Washington DC's top law firms

The legal market

DC skyline with label

ADMINISTRATION and regulation – these two rather bland words do an injustice to what are the themes of the DC legal market. As you'll see in the Chambers USA rankings below, DC is an island as legal markets go: government, and the spheres of business most closely affected by the machinations inside the Capitol, dictate everything. Elsewhere in the US, regulatory practice areas tend to play second fiddle to big transactional and litigation work; not in DC. Environment, projects, space law, life sciences, telecoms, healthcare, and IP all make the headlines here in DC. A career here offers something rather unique. 

DC led the pack in our survey this year on pro bono, in which associates felt the capital offers the best pro bono experience in the country. Access to NGOs and public institutions means there are great opportunities for young lawyers to learn from the nation’s most challenging work. 

Satisfaction survey

undefinedWhich firms in DC offer the best associate experience? 

 

 

Band One

Akin Gump
Axinn
Finnegan
Haynes and Boone
McDermott
Morgan Lewis
Munger
Paul Hastings
Sidley Austin
Simpson Thacher
Weil
Willkie Farr
Winston & Strawn

 

Band Two

Arnold & Porter
Clifford Chance
Cooley
Covington & Burling
Crowell
Dechert
DLA Piper
Freshfields
Gibson Dunn
Goodwin
Greenberg Traurig
Hogan Lovells
Holland & Knight
K&L Gates
King & Spalding
Latham & Watkins
Mintz Levin
Morrison & Foerster
Orrick
Schulte Roth
Seward & Kissel
Sterne Kessler

 

 

 

Band Three

Alston & Bird
Baker Botts
Bracewell
Cadwalader
Cleary
Cozen
Davis Polk
Fish & Richardson
Foley & Lardner
Fried Frank
Hunton
Jones Day
Mayer Brown
Paul, Weiss
Proskauer
Reed Smith
Ropes & Gray
Sheppard Mullin
Skadden
Sullivan & Cromwell
Vedder
Venable
Vinson & Elkins
White & Case
Wiley
WilmerHale
Wilson Sonsini

 

Expertise

Chambers USA

Market snapshot

If you're motivated by doing the best work possible, the industry-recognized Chambers USA rankings are invaluable. Here are the best firms in Washington DC for some the most common practice areas, plus the others that define the DC market. This isn't a complete list of the Chambers rankings, and we have cut the list off at Band 4 as this is just a snapshot. Full rankings can be found at chambers.com.

Antitrust

Band 1

Band 2

Band 3

Axinn
  Freshfields
 
  Paul, Weiss
   
   
   
   

Corporate /
M&A &
private
equity

Band 1

Band 2

Band 3

   
   
     
     

Environment

Band 1

Band 2

Band 3

Bracewell 
Baker Botts  Crowell & Moring  Van Ness Feldman 
Beveridge Hogan Lovells US  Wiley
Hunton Andrews Latham & Watkins   
Sidley Austin  Perkins Coie   
  Vinson & Elkins   

Government 
contracts (USA nationwide)

Band 1

Band 2

Band 3

Sheppard, Mullin
  Hogan Lovells US 
  Mayer Brown 
  Pillsbury
    Smith Pachter
     Nichols Liu
     Vinson & Elkins 

Government
relations
(USA nationwide)

Band 1 Band 2 Band 3
Arnold & Porter Bracewell
Brownstein Hyatt
  Hogan Lovells US 
 
 
  Holland & Knight 
   

Healthcare

Band 1

Band 2

Band 3

Mintz Levin
Epstein Becker Reed Smith   
Latham & Watkins   Sidley Austin   

Intellectual
property
litigation

Band 1

Band 2

Band 3

Morrison & Foerster 
Latham & Watkins   
 
  Finnegan  
  Kirkland & Ellis  

Litigation:
general
commercial

Band 1

Band 2

Band 3

WilmerHale Covington & Burling 
  Hogan Lovells US 
Paul, Weiss   Sidley Austin 
    Skadden
    Kellogg, Hansen
    Wilkinson Stekloff 
    Jenner & Block

Telecom,
broadcast
and satellite

Band 1

Band 2

Band 3

Willkie Farr
Akin Gump
DLA Piper  (US)   Cooley
    Nelson Mullins
    TLP: Telecommunications Law Professionals