Biglaw had a helluva 2024. By nearly every trackable metric, the numbers were up, up, up. And now we’ve finally moved from anecdotal stories of highs and lows and gotten some real data with the announcement of American Lawyer’s 2024 Am Law 100. With a whopping 58 firms notching over a billion dollars in gross revenue, the financials of Biglaw look solid.
Patrick Smith details the industry-wide trends:
By the numbers, there is no other credible way to describe the overall performance of the 100 largest law firms by revenue: They crushed it.
The collective Am Law 100 saw 13.3% year-over-year revenue growth in 2024, generating close to $160 billion in total. Virtually every major financial metric showed growth, including net income, which saw a collective 16% rise to more than $69 billion — a remarkable annual growth rate for that metric.
The results were impressive firm by firm, too. Kirkland & Ellis hit $8.8 billion in revenue, almost jumping straight into $9 billion territory. Latham & Watkins landed squarely on $7 billion. DLA Piper crossed $4 billion in revenue.
So, enough of the broad strokes — how did specific firms stack up? Here’s the top of some of the biggest categories.
Gross Revenue
Here’s the top 10 by revenue… which looks a pretty similar to last year’s top 10. Full 100 list available here.
| 2025 Am Law 100 Rank (FY:2024) | Rank Change | Firm Name | Gross Revenue | Revenue Change |
| 1 | Same | Kirkland & Ellis | $ 8,801,740,000 | 22.11% |
| 2 | Same | Latham & Watkins | $ 7,000,000,000 | 23.06% |
| 3 | Same | DLA Piper | $ 4,239,832,000 | 10.71% |
| 4 | +1 | Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom | $ 3,669,042,000 | 12.20% |
| 5 | +2 | Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher | $ 3,557,623,000 | 15.73% |
| 6 | Same | Sidley Austin | $ 3,439,646,000 | 10.94% |
| 7 | +1 | Ropes & Gray | $ 3,416,636,000 | 14.16% |
| 8 | -4 | Baker McKenzie | $ 3,394,579,000 | 3.28% |
| 9 | Same | White & Case | $ 3,316,735,000 | 12.45% |
| 10 | Same | Morgan, Lewis & Bockius | $ 3,098,511,000 | 6.90% |
Revenue Per Lawyer
But, of course, there are other important metrics in Biglaw. Take, for example, revenue per lawyer. RPL provides a relatively accurate picture of a firm’s overall financial well-being, and here are the five big name players at the top of the list. Full list available here.
| Rank | Firm | RPL | Change from 2023 |
| 1 | Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz | $4,472,000 | 4.68% |
| 2 | Susman Godfrey | $2,389,000 | -33.55% |
| 3 | Sullivan & Cromwell | $2,333,000 | 5.14% |
| 4 | Cravath, Swaine & Moore | $2,256,000 | 15.40% |
| 5 | Kirkland & Ellis | $2,299,000 | 12.09% |
Profits Per Equity Partner
The dogfight between Kirkland and Wachtell in PPP continues, with Kirkland getting the top spot this year. The full Am Law 100 profits per partner chart can be found here.
| Rank | Firm | PPP | Change from 2023 |
| 1 | Kirkland & Ellis | $9,253,000 | 16.23% |
| 2 | Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz | $9,036,000 | 6.22% |
| 3 | Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan | $8,643,000 | 18.89% |
| 4 | Davis Polk & Wardwell | $7,800,000 | 25.81% |
| 5 | Simpson Thacher & Bartlett | $7,664,000 | 19.14% |
We will undoubtedly have even more to say as we dig into these numbers and reflect on why, with such strong financials, so many in Biglaw have been willing to bend to a bully.
Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, host of The Jabot podcast, and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter @Kathryn1 or Mastodon @[email protected].