Last
week,
Vault
released
the
2025
edition
of
its closely
watched
law
firm
rankings,
proving
that
money
—
in
the
form
of
Cravath’s
perennially
competitive
pay
scale
—
can
buy
prestige.
But
can
that
money
buy
happiness?
In
a
companion
ranking
to
the
Vault
100,
associates
were
asked
to
rank
their
own
law
firms
based
on
categories
most
relevant
to
their
overall
quality
of
life,
including
satisfaction;
firm
culture;
hours;
compensation;
quality
of
work;
business
outlook;
career
outlook;
associate/partner
relations;
transparency;
formal
and
informal
training;
pro
bono;
and
overall
inclusion.
Fifty
firms
were
ranked
for
Vault’s
2026
Best
Law
Firms
to
Work
For
survey,
which
was
conducted
from
January
2025
through
March
2025,
so
we’re
getting
a
bird’s
eye
view
of
life
at
many
of
these
firms
after
the latest
round
of
bonuses
and
special
bonuses were
first
seen
in
paychecks
(and
just
before
Trump’s
revenge
tour
against
Biglaw
and
lawyers
writ
large).
This
may
be
surprising
for
some,
but
none
of
the
firms
that
made
the
Top
10
list
for
being
the
most
prestigious
made
the
Top
10
list
for
being
a
best
firm
to
work
for.
There
was
a
huge
amount
of
movement
in
the
Top
10
this
year.
Which
firms
made
the
cut?
Without
any
further
ado,
here
are
the Top
10
Best
Law
Firms
to
Work
For based
on
Vault’s
Annual
Associate
Survey
for
2026:
1.
O’Melveny
&
Myers
(no
change)
2.
Morgan
Lewis
&
Bockius
(no
change)
3.
Clifford
Chance
US
(no
change)
4.
McDermott
Will
&
Emery
(no
change)
5.
Eversheds
Sutherland
(up
from
#13)
6.
Gunster
(up
from
#12)
7.
Sheppard
Mullin
(up
from
#11)
8.
Mayer
Brown
(up
from
#37)
9.
Fried
Frank
(down
from
#6)
10.
Warner
Norcross
+
Judd
(down
from
#8)
In
happy
news
for
associate
quality
of
life,
O’Melveny
and
Morgan
Lewis
duked
it
out
this
year,
competing
to
really
impress
their
associates.
As
noted
by
Eric
Stutzke,
SVP
and
General
Manager
of
Vault,
“We
saw
a
close
race
for
the
Best
Overall
Law
Firm
to
Work
For
title
between
O’Melveny
and
Morgan
Lewis,
two
firms
that
always
perform
well
in
this
ranking.”
O’Melveny
took
the
No.
1
spot
in
the
overall
ranking
for
two
major
categories
(Overall
Best
Law
Firm
to
Work
For
and
Overall
Best
Summer
Associate
Program),
while
Morgan
Lewis
too
the
No.
1
spot
in
the
final
major
category
(Overall
Inclusion).
Both
of
the
firms
placed
in
the
top
10
for
every
quality
of
life
category,
with
each
snagging
the
No.
1
or
No.
2
spot
in
nearly
every
other
ranking.
Congratulations
to
each
of
the
Biglaw
firms
that
made
the
latest
edition
of
the
Vault
Best
Firms
to
Work
For
rankings,
and
a
huge
congratulations
to
O’Melveny
and
Morgan
Lewis
for
scoring
incredibly
well.
How
did
your
firm
do? Email
us,
text
us
at (646)
820-8477,
or
tweet
us @atlblog to
let
us
know
how
you
feel.
Best
Law
Firms
to
Work
For
(2026) [Vault]
Staci
Zaretsky is
a
senior
editor
at
Above
the
Law,
where
she’s
worked
since
2011.
She’d
love
to
hear
from
you,
so
please
feel
free
to
email
her
with
any
tips,
questions,
comments,
or
critiques.
You
can
follow
her
on Bluesky, X/Twitter,
and Threads, or
connect
with
her
on LinkedIn.