Law firm intake sizes

Tracking law firm hiring over ten years.

Since our first edition in 2009 we've tracked the entry-level hiring numbers for 79 firms. As you can see in the graph above, the largest firms initially suffered the most in the years following the recession, but over the past few years have bounced back and pulled away from the rest of the market. The biggest firms have expanded (but also fluctuated) noticeably over ten years, but the rest of the market has remained cautious and relatively stable, contracting by a quarter at the lower end.

Law firm	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018
Akin Gump	70	36	40	38	50	33	33	38	44	53
Allen & Overy	11	18	20	21	22	16	17	21	21	21
Alston & Bird	7	79	49	64	52	36	34	38	44	46
Baker Botts	88	38	48	48	48	40	52	64	52	56
Bracewell	32	33	23	19	25	34	20	23	26	17
Brown Rudnick	14	15	21	18	20	23	14	14	6	8
Cadwalader	54	27	26	31	39	37	34	40	32	21
Cahill Gordon & Reindel	49	33	41	34	34	47	38	37	42	38
Choate Hall & Stewart	16	13	18	11	13	15	10	11	15	15
Cleary	89	110	81	93	126	99	92	90	91	120
Clifford Chance US	19	41	30	24	20	22	29	29	21	28
Cooley	48	38	30	46	48	46	44	45	53	51
Cravath, Swaine & Moore	95	89	99	44	75	94	92	90	105	92
Crowell & Moring	17	21	15	14	16	18	14	11	12	20
Curtis, Mallet-Prevost	13	14	9	15	11	8	7	8	9	6
Davis Polk & Wardwell	93	98	70	92	109	101	112	133	143	129
Debevoise & Plimpton	59	82	35	47	62	66	76	75	71	75
DLA Piper (US)	92	62	53	49	50	30	35	31	32	34
Duane Morris	11	9	9	12	13	9	10	18	16	15
Dykema Gossett PLLC	14	6	5	6	12	8	16	10	10	11
Epstein Becker & Green PC	6	6	7	6	9	8	8	10	12	9
Finnegan	39	27	31	28	30	25	21	24	19	22
Fish & Richardson PC	9	20	24	20	15	18	22	25	23	17
Fitzpatrick	21	18	16	12	15	8	10	9	6	6
Fox Rothschild	12	13	13	13	12	11	12	19	24	18
Freshfields	12	8	15	11	7	18	17	20	22	18
Fried, Frank	49	53	51	39	32	26	43	52	52	60
Gibbons P.C.	7	10	10	10	10	10	6	N/A	9	N/A
Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher	136	123	89	103	125	111	109	96	93	100
Goodwin	114	87	71	45	53	57	55	60	50	50
Greenberg Traurig, PA	36	150	71	45	52.5	57	55	36	49	38
Haynes and Boone,	36	33	23	26	31	31	29	30	39	26
Hogan Lovells	46	56	86	54	58	58	57	62	72	82
Holland & Knight	32	36	50	34	34	24	27	38	39	21
Hunton Andrews Kurth	25	13	18	19	32	24	26	31	26	41
Irell & Manella	10	29	20	26	23	23	14	15	11	14
Jackson Walker	32	12	12	13	17	15	9	15	17	13
Jenner & Block	144	44	37	28	35	20	28	34	35	33
Jones Day	79	133	94	117	126	101	129	118	120	150
K&L Gates	13	104	63	51	70	85	67	64	51
Kasowitz Benson Torres	18	19	18	22	18	16	18	6	8	9
Katten Muchin Rosenman	40	7	11	29	28	31	23	23	13	23
King & Spalding	18	43	26	15	22	31	24	27	30	35
Kirkland & Ellis	158	130	142	140	141	111	114	140	172	251
Kramer Levin	22	20	14	11	16	17	12	12	11	16
Latham & Watkins	123	203	131	150	115	133	104	156	181	163
Linklaters	35	25	20	19	26	20	23	17	13	22
Mayer Brown	119	94	59	30	47	49	60	68	55	50
Milbank	65	55	22	31	43	42	46	51	67	79
Morgan, Lewis & Bockius	20	70	51	59	62	56	86	61	52	56
Munger, Tolles & Olson	17	23	17	15	14	18	17	10	24	22
Orrick	77	47	33	39	28	26	31	33	44	51
Patterson Belknap	9	11	13	16	6	6	6	17	5	2
Paul, Weiss	95	86	61	66	97	92	84	120	118	101
Perkins Coie	30	37	36	23	27	31	30	38	43	42
Pillsbury	21	26	26	22	23	29	25	35	37	37
Proskauer Rose	70	56	86	40	43	41	62	53	8	74
Reed Smith	49	31	32	35	34	43	47	46	42	46
Ropes & Gray	182	187	216	116	126	96	108	133	152	135
Seward & Kissel	18	10	8	11	14	11	15	14	16	11
Shearman & Sterling	28	51	70	39	31	39	48	59	64	58
Sheppard, Mullin	27	28	28	26	30	31	29	32	28	30
Sidley Austin	156	60	154	104	115	120	101	96	105	155
Simpson Thacher	111	83	108	112	97	96	114	104	116	105
Skadden	143	184	92	86	135	149	186	200	188	187
Snell & Wilmer	24	23	14	18	17	22	19	13	24	21
Squire Patton Boggs	4	24	1	5	12	4	16	10	13	15
Stroock	26	24	13	23	16	25	14	14	14	13
Sullivan & Cromwell	101	116	89	114	87	102	108	112	93	79
Venable	1	20	23	39	27	29	28	39	33	32
Vinson & Elkins	50	72	57	70	74	43	48	62	36	68
Waller	10	6	4	4	6	5	10	5	5	7
Weil, Gotshal & Manges	106	54	104	130	77	59	64	83	84	102
White & Case	106	54	104	130	77	58	55	72	93	108
Wiley Rein	18	13	18	13	13	16	12	8	8	8
Willkie Farr & Gallagher	75	47	27	22	42	43	55	66	51	52
WilmerHale	62	88	99	85	75	105	80	49	61	75
Winston & Strawn	119	69	36	48	41	23	43	51	61	58
Total	4102	3929	3627	3395	3514	3365	3506	3722	3795	4023