There
are
many
different
and
exciting
ways
to
rank
law
firms.
How
prestigious
are
they?
How
much
money
are
they
making?
How
much
take-home
cash
do
partners
earn?
How
big
are
they?
Yes,
size
continues
to
matter
when
it
comes
to
Biglaw,
and
thankfully,
the
New
York
Law
Journal
recently
unleashed
its
annual
NYLJ
100,
a
ranking
of
the
largest
law
firms
in
New
York
covering
the
previous
calendar
year.
As
luck
would
have
it,
many
Biglaw
firms
increased
their
New
York
City
headcounts
in
2023,
and
the
top
100
firms
in
the
city
netted
a
4%
increase
in
attorneys
over
their
2022
numbers.
If
you’ve
ever
wondered
about
headcounts,
this
is
the
ranking
for
you.
In
total,
about
25,736
attorneys
were
working
in
the
New
York
offices
of
the
state’s
100
largest
law
firms
last
year.
In
fact,
just
about
three-quarters
of
these
law
firms
saw
a
headcount
increase
of
some
sort
—
highlighting
that
New
York
law
firms
are
still
in
growth
mode.
The
top
15
biggest
firms
(numbers
show
attorneys
in
New
York)
are
not
surprising.
Let’s
take
a
moment
to
gawk
at
Manhattan’s
Biglaw
behemoths:
1.
Kirkland
&
Ellis:
842
2.
Paul
Weiss:
803
3.
Davis
Polk:
782
4.
Simpson
Thacher:
735
5.
Latham:
717
6.
Skadden:
650
7.
Debevoise:
648
8.
Weil
Gotshal:
603
9.
Sullivan
&
Cromwell:
535
10.
Fried
Frank:
493
11.
Milbank:
481
12.
Willkie:
458
13.
Gibson
Dunn:
454
14.
Ropes
&
Gray:
453
15.
Sidley:
448
15.
Cravath:
448
Congratulations
once
again
to
Kirkland
for
employing
more
lawyers
in
New
York
than
any
other
firm.
This
firm
wins
the
award
for
putting
the
“big”
in
Biglaw
in
the
Big
Apple.
Head
to
the NYLJ if
you’re
curious
about
the
firms
ranked
16-100.
NYLJ
100
Firms
By
Headcount
[New
York
Law
Journal]
Big
Law’s
New
York
Offices
More
Than
Doubled
Am
Law
100
Head
Count
Gains
[New
York
Law
Journal]
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
X/Twitter
and
Threads
or
connect
with
her
on
LinkedIn.