Summary: View the 2016 U.S. News – Best Lawyers “Best Law Firms” awards and a brief summary of each law firm.
Admiralty & Maritime Law, Native American Law – Holland & Knight was established nearly 50 years ago and has nearly 1000 attorneys in over 20 offices.
Advertising Law – Reed Smith was established nearly 150 years ago. They have over 800 attorneys and 23 offices.
Antitrust Law, Appellate Practice – Gibson Dunn, a leading international law firm has around 20 offices and over 1050 attorneys.
Banking and Finance Law, Commercial Litigation – Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom has around 1000 attorneys in over 20 offices that serve clients in over 40 areas of practice.
Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights / Insolvency and Reorganization Law, Litigation – Antitrust – Jones Day prides itself on not being an LLP or LLC law firm. They have over 30 offices and nearly 1500 attorneys.
Biotechnology Law, Leveraged Buyouts and Private Equity Law – Ropes & Gray has strategically placed their offices in key international cities. They have nearly 1,200 attorneys.
Communications Law, Litigation – First Amendment – Davis Wright Tremaine has grown substantially in the last 20 years to have over 500 attorneys serving clients in a range of areas of practice.
Construction Law – Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman, a full service international firm, which counsels clients on litigation, corporate, and global regulatory matters.
Copyright Law – Thompson Coburn is a relatively new firm, founded in 1996, that has 370 attorneys in 5 offices that serve clients in 50 practice areas.
Corporate Law – Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison is an 800 attorney strong firm that has an unwavering dedication to pro bono and other efforts to help those in need.
Derivatives and Futures Law – Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft is one of the oldest law firms in the country and is the oldest continuing Wall Street law practice. They have over 1,200 attorneys, with a strong hold in the New York office.
Employee Benefits (ERISA) Law, Litigation – Environmental – Morgan, Lewis & Bockius was founded in Philadelphia with their longest running client being the United Gas Improvement Company. They have over 1,400 lawyers that work from 26 offices worldwide.
Employment Law – Management – Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart focuses on the employers, of all sizes and industries, and their labor and employment matters.
Energy Law – Vinson & Elkins provides clients with innovative business solutions. The firm was founded in Houston and now has over 700 attorneys and 16 offices.
Entertainment Law – Motion Pictures & Television – Loeb & Loeb was founded in Los Angeles over 100 years ago. They started out playing a major role in the entertainment industry and still do.
Entertainment Law – Music – Manatt, Phelps & Phillips offers their clients a wide range of services from their seven offices. The firm emphasizes diversity and has been awarded for their efforts by American Lawyer.
Environmental Law – Greenberg Traurig is based in Miami with around 1800 attorneys and 35 offices throughout the world. They are an international full-service law firm with strengths in corporate, entertainment, litigation, and real estate.
Equipment Finance Law, International Arbitration – Commercial – White & Case is a global law firm that works closely with well-established banks and businesses in addition to startups, governments, and state-owned entities.
FDA Law – King & Spalding works with half of the Fortune Global 100 companies. They have over 800 attorneys in 17 offices across the globe.
Financial Services Regulation Law – Covington & Burling has over 400 attorneys in over 10 offices, with their Washington D.C. office being the largest.
Franchise Law – DLA Piper is a global law firm and is one of the largest in the world with over 4,200 attorneys on almost every continent.
Health Care Law – Nixon Peabody has nearly 900 attorneys in 17 offices that work with clients in a variety of practice areas.
Immigration Law – Maggio Kattar Nahajzer + Alexander are immigration, naturalization, and citizenship experts.
Information Technology Law, Securitization and Structured Finance Law – Mayer Brown is one of the largest law firms by number of lawyers and revenue in the world with around 1,800 attorneys.
Insurance Law – Locke Lord is a full-service international law firm with a strong reputation in transactional, regulatory, and complex litigation.
International Arbitration – Governmental – Hughes Hubbard & Reed has nearly 400 attorneys in around 10 offices that provides service to clients in a variety of areas.
International Trade and Finance Law – Sullivan & Cromwell has over 130 years of experience and strives to remain a leader in their core practice areas and geographic markets.
Labor Law – Management – Fisher & Phillips’ largest office is in Atlanta and they have over 330 attorneys in 31 offices.
Land Use & Zoning Law, Venture Capital Law – Latham & Watkins is another large firm with nearly 2,000 attorneys and over 30 offices throughout the world.
Litigation – Banking & Finance – McGuireWoods has over 1,000 attorneys in 21 offices. Their attorneys are able to speak over 35 languages.
Litigation – Bankruptcy – Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld was founded over 60 years ago. They have developed into a firm with over 900 attorneys and 21 offices.
Litigation – Construction – Peckar & Abramson is known for their leadership and innovation when it comes to construction law.
Litigation – ERISA – Alston & Bird is a national AmLaw 50 firm with nearly 10 offices and over 800 attorneys.
Litigation – Intellectual Property, Patent Law – Fish & Richardson prides itself on winning cases worth billions, often by making new laws for their clients.
Litigation – Labor & Employment – Littler Mendelson is the largest global employment and labor law practice with over 1,000 attorneys and 60 offices.
Litigation – Mergers & Acquisitions – Cravath, Swaine & Moore does not want to be the biggest law firm. Instead, they want to be the firm of choice for clients.
Litigation – Patent – Kirkland & Ellis has been around for over 100 years, providing service in complex litigation, intellectual property, corporate and tax, counseling, and restructuring matters.
Litigation – Real Estate – Katten Muchin Rosenman started out with 24 attorneys and now has over 650 and 11 offices, including London and Shanghai.
Litigation – Regulatory Enforcement (SEC, Telecom, Energy), Private Funds / Hedge Funds Law – Sidley Austin is a global law firm with over 1,700 lawyers in 18 offices worldwide.
Litigation – Securities, Tax – Morrison & Foerster is a leader throughout the world in providing cutting-edge legal advice to clients.
Mass Tort Litigation /Class Actions – Defendants – Winston & Strawn has over 1,000 attorneys in 15 offices across the globe. They are considered one of the 50 best law firms in the U.S.
Mass Tort Litigation / Class Actions – Plaintiffs – Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein has around 60 attorneys in four offices that only represent plaintiffs.
Media Law – Levine Sullivan Koch & Schulz is experienced in libel, privacy, and defamation law.
Mergers & Acquisitions Law – Simpson Thacher & Bartlett is a leading law firm that has over 850 attorneys in ten major cities across the world.
Mining Law – Dinsmore & Shohl was started over 100 years ago and has grown into a firm with over 400 attorneys and ten offices.
Mutual Funds Law – Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr is headquartered just feet away from the White House. They have over 1,000 attorneys in offices around the world.
Natural Resources Law – Baker Botts started out representing cotton merchants, brokers, and railroads and has grown into a full-service international firm with over 170 years of experience.
Oil & Gas Law – Liskow & Lewis has three offices and over 140 attorneys as they focus on energy and oil and gas industries.
Project Finance Law – Chadbourne & Parke is ruled by a five-partner committee that is elected by the partnership. Their largest office is in New York City and they have around 400 attorneys in 11 other offices.
Public Finance Law – Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe focuses on the technology, energy, and financial sectors in their 25 offices.
Railroad Law – Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz has grown to have nearly 20 offices and 550 attorneys.
Real Estate Law – Ballard Spahr started out in the 1800’s as two guys and has grown to have nearly 500 attorneys and 14 offices.
Securities / Capital Markets Law, Technology Law – Cooley specializes in transformative deals, complex IP and regulatory matters, and high-stakes litigation with their 850 attorneys and 12 offices.
Securities Regulation – K&L Gates is a large firm with over 2,000 attorneys on all five continents.
Sports Law – Weil, Gotshal & Manges specializes in corporate, litigation, business finance and restructuring, pro bono, and tax services.
Tax Law – McDermott Will & Emery has a diverse business practice with over 1,100 attorneys on multiple continents.
Timber Law, Trademark Law – Perkins Coie works with companies from startups to Fortune 50’s, with many awards and recognitions for their excellence.
Transportation Law – Benesch, Friedlander, Coplan & Aronoff is a business law firm with seven offices across the globe. They work hard at knowing their clients on a personal level.
Trusts & Estates Law – Baker & Hostetler works with clients all over the world. They have over 900 attorneys to serve their clients.
Source: http://bestlawfirms.usnews.com/lfoty.aspx
Photo: avca.org