The Responsibility Factor, AKA the partner-associate ratio
The levels of responsibility associates enjoy (or don't) is not easily summarized in a figure; each firm has its own style of work with its own unique responsibilities. This basic ratio showing how much partner exposure each associate gets favors the firms outside Manhattan, but let's remember that the adrenaline-fueled New York market offers associates no end of high-stakes work. So this table gives a basic idea of how a firm staffs its teams, but for a more nuanced perspective, the Inside View merits a read. It also helps you appreciate the likelihood of making partner.
Firm | Total partners | Total associates | Leverage |
Cozen O'Connor | 497 | 165 | 3.01 |
Fox Rothschild | 615 | 242 | 2.54 |
Greenberg Glusker | 68 | 30 | 2.27 |
Nelson Mullins | 521 | 258 | 2.02 |
Holland & Knight | 881 | 491 | 1.79 |
Polsinelli | 529 | 302 | 1.75 |
Jackson Walker | 281 | 165 | 1.70 |
Fish & Richardson | 191 | 117 | 1.63 |
Seyfarth Shaw | 425 | 261 | 1.63 |
Wiley Rein | 117 | 75 | 1.56 |
Crowell & Moring | 237 | 155 | 1.53 |
Duane Morris | 353 | 244 | 1.45 |
Waller | 156 | 111 | 1.41 |
Venable | 367 | 272 | 1.35 |
Greenberg Traurig | 990 | 749 | 1.32 |
Katten | 291 | 234 | 1.24 |
Dorsey & Whitney | 289 | 233 | 1.24 |
Vedder Price | 149 | 121 | 1.23 |
Norton Rose Fulbright | 305 | 265 | 1.15 |
Akin Gump | 249 | 218 | 1.14 |
Bracewell | 167 | 150 | 1.11 |
Haynes and Boone | 241 | 218 | 1.11 |
K&L Gates | 597 | 542 | 1.10 |
Pillsbury | 293 | 268 | 1.09 |
Sterne, Kessler | 66 | 63 | 1.05 |
Foley & Lardner | 486 | 464 | 1.05 |
Brown Rudnick | 90 | 88 | 1.02 |
Perkins Coie | 538 | 535 | 1.01 |
Irell & Manella | 26 | 26 | 1.00 |
Sheppard, Mullin | 402 | 410 | 0.98 |
Goulston & Storrs | 118 | 121 | 0.98 |
Reed Smith | 449 | 467 | 0.96 |
Munger, Tolles & Olson | 91 | 95 | 0.96 |
Alston & Bird | 359 | 382 | 0.94 |
Mayer Brown | 464 | 496 | 0.94 |
DLA Piper | 587 | 651 | 0.90 |
Baker Botts | 237 | 263 | 0.90 |
Foley Hoag | 146 | 167 | 0.87 |
Richards, Layton & Finger | 76 | 88 | 0.86 |
Jones Day | 601 | 706 | 0.85 |
Mintz Levin | 272 | 321 | 0.85 |
Finnegan | 108 | 132 | 0.82 |
Morgan, Lewis & Bockius | 686 | 862 | 0.80 |
Choate Hall & Stewart | 94 | 119 | 0.79 |
Kasowitz | 86 | 110 | 0.78 |
Winston & Strawn | 368 | 478 | 0.77 |
Hunton Andrews Kurth | 388 | 506 | 0.77 |
King & Spalding | 457 | 602 | 0.76 |
Hogan Lovells US | 334 | 456 | 0.73 |
Kirkland & Ellis | 1124 | 1608 | 0.70 |
Holwell Shuster | 17 | 25 | 0.68 |
Axinn | 33 | 52 | 0.63 |
Seward & Kissel | 44 | 71 | 0.62 |
Proskauer Rose | 228 | 370 | 0.62 |
Patterson Belknap | 52 | 87 | 0.60 |
Orrick | 331 | 561 | 0.59 |
Sidley Austin | 558 | 954 | 0.58 |
Ashurst | 14 | 24 | 0.58 |
Dechert | 229 | 427 | 0.54 |
Stroock | 88 | 167 | 0.53 |
Goodwin | 445 | 847 | 0.53 |
Morrison & Foerster | 234 | 447 | 0.52 |
Willkie Farr | 261 | 500 | 0.52 |
Paul Hastings | 253 | 507 | 0.50 |
Shearman & Sterling | 130 | 261 | 0.50 |
Kramer Levin | 103 | 210 | 0.49 |
O'Melveny & Myers | 237 | 485 | 0.49 |
Cadwalader | 90 | 185 | 0.49 |
Freshfields | 60 | 129 | 0.47 |
Cahill | 69 | 149 | 0.46 |
Allen & Overy | 89 | 193 | 0.46 |
Vinson & Elkins | 174 | 381 | 0.46 |
Gibson, Dunn | 463 | 1068 | 0.43 |
Wilson Sonsini | 265 | 615 | 0.43 |
Latham & Watkins | 606 | 1448 | 0.42 |
Schulte Roth & Zabel | 76 | 182 | 0.42 |
Covington & Burling | 276 | 665 | 0.42 |
Cooley | 336 | 847 | 0.40 |
WilmerHale | 224 | 585 | 0.38 |
Fried, Frank | 158 | 422 | 0.37 |
Weil | 208 | 581 | 0.36 |
Clifford Chance | 76 | 226 | 0.34 |
Skadden | 253 | 784 | 0.32 |
Sullivan & Cromwell | 137 | 425 | 0.32 |
Milbank | 123 | 419 | 0.29 |
Ropes & Gray | 272 | 930 | 0.29 |
Simpson Thacher | 203 | 740 | 0.27 |
Linklaters | 30 | 111 | 0.27 |
Debevoise & Plimpton | 117 | 446 | 0.26 |
Cravath | 94 | 360 | 0.26 |
Gunderson | 42 | 163 | 0.26 |
Davis Polk & Wardwell | 141 | 580 | 0.24 |
Paul, Weiss | 155 | 639 | 0.24 |
Cleary Gottlieb | 91 | 390 | 0.23 |
Firms not listed did not disclose their headcount numbers.