Did you know that more than 50% of customers will go to a competitor if they have a single bad experience with your website? The top NYC legal firms and companies know this and its why their websites are exceptionally well made.
New York is by far one of the biggest and most competitive cities for law firms and companies all over the world. It is home to the most influential and important legal market in the world. NYC law firms set the standard and pace for most of the legal innovations and regulations we see every year.
This list of the top 50 legal firms and law companies provides you with a look at NYC’s most prominent and important law firms. We ranked them in order of importance, headcount, and heritage to make it easier to go through. We will talk about their specialties, key clients, and even major deals.
Whether you’re a law firm with years of experience or an up-and-coming law firm that wants to learn more about some of the biggest names in the business. This article will guide you through each company and help you learn more about what worked for them and what you can implement for your own law firm.
Are you trying to build a new law firm but don’t know where to start? Let us help.
1. Kirkland & Ellis LLP
Kirkland & Ellis is regarded by most people as the most influential and dominant law firm in the world. Their NYC office is the main hub of their private equity and corporate transactional practice.
They have been consistently leading the legal market in both revenue and deal volume year after year. Their clients include important Fortune 500 companies, financial institutions, and even top-tier investment firms.
2. Paul, Weiss LLP
Paul, Weiss is a prestigious litigation firm in NYC, famous for defending major corporations and executives in different complex white-collar cases.
Its overwhelming influence, both in the courtroom and boardroom, makes it a legal presence to reckon with.
3. Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP
Davis Polk is a staple in NYC’s financial and legal sector. They receive recognition for their exceptional work in capital markets, financial regulation, and M&A. Experts regard most of their work as foundational to the success of the financial system itself.
4. Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP
Simpson Thacher has been a prominent law firm in the private equity space for decades now.
Serving important clients such as Blackrock, KKR, and other investment firms.
They’re considered one of the most consistent law firms among all the elite law firms.
5. Latham & Watkins LLP
A global phenomenon, Latham & Watkins has quickly taken over New York and solidified its presence in the corporate, finance, and regulatory sectors.
Their New York office acts as the main hub for all their international operations.
6. Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP
Skadden is one of the original legal firms in NYC and is a historic leader in mergers, acquisitions, and litigation.
Their deep NYC roots have gotten them some of the biggest corporate transactions in United States history.
7. Debeboise & Plimpton LLP
Debevoise is a popular NYC law firm known for its white-collar defense, insurance, and private equity cases.
The firm focuses on legal services while making sure they stay socially responsible. Their NYC branch takes care of most of the important global matters as well as internal investigations.
8. Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP
Weil is a major force in the NYC law firm, especially in the corporate bankruptcy and restructuring niche. They played a role in some of the most important Chapter 11 cases in United States history.
Their NYC office is the biggest one and serves as the main hub for national and international operations.
9. Sullivan & Cromwell LLP
Founded in 1979, Sullivan & Cornwell is a well-known law firm known for their work with different multinational banks and corporations.
Their client-focused culture and top-of-the-line legal services make them the golden standard for high-end legal counsel.
10. Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP
People consider Fried Frank one of the best real estate law firms in NYC.
Although its heritage and size might not compare to other law firms on this list, their consistency and influence over the years solidify them as one of the best.
11. Clearly Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP
Clearly Gottlieb is a worldwide-known law firm known for its international law and financial regulation.
They serve a range of different governments, financial institutions, and multinational corporations. They use their NYC hub as their main office for all of their biggest cases.
12. Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP
Cravath is a law firm with heritage and importance across the United States. They are mainly known for their lockstep compensation model and their grueling training systems.
Despite its small size when compared to other law firms in the United States, Cravath’s prestige and influence far outweigh it.
13. Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP
Cadwalader is the oldest operating law firm in the United States and has stayed relevant for decades.
Their main focus is on real estate and financial services, but they do work on structured credit as well. Despite their importance in the U.S. they often work with international hedge funds, banks, and capital markets.
14. Shearman & Sterling LLP
Shearman & Sterling has an impressive reputation in both cross-border transactional work as well as international finance.
Their extensive knowledge in sovereign representation has cemented them as the go-to for international affairs.
15. White & Case LLP
White & Case is famous for its strong international presence with their global litigation, arbitration, and corporate transactions.
They serve a diverse range of clients in different sectors such as technology, infrastructure, and energy.
16. Proskauer Rose LLP
Proskauer is a NYC law firm that focuses on employment law, sports law, and asset management.
Their NYC office mainly focuses on representing major sports leagues and entertainment giants. They are the go-to law firm for clients dealing with high-stakes negotiations in the sports and entertainment industry.
17. Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP
Orrick is a popular law firm in NYC, mainly for technology, finance, and energy sectors. They are well-known for their innovative and forward-thinking ideas when it comes to legal strategies.
18. Greenberg Traurig LLP
Greenberg Traurig is a global firm with an important and influential presence in New York. Their main focus is mostly on real estate development, labor law, and entertainment. With fast legal solutions, they are generally sought out by Fortune 500 companies that want fast solutions to their problems.
19. Ropes & Gray LLP
Ropes & Gray’s New York office is the key link for all their global work in private equity, asset management, healthcare, and even intellectual property. They are well known for their collaborative approach with clients despite the technical depth that it often entails.
20. Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer LLP
The merger of Arnold & Porter with Kaye Scholer made this law firm a powerhouse to reckon with. Their litigation, life sciences, and product liability capabilities are sought after in New York and all over the world.
21. Milbank LLP
Milbank is a well-established NYC law firm that specializes in complex corporate finance, restructuring, and litigation. With over 400 attorneys, this firm is excellent at cross-border transactional work and finance matters.
22. Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP
Founded in 1888, Willkie Farr has more than 1,200 lawyers all over the world, with their main office in New York. Clients recognize them for their corporate M&A, insurance, intellectual property, and regulatory practices.
23. Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP
Gibson Dunn has around 454 attorneys, and they mainly focus on defending major corporations by handling precedent-setting legal disputes. They are also sought out for their amazing high-value merger transaction advisory services.
24. Sidley Austin LLP
Sidley currently employs more than 400 attorneys in New York and is renowned for its global corporate practices and regulatory defense. Their international footprint helps them support clients all over the world without an issue.
25. Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP
Although they founded Freshfields in London and based it there for years, the firm has recently emerged as an NYC elite through partner hiring and major cross-border deals. Their giant deals, such as the $23B Wiz acquisition by Google, have cemented them as one of the best NYC law firms based on deal value alone.
26. Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP
Morgan Lewis is a law firm that specializes in corporate, labor, regulatory, and healthcare sectors. The firm works with multinational corporations and is advising on complex regulatory and transactional issues.
27. Perkins Coie LLP
Perkins Coie is a well-known national firm that keeps growing year after year in NYC. Their specialization in technology, venture capital, IP, and complex litigation makes them the perfect law firm for tech giants in need of legal services.
28. Goodwin Procter LLP
Goodwin is a respected law firm in the technology, real estate, and private equity sectors. Their New York office focuses on clients in emerging and fast-growing industries such as FinTech.
29. Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati LLP
Wilson Sonsini expanded their New York operations by leveraging their reputation in tech, emerging companies, and venture capital. While they are smaller than other law firms in NYC, their focus on niche industries has helped them drastically grow in little to no time.
30. King & Spalding LLP
King & Spalding has a massive national presence while keeping their main office in NYC for big deals in energy, infrastructure, and government sectors.
31. Winston & Strawn LLP
Winston & Strawn is well known for its litigation, corporate restructuring, and bankruptcy services. While their main headquarters are in Chicago, their NYC office helps clients with different financial issues and disputes.
32. DLA Piper LLP
DLA Piper is a worldwide law firm ranked as one of the biggest in the world in both headcount and revenue. Their New York presence isn’t as big as other law firms on this list, but it still has a solid reputation around cross-border corporate finance and real estate matters.
33. Covington & Burling LLP
Covington & Burling has around 200 New York lawyers and is known for its regulatory and litigation practices, especially when it comes to healthcare and public policy. Their strong government enforcement experience brings clients in, especially in federal regulatory environments.
34. Cooley LLP
Cooley employs more than 200 attorneys in their NYC office and focuses on 3 main sectors. Those being, technology, life sciences, and venture capital. They have a preference for startups and invest in new and emerging industries.
35. Rivkin Radler LLP
Rivkin Radler offers a plethora of services ranging from corporate law to bankruptcy. Their New York City office operates just like all of their other offices. Focusing on local legacy and multi-practice services.
36. Harris Beach Murtha Cullina PLLC
Harris Beach Murtha Cullina is a well established firm that serves clients from the United States and the world. They are best known for their real estate, corporate law, and public sector consulting.
37. Kasowitz Benson Torres LLP
Kasowitch has around 200 attorneys in New York and is popular for their high–stakes commercial litigation and their white-collar defense. They are often seen defending and representing high-profile individuals in different trials.
38. Goldberg Segalla LLP
Goldberg Segalla is a NYC law firm that specializes in serving clients in the insurance defense, healthcare, transportation, construction, and hospitality industries.
39. Norton Rose Fulbright LLP
Norton Rose Fulbright is a NYC law firm that provides cross-border and financial services for clients all over the world. Their broad industry coverage helps give them a competitive edge for multinational clients.
40. Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP
Quinn Emanuel is a litigation-first law firm that handles some of the biggest high-stakes disputes in the United States. They are a powerhouse in complex civil litigation and white-collar defense.
41. Paul Hastings LLP
Paul Hastings is a massive law firm with more than one thousand lawyers across 23 offices worldwide. They have gained renown for their dynamic corporate, private equity, private credit, and litigation practices. Their NYC office is the biggest one by far and advises multinationals and innovative startups every month.
42. Schulte Roth & Zabel LLP
Schulte Roth & Zabel is a law firm leading in the hedge fund and investment management representation niches. They excel at capital markets, structured finance, and distressed investing.
43. Cahill Gordon & Reindel LLP
Founded in 1919, Cahill is a prestigious law firm for Wall Street banking, corporate finance, restructuring, and high-level litigation. They are mostly seen representing banks and bondholders every year. Despite their smaller size compared to other law firms here, they deliver one of the best services on this list.
44. Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel LLP (now known as HSF Kramer)
Founded in New York in 1968, Kramer Levin built its reputation on both litigation and corporate transactions. This year, they merged with Herbert Smith Freehills to create Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer. This law firm giant now has over 2,700 lawyers and focuses on energy, infrastructure, finance, and technology markets.
45. Jones Day
Jones Day’s NYC office serves as their main hub for handling all sorts of major matters such as capital markets, banking, private equity, and more. They are one of the go-to advisors for blue-chip companies and financial institutions all over the world.
46. Morrison & Foerster LLP
Morrison & Foerster is widely known in New York for all of their work in tech, fintech, and global affairs. Their law firm blends transactional sophistication with aggressive litigation strategies, especially for white collar, IP, and security sectors.
47. O’Melveny & Myers LLP
O’Melveny is a popular advisory legal firm in NYC, known for their extensive litigation and corporate advisory experience. They are generally seen as the go-to law firm for complex global legal solutions in finance.
48. Hogan Lovells LLP
Hogan Lovells is a respected law firm in New York that advises multinational clients in life sciences, infrastructure, finance, and IP. They provide clients with industry insight across different complex cross-border issues.
49. Patterson, Bellknap, Webb & Tyler LLP
Despite its size, Patterson Bellknap punches well above its weight in litigations, intellectual property, white-collar defense, and nonprofit law. They are consistently ranked high for their client satisfaction, trial excellence, and diversity.
50. Boies Schiller Flexner LLP
Co-founded by renowned trial lawyer David Boies, this NYC law firm has a reputation for going for complex, high-profile legal battles in the United States. Some of them include Apple vs. Samsung and the Bush vs. Gore election case.
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After going through this list of the best 50 legal firms in NYC, it’s hard to ignore their global influence.
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