Before the coronavirus pandemic triggered high unemployment, many law firms were rapidly increasing their New York ranks, adding legions of lawyers in the state.

This year’s New York Law Journal 100 captures a great expansion in big firm offices, right before scores of firms took austerity measures. The 2019 expansion likely reflects the highly prosperous years enjoyed by the legal industry leading up to the coronavirus crisis. The growth may also help explain why some firms could not afford to delay cutting pay or laying off employees at the start of the 2020 recession.