love
our
firms!’
Last
week,
Vault
released
the
2027
edition
of
its closely
watched
law
firm
rankings,
proving
that
prestige
has
its
limits.
While
money
—
in
the
form
of
Cravath’s
perennially
competitive
pay
scale
—
can
help
maintain
a
firm’s
place
near
the
top,
defending
the
rule
of
law
in
the
face
of
a
brazenly
authoritarian
president
can
reshape
how
associates
define
prestige
altogether.
But
can
that
money
buy
happiness
when
associates
are
increasingly
measuring
prestige
not
just
in
dollars,
but
in
whether
their
firms
are
willing
to
stand
up
for
justice
in
America?
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
2027
Best
Law
Firms
to
Work
For
survey,
which
was
conducted
from
October
22,
2025 to January 23,
2026,
so
we’re
getting
a
bird’s-eye
view
of
life
at
many
of
these
firms
in
the
aftermath
of
Trump’s
revenge
tour
against
Biglaw
and
the
broader
legal
industry.
We’re
also
looking
at
feedback
from
associates
during
the
fast-paced
rise
of
artificial
intelligence
being
used
within
the
legal
profession.
All
of
that
being
said,
only
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
2027:
-
Morgan
Lewis
&
Bockius
(+1) -
O’Melveny
&
Myers
(-1) -
Clifford
Chance
US
(no
change) -
Ropes
&
Gray
(+36) -
Gibson
Dunn
&
Crutcher
(+16) -
Fried
Frank
(+3) -
Mayer
Brown
(+1) -
Gunster
(-2) -
Baker
&
Hostetler
(+2) -
Proskauer
(not
ranked)
In
happy
news
for
associate
quality
of
life,
Morgan
Lewis
and
O’Melveny
duked
it
out
once
again
this
year,
competing
to
really
impress
their
associates.
As
noted
by
Eric
Stutzke,
SVP
and
General
Manager
of
Vault,
“We
saw
another
close
race
between
Morgan
Lewis
and
O’Melveny
for
the
Best
Law
Firm
to
Work
For
title.”
Both
Morgan
Lewis
and
O’Melveny
placed
in
the
top
10
for
every
quality
of
life
category,
with
each
snagging
the
No.
1
or
No.
2
spot
in
nearly
every
ranking.
“When
looking
at
the
average
scores
from
all
associates
participating
in
the
survey,
the
largest
increases
were
in
Technology
and
Innovation
and
Wellness,”
Stutke
said.
“Firms
are
investing
more
in
AI-powered
tools
and
technologies.
They
are
also
paying
more
attention
to
the
mental
and
physical
well-being
of
associates.”
This
certainly
helps
explain
the
meteoric
rise
in
the
rankings
for
Ropes
and
Gibson
Dunn,
which
both
placed
well
in
the
tech
and
wellness
categories.
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
Morgan
Lewis
and
O’Melveny
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
(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 Linke