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This law firm is ranked No. 1 after posting $8.8B in gross revenue; which other firms are ‘category leaders’?

By Debra Cassens Weiss

April 16, 2025, 9:52 am CDT

Kirkland & Ellis is once again ranked No. 1 for gross revenue in 2024, according to the American Lawyer’s Am Law 100.

Kirkland & Ellis had $8.8 billion in gross revenue, “almost jumping straight into $9 billion territory,” Law.com reports in a story that is one of several reports on the findings.

Other “category leaders” are Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, which had the highest revenue per lawyer, at $4.47 million, and Kirkland & Ellis, which had the highest profits per equity partner, at $9.25 million.

Law firms “crushed it” based on financial performance in 2024, the article reports. The nation’s 100 top-grossing firms increased revenue by 13.3% last year, increased lawyer head count by 7.7%, and increased revenue per lawyer by 5.2%.

While revenue increased an average of 13.3% for the top 100 firms, only 20 firms gained that amount or more, according to firm consultants Bruce MacEwan and Janet Stanton, who spoke with Law.com. The other 80 were below that level. MacEwan is the president of Adam Smith Esq., and Stanton is a partner in the organization.

The top five firms for gross revenue are:

1. Kirkland & Ellis, $8.8 billion, up about 22% from 2023

2. Latham & Watkins, $7 billion, up about 23% from 2023

3. DLA Piper, $4.2 billion, up nearly 11% from 2023

4. Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, $3.6 billion, up about 12% from 2023

5. Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, $3.5 billion, up nearly 16% from 2023

The top firms for revenue per lawyer are:

1. Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, $4.47 million

2. Susman Godfrey, $2.38 million

3. Sullivan & Cromwell, $2.33 million

4. Ropes & Gray, $2.33 million

5. Kirkland & Ellis, $2.29 million

The top firms for profits per equity partner are:

1. Kirkland & Ellis, $9.25 million

2. Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, $9.03 million

3. Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, $8.64 million

4. Davis Polk & Wardwell, $7.8 million

5. Simpson Thacher & Bartlett, $7.66 million

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