The best law firms in the world
Many people who work in the legal field dream of working in renowned and important law firms, since the cases handled by these firms represent a great challenge. Working in one of these firms, either nationally or internationally, means working alongside the best lawyers and, in addition, receiving very high salaries and bonuses.
For this reason, many wonder which are the best law firms in the world. In this article we will tell you a little about these firms and the reasons why they are currently considered the best on our planet.
What is a law firm?
A law firm is a group of legal professionals from different specialty branches who work together.
Each lawyer will concentrate on certain specific issues and at the same time will benefit from the advice of the rest of the team.
There are law firms of many sizes; from those that are made up of two members, to large international law firms that, on average, have 300 lawyers.
The most important and largest law firms in the world have corporate clients, since they provide multidisciplinary services with knowledge in international law and from different parts of the world.
The best law firms in the world
While there are hundreds of large international law firms, there are some that far outnumber the rest, both in terms of annual revenue and the number of lawyers that comprise them.
Another of the criteria to define what type of law firms are the best or the largest in the world is also the number and type of clients they have.
The international firms that are on these lists have corporate and multinational clients, in addition to having huge, multidisciplinary teams working and having a presence in multiple regions of the world.
Below, we will list the best law firms in the world by revenue and by the size of their legal team.
Kirkland & Ellis
The largest law firm in the world is Kirkland & Ellis, an American law firm founded in the city of Chicago in 1909. This law firm generated more than $4 billion in revenue in 2019.
His clients include companies from various corporate, tax, intellectual property, etc. fields. In addition, it has more than 2,000 lawyers on its team.
Latham & Watkins
Latham & Walkins is an international law firm that was founded in 1934. It has more than 2,700 lawyers from different countries and regions of the world, including North America, Europe, the Middle East and Asia. Bruce Babbit, Secretary of the Interior of the United States during the Bill Clinton government, is one of the lawyers that are part of this important firm.
They have offices in around 15 countries and specialize in various legal matters such as entertainment, media, political contributions, real estate, etc. They also offer advice to various industries, such as oil, aerospace, financial technology, among others.
Baker mckenzie
This famous law firm is also based in Chicago. In addition to having generated nearly 3 billion dollars in 2020, it has 4,600 lawyers around the world and a presence in 46 countries. For this reason, both by income and by extension and number of lawyers, it is considered one of the best law firms in the world. In addition, he is highly recognized in the area of company mergers and acquisitions. They also specialize in finance, capital markets, antitrust and competition, international trade, etc.
D.L.A. Piper
This renowned multinational law firm has the peculiarity of having its origins in 1764. It currently has offices in more than 40 countries on all the continents of the world, with London and Chicago being the headquarters cities. Its staff of lawyers consists of around 3,600 professionals. His areas of specialty are the educational sector, technology, insurance companies, among others.
Skadden
This international law firm headquartered in New York City, United States, had $2.41 billion in revenue in 2020. This figure made it the fifth-highest-earning law firm in the world. As of today, they have 1,784 lawyers and are present in 22 countries around the world. His main areas of work are litigation, disputes and international transactions.
Dentons
Dentons is a law firm with more than 10,000 lawyers on its staff. Therefore, it is one of the largest law firms in the world by number of lawyers in its team. Likewise, in the year 2020, Dentons generated more than 2 billion dollars. This law firm has 183 offices and operates in 75 countries around the world.
Clifford Chance
Unlike most of the law firms mentioned on this list, Clifford Chance is not an American firm. It is headquartered in London, United Kingdom and was founded in 1987. It is a member of the so-called «Magic Circle», a group of multinational law firms in the United Kingdom, making it one of the most popular firms for private equity clients. top notch in Europe.
In 2022 it was named «International Law Firm of the Year» in the European Awards of the Guide to the World’s Leading Financial and Corporate Law Firms. One of the criteria for giving this award is that the winner has substantially contributed to the regulatory progress of the region during the last year.
In 2021, Clifford Chance had $2.53 billion in profit and as of today has approximately 3,300 attorneys.
White & Case
This prestigious law firm based in Tampa, United States, was founded in 1901. It currently has close to 2,200 lawyers and has offices in 47 cities around the world. In the year 2020, it generated 2 billion dollars.
Morgan, Lewis, and Bockius