The Global 200: The Richest Law Firms In The World (2023)

Law.com International recently published its latest edition of the Global 200, a ranking of the world’s 200 largest law firms by total revenue. How did these firms do in the year that was? As we learned from the most recent Am Law 100 rankings, what goes up must come down, and 2022 wasn’t as much of a banner year for Biglaw firms as the one prior, with revenue up by just 1.2% while while head count grew by an average of 6.1%.

What are we looking at in terms of the big picture?

For some guidance, we merely need to turn to the headline story on Law.com International concerning the rankings: “The Year the Global 200 Law Firms Returned to Earth With a Bump.” Yikes. In fact, one Biglaw leader said of the year-over-year change, “I don’t think there’s ever been a period that has been so hot, and then cooled down so quickly.”

But it’s not all depressing news when it comes to the wealthiest firms in the world. Once again, almost all of the firms at the tippy top of the ranking have the majority of their lawyers in the U.S. These are the top 10 firms of the 2023 Global 200 (ranked by 2022 revenue):

1. Kirkland & Ellis: $6,514,300,000
2. Latham & Watkins: $5,321,007,000
3. DLA Piper: $3,685,205,000
4. Baker McKenzie: $3,300,189,000
5. Dentons: $3,100,000,000
6. Skadden Arps: $3,020,869,000
7. Sidley Austin: $2,922,634,000
8. White & Case: $2,828,000,000
9. Morgan Lewis: $2,745,251,000
10. Gibson Dunn: $2,736,637,000

Check out the full list of the Global 200 firms here.

Congratulations to all the firms that made it through 2022 — a year of slow growth to be sure, but growth nonetheless for the biggest of the world’s Biglaw firms.

The Year the Global 200 Law Firms Returned to Earth With a Bump [Law.com International]
The 2023 Global 200 Ranked by Revenue [Law.com International]

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Staci Zaretsky is a senior editor at Above the Law, where she’s worked since 2011. She’d love to hear from you, so please feel free to email her with any tips, questions, comments, or critiques. You can follow her on Twitter and Threads or connect with her on LinkedIn.