NLJ 250 Annual Ranking Shows Headcount Declining

A large part of this year's decline was in the associate ranks, which decreased by nearly 1,000 lawyers.

Overall, the decline in headcount was much smaller this year than last. NLJ 250 firms employed 126,299 lawyers in 2010, compared with 127,701 in 2009. To put these numbers in perspective, the decrease of 1,402 is equal to a firm about the size of Kirkland & Ellis. In 2009, the number of attorneys lost was 5,259, or about four firms the size of Kirkland & Ellis.


The NLJ 250 ranking was based on the average number of full-time equivalent attorneys for the calendar year 2010, with a projection to Dec. 31. Firms included had their principal or largest office in the United States, but totals include attorneys in foreign offices.

At the top of the list was Baker & McKenzie, with 3,774 attorneys, 175 fewer than last year. Except for 2007 and 2008, when DLA Piper took the No. 1 position, Baker & McKenzie has held the top spot since the survey began in 1978. The smallest firm on the NLJ 250 this year is Broad and Cassel , with 160 lawyers.

136 firms saw a decrease in headcount, or more than half of the firms surveyed. The firms with the biggest drops were at the top of the survey. Of the 50 largest firms, 34 had headcount decline, and four of them had a drop of more than 100 lawyers: Baker & McKenzie dropped by 175, White & Case by 198; Latham & Watkins by 147, and Morgan, Lewis & Bockius, by 109.

Many firms experienced percentage losses well into the double digits. The law firms with the greatest declines were Butzel Long and Fish & Richardson, both with a 17.7% drop. Other firms with big losses were Howrey, by 12.7%; Irell & Manella, by 12.5%; and Adorno & Yoss (now Yoss LLP), by 12.4%.

On the other side of the coin, nine firms had headcounts that rose by more than 10%. Ropes & Gray, the only such firm in the top 20, shot up by 21.6%, for the biggest percentage increase among all firms. Associates returning from fellowships and steady lateral recruiting accounted for the increase. Other firms that gained were Baker Hostetler, which rose by 12.6%, and Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, which rose by 10.9%.

New to the top 10 this year was Hogan Lovells , in the number 4 position, created by the Sept. 30 merger of Hogan & Hartson and London-based Lovells. Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton came in at No. 16.

Once again, associates felt the lion's share of the losses. Totals for those attorneys declined by 1.5%. The number of associates working at NLJ 250 firms was 60,782. Associates made up 47% of all attorneys. Law firms brought aboard 5,335 new associates, a number that included deferrals from previous years. The number of law firms that reported hiring first-year associates was 203. The average number of women associates fell by 2, to 110.

The number of partners increased, marginally, again in 2010, this time by 0.6%. Last year, the number of partners rose by 0.9%. The average number of partners at all NLJ 250 firms was 215. In the top 50, the average was 436 and in the top 10 it was 823. The average number of women partners stayed the same, at 41.