Leading New Firm and Lawyer Rankings in Chambers USA 2021

This year’s Chambers USA 2021 features over 8,000 firm and almost 22,000 individual rankings in more than 2,000 practice areas, across all 50 states and nationally. Leading the charge, having amassed the most firm and individual rankings in the Guide for the second year in a row, is industry titan Latham & Watkins. With 351 ranked attorneys and 131 ranked practices, Latham continues to showcase its credentials as one of the United States’, and indeed the world’s, most successful and well-rounded full service firms.

Latham’s position comes as little surprise, with its 11 US offices consistently attracting praise from clients and fellow practitioners alike in Chambers USA research. An elite pedigree, full service capabilities and extensive geographic coverage are common features of top performing firms in the Chambers USA 2021 Guide, as the chart above shows. Firms which accrue the most rankings in the latest edition of the USA Guide are united in the breadth of their expertise, their bicoastal office networks and their sizeable contingent of partners.

A number of firms have also seen significant growth in the number of recognitions they earn. Kirkland & Ellis, the United States’ largest law firm by revenue, saw 25 new practice groups recognised for the first time. The firm was closely followed by DLA Piper, Paul Hastings, Morgan Lewis and BakerHostetler – each of whom earned 20 or more new firm rankings this year.

Latham also topped the list of firms which hold the most individual rankings, with 351 attorneys, and the most new rankings, with 64 attorneys attracting recognition. As expected, this data aligns closely with the highest performing firms, however this chart also sees the entrance of elite firms with a smaller geographic footprint, such as Cravath, or those with a narrower focus, such as Quinn Emanuel, whose attorneys dominate their local market or area of expertise.

Research and ranking results show that ‘home advantage’ remains a significant factor in law firm success, with many of the largest firms continuing to dominate their original local markets even as they expand their offices into new jurisdictions. The map above, highlighting firms with the most Band 1 rankings by state, shows that established, nationally reputed firms ranging from Davis Polk, Greenberg Traurig, Ropes & Gray, Jones Day and Vinson & Elkins remain locally dominant in a variety of disparate practice areas. Indeed, Latham & Watkins is the sole firm to hold most Band 1 rankings in multiple jurisdictions, with 16 in California, 6 in the District of Columbia, and 23 in Nationwide tables.

The data generated in this article is from the Chambers Business Intelligence tool which is a platform that provides firms digital and on-demand analytics, access to early rankings, historical rankings, competitor analysis, market trends, all designed to empower firms with a full view of the legal market.

To request your firms free demo of the platform please click here.

The Chambers USA 2021 guide will be released in May 2021. Register your free attendance to the Chambers USA Guide Launch webinar here.