Flexibility. Reflection. Reevaluation.

Every firm has used those traits to navigate the COVID-19 pandemic during the last year and a half. But they're a constant for the firms on The American Lawyer's A-List for 2021—especially those at the very top.

"We have a long way to go," says Brad Butwin, chair of O'Melveny & Myers, which has steadily ascended the rankings for much of the last decade and this year reached the top slot on the A-List, which considers revenue per lawyer alongside cultural markers including associate satisfaction, pro bono commitment and gender and racial diversity.