Life as a DC lawyer may be tough right now due to the whims and fancies of the current administration, but for many lawyers, Washington is the place to be if they want to do work related to the government, be it litigation, transactional, or even lobbying. But which firms are considered the best in the nation’s capital?
Thanks to Vault’s recently released regional rankings, we now know which Biglaw firms are dominating the legal scene in DC. This ranking is based on votes tabulated from associates who were asked to rate firms on a 1 to 10 scale based on their prestige within the region.
Here are the top 10 most prestigious firms in Washington, DC (you can see the full list from Vault by clicking here):
- Covington & Burling
- Williams & Connolly
- Latham & Watkins
- Skadden (replacing Gibson Dunn)
- Gibson Dunn (replacing Skadden)
- Kirkland & Ellis
- Sidley (replacing Hogan Lovells)
- Hogan Lovells (replacing Sidley)
- Paul, Weiss (replacing WilmerHale)
- Arnold & Porter
Congrats to all of the Biglaw firms that made the latest edition of Vault’s Washington, DC rankings. How did your firm do this time? Email us(Opens in a new window), text us at (646) 820-8477(Opens in a new window), or tweet us @atlblog(Opens in a new window) to let us know how you feel.
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 Bluesky, X/Twitter, and Threads, or connect with her on LinkedIn.
The post The Top Biglaw Firms In Washington, DC (2026) appeared first on Above the Law.
Life as a DC lawyer may be tough right now due to the whims and fancies of the current administration, but for many lawyers, Washington is the place to be if they want to do work related to the government, be it litigation, transactional, or even lobbying. But which firms are considered the best in the nation’s capital?
Thanks to Vault’s recently released regional rankings, we now know which Biglaw firms are dominating the legal scene in DC. This ranking is based on votes tabulated from associates who were asked to rate firms on a 1 to 10 scale based on their prestige within the region.
Here are the top 10 most prestigious firms in Washington, DC (you can see the full list from Vault by clicking here):
- Covington & Burling
- Williams & Connolly
- Latham & Watkins
- Skadden (replacing Gibson Dunn)
- Gibson Dunn (replacing Skadden)
- Kirkland & Ellis
- Sidley (replacing Hogan Lovells)
- Hogan Lovells (replacing Sidley)
- Paul, Weiss (replacing WilmerHale)
- Arnold & Porter
Congrats to all of the Biglaw firms that made the latest edition of Vault’s Washington, DC rankings. How did your firm do this time? Email us(Opens in a new window), text us at (646) 820-8477(Opens in a new window), or tweet us @atlblog(Opens in a new window) to let us know how you feel.
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 Bluesky, X/Twitter, and Threads, or connect with her on LinkedIn.
The post The Top Biglaw Firms In Washington, DC (2026) appeared first on Above the Law.
