Lisa Helem, editor-in-chief of The National Law JournalJuly's Editor's Note: Announcing the 2019 NLJ 500
NLJ Editor-in-Chief Lisa Helem on highlights in the NLJ's November issue, including our 2019 NLJ 500.
June 27, 2019 at 10:00 AM
3 minute read
We're elated to present the 2019 NLJ 500, our annual report ranking the nation's largest 500 U.S.-centric law firms. We break out law firm data for total attorneys and partners, and highlight the firms that are moving the needle on the recruitment and retention of women lawyers.
What are the big takeaways? This year, the number of lawyers working at NLJ 500 law firms in 2018 increased by 2.5% to 169,477. Average firm size rose by eight lawyers last year to 339. And nonequity partnerships picked up, showing a 3.8% uptick in 2018.
One group that showed unexpected growth is "other" lawyers, a category which includes counsel, senior attorneys, of counsel and staff attorneys. This category picked up 1,171 lawyers in 2018, a 6.4% increase. It's a more significant bump than the 0.5% uptick we saw in 2017.
What's driving that change? Legal industry observers see client demand for specialized attorneys on a non-traditional path.
Explore the NLJ 500 rankings, charts and commentary. Then, take a look at our Women in Law Scorecard, which ranks firms on gender diversity. One firm's seven-year streak came to an end as a new firm earns top honors.
We couldn't put the NLJ 500 together without an able team. This year, I was elated to work with Sarah Tincher, managing editor; Victoria Ostrander, assistant editor; David Bario and Lizzy McLellan, business of law editors; and our reporters: Ryan Lovelace, Xiumei Dong and Patrick Smith. And Daniel Masopust, research manager, and Jeanne Graham, senior research manager, oversaw the distribution of ALM Legal Intelligence's annual census to U.S. firms to gather data for the NLJ 500, the Women's Scorecard and other reports. Thank you to our entire team!
Elsewhere in the July issue, Cheryl Miller sat down with Tani G. Cantil-Sakauye, chief justice of the California Supreme Court, for a chat about why the jurist is not afraid to challenge norms. Cantil-Sakauye explains why she wrote a letter to then-U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions calling on U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to stay out of California's courthouses. And she also discusses the impetus behind her decision to change her Republican Party affiliation. For more on the riveting discussion, read "1 on 1: Conversations with Newsmakers."
Next, check out the latest legal moves from across the globe in Movers, compiled by Pearl Wu.
We invite you to share your thoughts with us. Email me at the address below or tweet me at @lhelemNLJ. As always, thanks for reading and stay in touch!
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