How did Biglaw fare in 2023? We’ve finally moved from anecdotal stories of highs and lows and gotten some real data with the announcement of American Lawyer’s 2024 Am Law 100. And, overall, things are looking pretty good. Not the epic highs of the pandemic, but a pretty solid performance from Biglaw mainstays. As American Lawyer notes, “While not a wholesale return to the historic highs of 2020 and 2021, fiscal 2023 brought collective growth in revenue, revenue per lawyer and profitability metrics.”
Patrick Smith details the industry-wide trends:
Overall, the industry rebounded from a difficult 2022 to post gains in virtually every measurable financial and operational metric. On a high level, gross revenue was up 6.8% to a new collective all-time high of $139.7 billion in 2023. (By comparison, it was up 2.7% in 2022, one of the few primary metrics to land in the black that year.)
In 2022, nearly all metrics for the Am Law 100 as a whole were in the red.
In 2023, Am Law 100 firms collectively reversed that. The 100 firms saw gains in revenue per lawyer (RPL), by 4.9% to $1.21 million; PEP (9.3% to $2.80 million); CAP (6.2% to $1.75 million) and profits per lawyer (6.2% to $517,821), according to firm data and American Lawyer reporting.
So, enough of the broad strokes — how did specific firms stack up? Here’s the top of some of the biggest categories.
Gross Revenue
Here’s the top 10 by revenue… which looks a pretty similar to last year’s top 10. Full 100 list available here.
| Rank | Rank Change | Firm | Revenue | Rev Change | ||
| 1 | (no change) | Kirkland | $7,208,000,000 | 10.65% | ||
| 2 | (no change) | Latham | $5,688,226,000 | 6.90% | ||
| 3 | (no change) | DLA Piper (verein) | $3,829,531,000 | 3.92% | ||
| 4 | (no change) | Baker McKenzie (verein) | $3,286,791,000 | -0.41% | ||
| 5 | (no change) | Skadden | $3,270,091,000 | 8.25% | ||
| 6 | (no change) | Sidley | $3,100,458,000 | 6.08% | ||
| 7 | (up 2) | Gibson Dunn | $3,074,016,000 | 12.33% | ||
| 8 | (up 2) | Ropes & Gray | $2,992,831,000 | 10.10% | ||
| 9 | (down 2) | White & Case | $2,949,400,000 | 4.29% | ||
| 10 | (down 2) | Morgan Lewis | $2,898,514,000 | 5.58% |
Revenue Per Lawyer
But, of course, there are other metrics that are important in Biglaw. Take, for example, revenue per lawyer. RPL provides a relatively accurate picture of a firm’s overall financial well-being, and here are the five big name player at the top of the list. Full list available here.
| Rank | Firm | RPL | % Change | |||
| 1 | Wachtell | $4,272,000 | 20.58% | |||
| 2 | Susman Godfrey | $3,595,000 | 82.58% | |||
| 3 | Sullivan & Cromwell | $2,219,000 | 3.69% | |||
| 4 | Cravath | $2,200,000 | 11.85% | |||
| 5 | Kirkland | $2,051,000 | 7.49% |
Profits Per Equity Partner
Wachtell retook their position at the top of this ranking, wresting #1 out of Kirkland’s hands. The full Am Law 100 profits per partner chart can be found here.
| Rank | Firm | PEP | % Change | |||
| 1 | Wachtell | $8,507,000 | 16.63% | |||
| 2 | Kirkland | $7,955,000 | 5.84% | |||
| 3 | Quinn Emanuel | $7,270,000 | 39.03% | |||
| 4 | Susman Godfrey | $6,989,000 | 103.46% | |||
| 5 | Paul Weiss | $6,574,000 | 14.83% |
We will undoubtedly have even more to say as we dig into these numbers. But it’s good to see the Biglaw rebound is well in effect.
Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, host of The Jabot podcast, and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter @Kathryn1 or Mastodon @Kathryn1@mastodon.social.
