Life
as
a
DC
lawyer
may
be
especially
challenging
right
now
due
to
the
whims
and
fancies
of
the
current
administration,
but
for
many
lawyers,
Washington
is
the
place
to
be
if
they
want
to
do
work
related
to
the
government,
be
it
litigation,
transactional,
or
even
lobbying.
But
which
firms
are
considered
the
best
in
the
nation’s
capital?
Thanks
to
Vault’s
recently
released
regional
rankings,
we
now
know
which
Biglaw
firms
are
dominating
the
legal
scene
in
DC.
This
ranking
is
based
on
votes
tabulated
from
associates
who
were
asked
to
rate
firms
on
a
1
to
10
scale
based
on
their
prestige
within
the
region.
Here
are
the
top
10
most
prestigious
firms
in
Washington,
DC
(you
can
see
the
full
list
from
Vault
by
clicking here):
-
Covington
&
Burling -
Williams
&
Connolly -
Latham
&
Watkins -
Gibson
Dunn
(+1) -
Kirkland
&
Ellis
(+1) -
Skadden
(-2) -
WilmerHale
(+4) -
Cravath
(not
ranked
in
2026) -
Hogan
Lovells
(-1) -
Arnold
&
Porter
There
was
some
interesting
movement
in
the
ranking,
in
that
WilmerHale,
one
of
the
firms
fighting
against
Trump’s
executive
order,
moved
up
quite
a
bit,
while
Paul,
Weiss,
the
very
first
firm
to
make
a
deal
with
Trump,
dropped
out
of
the
Top
10
entirely,
landing
at
No.
13.
It
looks
like
defending
the
rule
of
law
is
one
of
the
most
prestigious
things
a
firm
can
do
in
DC
these
days.
Congrats
to
all
of
the
Biglaw
firms
that
made
the
latest
edition
of
Vault’s
Washington,
DC
rankings.
How
did
your
firm
do
this
time? Email
us,
text
us
at
(646)
820-8477,
or
tweet
us
@atlblog to
let
us
know
how
you
feel.
Best
Law
Firms
in
Washington,
DC
(2027)
[Vault]
Staci
Zaretsky is
the
managing
editor
of
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.