Methodology: The NLJ 500 is the National Law Journal’s survey of the 500 largest law firms in the United States covering the previous calendar year. Data is collected from firms at the same time as the Am Law financial numbers. ALM sent surveys this year to more than 900 law firms to determine the 500 largest U.S.-centric firms by headcount. Firms smaller than No. 350 are divided into two tiers instead of earning individual ranks.
Lawyer totals are based on the average number of full-time equivalent (FTE) attorneys for the period between Jan. 1 and Dec. 31, 2018. For firms that did not participate in the survey, ALM research estimates lawyer counts based on information that is available on firm websites and collected by the ALM affiliate RivalEdge as of Dec. 31, 2018. Those numbers are reduced by 5% to estimate average FTE lawyers for the calendar year.
![](https://images.law.com/contrib/content/uploads/sites/405/2018/04/ALM-Intel-Legal-Compass_EDITORIAL-cmyk.png)
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law are third party online distributors of the broad collection of current and archived versions of ALM's legal news publications. LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law customers are able to access and use ALM's content, including content from the National Law Journal, The American Lawyer, Legaltech News, The New York Law Journal, and Corporate Counsel, as well as other sources of legal information.
For questions call 1-877-256-2472 or contact us at [email protected]