lardner	Milwaukee	163	41%	69.6
35	Holland & Knight	National	118	90%	68.0
35	Perkins Coie	Seattle	91	22%	68.0
37	Winston & Strawn	Chicago	141	27%	67.4
37	O'Melveny & Myers	Los Angeles	244	39%	67.0
37	Kirkland & Ellis	Chicago	300	47%	66.6
40	Bingham McCutchen	National	176	42%	66.2
40	Ropes & Gray	Boston	194	31%	65.8
42	Heller Ehrman	San Francisco	113	53%	65.4
43	Covington & Burling	Washington, D.C.	125	40%	58.4