2006 Law Firm Rankings

Methodology

Have you ever wondered if you'd like working at a particular law firm? Probably most law students and lawyers do. The problem is, when you ask people about firms, it's kind of like asking someone what their favorite color is. It's very subjective. This site seeks to meet the challenge of finding the subjective best firm for you. 5,680 mid-level associates (3rd, 4th & 5th year associates) at 160 firms, in 806 offices, around the country and world completed surveys about their firms in 2005. (Law firms with less than 10 responses are not included.) Each associate ranked various factors such as how interesting the work is, how realisitc the billable hours are, and how much interaction associates get with partners. Below, enter what's important to you, hit submit and the site will attempt to find the law firms that do the best job of satisfying what's important to you, based on the associate responses.

If you do not choose a city, the site will list all 160 firms in order of how well the firms meet the criteria you specify. For example, if you wanted to find the most interesting, family-friendly and highest-paying law firm in the country (Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner), based on the associate responses, you would select the "Any" location and 10 on "How Interesting the work is," "Family-friendliness," and "Salary." The site then ranks the 160 law firms on the next page, with the best match first. The data comes from The American Lawyer's 2005 Midlevel Associates Survey. Please visit that site (free registration required) to see complete survey results for each firm.

Location

(Only first 5 considered.)

Who are you?

The Basics 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
  		• How interesting the work is:
  		• How satisfying the work is:
  		• Benefits and compensation:
  		• Associate relations:
  		• Partner-associate relations:
  		• Training and guidance:
  		• Openness about finances:
  		• Communication about partnership:
  		• Realistic billable hours:
  		• Attitude toward pro bono:
  		• Likelihood of staying two years:
  		• Overall rating as a place to work:

    About the Work 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
  		• Methods for assigning work:
  		• Distribution of work:
  		• Quality of work assigned:
  		• Quantity of work assigned:
  		• Level of responsibility:
  		• Amount of client contact:
  		• Fairness of evaluations:

    Hours and Compensation 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
  		• Hours worked per week (10 = fewest):
  		• Hours billed per week (10 = fewest):
  		• Salary (10 = highest):
  		• Bonus (10 = highest):

    Firm Culture 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
  		• Morale this year over last:
  		• Collegiality:
  		• Competitiveness:
  		• Dedication to diversity:
  		• Family-friendliness:
  		• Self-esteem (firm's prestige):

    The Partners and Firm Management 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
  		• Opportunities to work with partners:
  		• Opportunities to socialize with partners:

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