Law firm intake sizes

Law firm 1st year associate hiring since 2009

Since our first edition in 2009 we've tracked the entry-level hiring data for 75 firms. The firms' hiring numbers of first-years combined give an indication of the health of the market, with an overall trend of cautious recovery since the Great Recession. The graph above shows how the 25 biggest recruiters have continued to thrive and pull apart from the middle-tier and smaller firms.

Firm	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017
Akin Gump	70	36	40	38	50	33	33	38	44
Alston & Bird LLP	7	79	49	64	52	36	34	38	44
Baker Botts LLP	88	38	48	48	48	40	52	64	52
Baker McKenzie	39	23	25	24	30	14	32	32	34
Bracewell LLP	32	33	23	19	25	34	20	23	26
Brown Rudnick LLP	14	15	21	18	20	23	14	14	6
Cadwalader	54	27	26	31	39	37	34	40	32
Cahill Gordon & Reindel LLP	49	33	41	34	34	47	38	37	42
Choate Hall & Stewart LLP	16	13	18	11	13	15	10	11	15
Cleary Gottlieb	89	110	81	93	126	99	92	90	91
Clifford Chance US LLP	19	41	30	24	20	22	29	29	21
Cooley LLP	48	38	30	46	48	46	44	45	53
Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP	95	89	99	44	75	94	92	90	105
Crowell & Moring LLP	17	21	15	14	16	18	14	11	12
Curtis, Mallet-Prevost	13	14	9	15	11	8	7	8	9
Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP	93	98	70	92	109	101	112	133	143
Debevoise & Plimpton LLP	59	82	35	47	62	66	76	75	71
DLA Piper LLP (US)	92	62	53	49	50	30	35	31	32
Duane Morris LLP	11	9	9	12	13	9	10	18	16
Dykema Gossett PLLC	14	6	5	6	12	8	16	10	10
Epstein Becker & Green PC	6	6	7	6	9	8	8	10	12
Finnegan	39	27	31	28	30	25	21	24	19
Fish & Richardson PC	9	20	24	20	15	18	22	25	23
Fitzpatrick	21	18	16	12	15	8	10	9	6
Fox Rothschild LLP	12	13	13	13	12	11	12	19	24
Freshfields	12	8	15	11	7	18	17	20	22
Fried, Frank	49	53	51	39	32	26	43	52	52
Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP	DF	123	89	103	125	111	109	96	93
Greenberg Traurig, PA	36	150	71	45	52.5	57	55	36	49
Haynes and Boone, LLP	0	33	23	26	31	31	29	30	39
Hogan Lovells	46	56	86	54	58	58	57	62	72
Holland & Knight LLP	32	36	50	34	34	24	27	38	39
Hunton & Williams LLP	25	13	18	19	32	24	26	31	26
Irell & Manella LLP	10	29	20	26	23	23	14	15	11
Jackson Walker LLP	32	12	12	13	17	15	9	15	17
Jenner & Block LLP	144	44	37	28	35	20	28	34	35
Jones Day	79	133	94	117	126	101	129	118	120
K&L Gates	13	Not given	104	63	51	70	85	67	64
Kasowitz Benson Torres LLP	18	19	18	22	18	16	18	6	8
Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP	40	7	11	29	28	31	23	23	13
King & Spalding LLP	158	43	26	15	22	31	24	27	30
Kirkland & Ellis LLP	22	130	142	140	141	111	114	140	172
Kramer Levin	123	20	14	11	16	17	12	12	11
Latham & Watkins LLP	35	203	131	150	115	133	104	156	181
Linklaters	119	25	20	19	26	20	23	17	13
Mayer Brown LLP	12	94	59	30	47	49	60	68	55
Milbank	65	55	22	31	43	42	46	51	67
Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP	20	70	51	59	62	56	86	61	52
Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP	17	23	17	15	14	18	17	10	24
Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP	77	47	33	39	28	26	31	33	44
Patterson Belknap	9	11	13	16	6	6	6	17	5
Paul, Weiss	95	86	61	66	97	92	84	120	118
Perkins Coie LLP	30	37	36	23	27	31	30	38	43
Pillsbury	21	26	26	22	23	29	25	35	37
Proskauer Rose LLP	70	56	86	40	43	41	62	53	8
Reed Smith LLP	49	31	32	35	34	43	47	46	42
Ropes & Gray LLP	182	187	216	116	126	96	108	133	152
Seward & Kissel LLP	18	10	8	11	14	11	15	14	16
Shearman & Sterling LLP	28	51	70	39	31	39	48	59	64
Sheppard, Mullin	27	28	28	26	30	31	29	32	28
Sidley Austin LLP	156	60	154	104	115	120	101	96	105
Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP	111	83	108	112	97	96	114	104	116
Skadden	143	184	92	86	135	149	186	200	188
Snell & Wilmer LLP	24	23	14	18	17	22	19	13	24
Squire Patton Boggs	4	24	1	5	12	4	16	10	13
Stroock & Stroock & Lavan LLP	26	24	13	23	16	25	14	14	14
Sullivan & Cromwell LLP	101	116	89	114	87	102	108	112	93
Venable LLP	1	20	23	39	27	29	28	39	33
Vinson & Elkins LLP	50	72	57	70	74	43	48	62	36
Waller	10	6	4	4	6	5	10	5	5
Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP	106	54	104	130	77	59	64	83	84
Wiley Rein LLP	18	13	18	13	13	16	12	8	8
Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP	75	47	27	22	42	43	55	66	51
WilmerHale	62	88	99	85	75	105	80	49	61
Winston & Strawn LLP	119	69	36	48	41	23	43	51	61
Totals	3716	3783	3447	3213	3382	3238	3405	3601	3656