Did the nine firms that reached controversial settlements with the Trump administration last year suffer negative consequences as a result? In terms of their financial results in 2025, reported in the newly released Am Law 100 rankings (which I’ll be discussing soon), these firms did just fine. As noted by The American Lawyer , seven out of the nine firms enjoyed double-digit revenue growth. In terms of prestige, however, some settling firms might have taken a hit—at least according to the latest Vault 100 , an annual ranking of the nation’s most prestigious law firms, which was released earlier this month. As explained by the Vault Law editors , their rankings 1 reflect the views of more than 20,000 U.S.-based associates, who responded during the survey window of October 22, 2025, to January 23, 2026. Let’s take it from the top. Here are the 10 highest-ranked firms in the 2026-2027 Vault 100, 2 with changes in rank from last year noted parenthetically (“—” means no change): 1. Cravath Swaine & Moore (—) 2. Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz (—) 3. Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom (—) 4. Latham & Watkins (—) 5. Sullivan & Cromwell (+1) 6. Kirkland & Ellis (-1) 7. Davis Polk & Wardwell (—) 8. Gibson Dunn & Crutcher (+3) 9. Milbank (—) 10. Simpson Thacher & Bartlett (—) Some thoughts: Because reputation is “sticky,” i.e., slow and resistant to change, it’s not surprising to see stability in the top 10. Nine out of the top 10 firms were in the top 10 last year. Seven of the top 10 didn’t even change their rank. And for the 11th consecutive year, the #1, #2, and #3 firms remained the same—ever since Cravath ended Wachtell’s 13-year reign at the top, back in 2016 . I’m admittedly biased as a Wachtell alum, but for those of you who will be Vault voters next year, I think it’s time to return Wachtell to the top spot. The firm increased its profits per equity partner by 35 percent, hitting $12.2 million—becoming the first firm in the history of the Am Law 100 to achieve that feat, according to Patrick Smith of Am Law . Meanwhile, Cravath grew its PEP in 2025 to $7.2 million—nothing to sneeze at, but only a 5.2% increase over 2024 (during a year when PEP was up by 14 percent for the Am Law 100 as a whole). 3 In addition, Cravath has seen an unusually high number of partner departures in 2026—by my count, nine partners year to date—which could be viewed as a sign that it’s not the firm it once was, at least among partners. And associate perceptions of firms tend to follow those of partners, after a delay. As I wrote last year, Vault rankings are something of a lagging indicator compared to partner perceptions because associates, who don’t follow industry news as closely as partners, might not notice certain developments until they become more obvious. In 2025, Kirkland reported record-setting financial results: $10.6 billion in gross revenue, up 20%, and $11.1 million in profits per equity partner, also up 20%. So did Paul Weiss: $3.3 billion in gross revenue, up 24%, and $8.6 million in PEP, up 14%. Both also made impressive lateral partner hires in the past year. So why did Kirkland drop a spot, and why did Paul Weiss fall out of the top 10 entirely? These firms’ settlements with the Trump administration strike me as a perfectly plausible contributing factor. 4 And Paul Weiss also endured some negative publicity related to former chair Brad Karp’s emails with Jeffrey Epstein , which contributed to Karp’s decision to step down as chair . Yes, Sullivan & Cromwell, the firm that gained a spot at K&E’s expense, actually represents Trump in various appellate matters—and S&C’s chair, Robert Giuffra, played a role in brokering Paul Weiss’s settlement with the Trump administration. But there’s an argument that defending The Donald in a personal legal matter, in an adversarial system where everyone is entitled to representation, is more defensible than settling with the administration. Congrats to Gibson on making the top 10 this year, taking the #8 spot previously occupied by Paul Weiss. It’s not surprising to me that Gibson was the beneficiary of PW’s drop: GDC has been a top 10 firm in the past, as recently as 2024 , and it’s easier to return to the top 10 than it is to break into it. The firm had a good year in 2025, growing revenue by 18 percent and PEP by 24 percent, and it also ranked #3 in Vault’s best law firms for inclusion . For additional analysis of the Vault 10 or “V10” firms, see Staci Zaretsky’s post over at Above the Law . Now let’s discuss the rest of the top 25, as well as all firms throughout the Vault 100 that moved up or down by three or more spots (because smaller moves are usually just noise). Changes in rank can offer an interesting window into the state of a firm—or at least how a firm is perceived in the market. I include my own candid comments on these moves and their significance, likely to be appreciated only by hard-core Biglaw nerds. I was going to apologize for all the wonkery, but then I thought to myself, “Who am I kidding? This is exactly why people subscribe to Original Jurisdiction.”Read More
