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Last week, Vault released the 2024 edition of its closely watched law firm rankings, proving that money — in the form of Cravath’s perennially competitive pay scale — can buy prestige.
But can that money buy happiness?
In a companion ranking to the Vault 100, associates were asked to rank their own law firms based on categories most relevant to their overall quality of life, including satisfaction; firm culture; hours; compensation; quality of work; business outlook; career outlook; associate/partner relations; transparency; formal and informal training; pro bono; and overall diversity.
Fifty firms were ranked for Vault’s 2024 Best Law Firms to Work For survey, which was conducted from January 2023 through March 2023, so we’re getting a bird’s eye view of life at these firms when worries about layoffs are at top of mind and frustration abounds about forced returns to the office. This may be surprising for some, but only one of the firms that made the Top 10 list for being the most prestigious made the Top 10 list for being a best firm to work for.
There was a huge amount of movement in the Top 10 this year. Which firms made the cut? Without any further ado, here are the Top 10 Best Law Firms to Work For based on Vault’s Annual Associate Survey for 2024:
1. Clifford Chance US
2. O’Melveny & Myers
3. McDermott Will & Emery (tie)
3. Morgan Lewis & Bockius (tie)
5. BakerHostetler
6. Orrick
7. Fried Frank
8. Proskauer Rose
9. Dechert
10. Gibson Dunn
We’ll say it again: only ONE of the firms that listed here made it into the Top 10 of the Vault prestige ranking. Can you name nine firms that have been overworking their associates? We can!
In happier news for associate quality of life, Clifford Chance really stole the show this year, taking not just the No. 1 spot in the overall ranking for each major category (Overall Best Law Firm to Work For, Overall Diversity, and Overall Best Summer Associate Program), placed in the top 10 for every quality of life category, and took home the top spot in 15 out of 26 rankings in all. “If you want to work at a large, prestigious firm with top quality of life attributes, Clifford Chance is the place to be,” said Carter Isham, Senior Law Editor at Vault.
Congratulations to each of the Biglaw firms that made the latest edition of the Vault Best Firms to Work For rankings, and a huge congratulations to Clifford Chance for completely sweeping the rankings. How did your firm do? Email us, text us at (646) 820-8477, or tweet us @atlblog to let us know how you feel.
Best Law Firms to Work For (2024) [Vault]
Staci Zaretsky is a senior editor at Above the Law, where she’s worked since 2011. She’d love to hear from you, so please feel free to email her with any tips, questions, comments, or critiques. You can follow her on Twitter or connect with her on LinkedIn.
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