The NLJ 500: Our 2020 Survey of the Nation's Largest Law Firms
Welcome to The NLJ 500, our annual survey of law firm headcounts across the country.
June 23, 2020 at 08:57 AM
3 minute read
In the 2020 NLJ 500, the number of lawyers working at the country's largest 500 U.S.-centric law firms in 2019 increased by 2.5% to 173,694, matching the same percentage growth seen in 2018. As for average firm size, it rose by eight lawyers last year to 347 over the year prior. And 80% of the top 10 firms on the NLJ 500 saw growth in 2019, the same percentage as 2018.
But that was all before the COVID-19 pandemic. As one legal industry observer noted, the crisis could serve to separate the firms that are "strong enough to ride it out" from the others. And it could also derail or delay firm expansion plans, David Thomas reports.
That said, there's still cause for celebration. For the first time, our Women in Law Scorecard, which explores firm success on gender diversity overall, illustrates how the top 25 firms on that list fare with minority women lawyers and partners. Samantha Stokes reports and I share some data analysis. Plus, for the scoop on which firms made the biggest moves up the NLJ 500 and scored the biggest head count gains, Patrick Smith and Dan Packel have you covered. For this and more, read on. –Lisa Helem, Editor-in-Chief
The NLJ 500: Steady Growth, But What's Ahead? Head count jumped by 2.5% at the nation's largest firms in 2019. But that was before the pandemic.
The NLJ 500 Chart: Top Growth and Loss These firms grew or shrunk the most by headcount or percentage during 2019.
The NLJ 500: Main Chart 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.
The NLJ 500: Where Women Are Winning Berry Appleman & Leiden claims the No. 1 spot on the Women in Law Scorecard, as other firms earn dividends on their diversity investments.
The NLJ 500: The Women in Law Scorecard 2020 The Women's Scorecard is produced as part of the annual NLJ 500 firm head count report.
The NLJ 500: Four Law Firms to Note McLaughlin & Stern is the top-ranked new entrant in the 2020 NLJ 500.
The NLJ 500: Top Five Cities of 2020 Check out this year's leading cities.
The NLJ 500: Ranking the States Take a look at this year's top-ranking states.
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Who Got The Work
Michael G. Bongiorno, Andrew Scott Dulberg and Elizabeth E. Driscoll from Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr have stepped in to represent Symbotic Inc., an A.I.-enabled technology platform that focuses on increasing supply chain efficiency, and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The case, filed Oct. 2 in Massachusetts District Court by the Brown Law Firm on behalf of Stephen Austen, accuses certain officers and directors of misleading investors in regard to Symbotic's potential for margin growth by failing to disclose that the company was not equipped to timely deploy its systems or manage expenses through project delays. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton, is 1:24-cv-12522, Austen v. Cohen et al.
Who Got The Work
Edmund Polubinski and Marie Killmond of Davis Polk & Wardwell have entered appearances for data platform software development company MongoDB and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The action, filed Oct. 7 in New York Southern District Court by the Brown Law Firm, accuses the company's directors and/or officers of falsely expressing confidence in the company’s restructuring of its sales incentive plan and downplaying the severity of decreases in its upfront commitments. The case is 1:24-cv-07594, Roy v. Ittycheria et al.
Who Got The Work
Amy O. Bruchs and Kurt F. Ellison of Michael Best & Friedrich have entered appearances for Epic Systems Corp. in a pending employment discrimination lawsuit. The suit was filed Sept. 7 in Wisconsin Western District Court by Levine Eisberner LLC and Siri & Glimstad on behalf of a project manager who claims that he was wrongfully terminated after applying for a religious exemption to the defendant's COVID-19 vaccine mandate. The case, assigned to U.S. Magistrate Judge Anita Marie Boor, is 3:24-cv-00630, Secker, Nathan v. Epic Systems Corporation.
Who Got The Work
David X. Sullivan, Thomas J. Finn and Gregory A. Hall from McCarter & English have entered appearances for Sunrun Installation Services in a pending civil rights lawsuit. The complaint was filed Sept. 4 in Connecticut District Court by attorney Robert M. Berke on behalf of former employee George Edward Steins, who was arrested and charged with employing an unregistered home improvement salesperson. The complaint alleges that had Sunrun informed the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection that the plaintiff's employment had ended in 2017 and that he no longer held Sunrun's home improvement contractor license, he would not have been hit with charges, which were dismissed in May 2024. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer, is 3:24-cv-01423, Steins v. Sunrun, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Greenberg Traurig shareholder Joshua L. Raskin has entered an appearance for boohoo.com UK Ltd. in a pending patent infringement lawsuit. The suit, filed Sept. 3 in Texas Eastern District Court by Rozier Hardt McDonough on behalf of Alto Dynamics, asserts five patents related to an online shopping platform. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap, is 2:24-cv-00719, Alto Dynamics, LLC v. boohoo.com UK Limited.
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