Unveiling the 2012 Vault Law 100!

Unveiling the 2012 Vault Law 100! Unveiling the 2012 Vault Law 100! Associates have spoken, and their voices are loud and clear: its not about size, its not about number of offices, and its certainly not about a fancy websiteits all about Wachtell.In its ninth year on top, Wachtell has kept its title as the King of law firm prestige: the firm has once again clinched the No. 1 spot on the Vault Law 100. Released today, Vaults annual law firm prestige rankings are based on responses from thousandsapproximately 16,000of law firm associates across the globe. This year, didnt bring any surprises at the top of the rankings, as the trifecta of Wachtell, Cravath and Sullivan Cromwell maintained the top spots as the three most prestigious firms. Rounding out the top ten is a familiar bunch:1. Wachtell Lipton Rosen Katz 2. Cravath, Swaine Moore 3. Sullivan Cromwell 4. Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher Flom 5. Davis Polk Wardwell 6. Simpson Thacher Bartlett 7. Weil, Gotshal Manges 8. Cleary Gottlieb Steen Hamilton 9. Kirklan d Ellis 10. Covington Burling.In fact, the only differences in this years top ten as compared to last year are Clearys jump from No. 9 to No. 8 and the exit of Williams Connolly, whose spot was grasped by Kirkland Ellisa firm that has returned to the top ten after dropping out in last years rankings.Turning to the bottom 90, below are some of the noteworthy trends from this years rankings:Whats in a Name?Two of the biggest drops in this years Vault Law 100 came from Hogan Lovells and SNR Denton. The firms underwent transatlantic mergers in 2010, resulting in name changes for both. Hogan Hartsonranked 28 last yearmerged with Lovellsranked 77 last yearto create Hogan Lovells, while Sonnenschein Nath Rosenthalranked 64 last yearmerged with Denton Wilde Sapte to create SNR Denton. From the perspective of Hogan Lovells Hogan contingent, the firm dropped more than 20 spots and out of the Top 50, moving to No. 51. Likewise, SNR Denton plummeted in the rankings, dropping out of the top 100 altogether.Did these firms name changes impact their rankings? Firm branding has been front-and-center recently with a growing number of mergers and the trend toward one-name monikers, bringing even more focus to firms images. Vault will obviously be keeping an eager eye out for how these firms are perceived in the 2013 rankings once they settle into their new identities a bit more.Recession RallyLatham may have fallen from grace when it dropped out of the top 10 to No. 17 in 2010. But the firm is continuing to put its recession woes behind and rebuild its reputation. Last year, the firm moved up to No. 15, and this year, the firm nestled in at No. 11, a comfortable spot to peer into the top 10 and plot a potential breakthrough in the 2013 rankings. Following the same trend is Cadwalader, which moved up 11 spots this year from 44 to 33 after having dropped from 26 to 60 a few years ago. Like Latham, Cadwalader looks ready to pounce back on its old ranking. Time will tell whe ther associates will put recessionary layoffs aside and reinstate these firms to their past prestige.Litigation LeapersProving that their recent success in the rankings stems from more than just luck, litigation-focused firms Quinn Emanuel and Boies Schiller continued their impressive scrambles up the Vault Law 100 this year. Quinn, which jumped from No. 43 in 2010 to No. 19 in 2011 landed at No. 16 this year, while Boies shimmied into the top 20, settling in at No. 17 from its spot at 23 last year. With the recent rise in litigation-focused firms creating interesting career path options for fledgling attorneys, these firms seem to be getting their share of the spotlight. See what a casual dress code or Cravath pedigree can do?Big MovesWhile small shifts are customary and expected, several firms caught associates attention this year, making some significant jumps in the rankings. Cahill plowed its way into the top 50, moving from 65 to 48. Two other firms to join the top 50 this yea r are DLA Piper, which moved from 53 to 45 and Bingham McCutchen, which took its place at No. 49 from 56. Other big shifts include: Dewey LeBoeufs moving 10 spots from 47 to 37, Dickstein Shapiros 17-spot leap from 97 to 80, Blank Romes move from 92 to 81, and Bracewell Giulianis jump from 93 to 83.Hello GoodbyeSeveral firms that didnt make the cut last year broke into the Top 100 this year, joining the club of the most prestigious law firms, including:Drinker Biddle at 95 Pepper Hamilton at 96 Littler Mendelson at 97 Kelley Drye at 99 Foley Hoag at 100But the Top 100 also bid adieu to a few firms. In addition to SNR Denton, Fenwick West also exited the Top 100.Looking for more rankings action? Dont worryVault will be satisfying your craving for weeks to come, with a staggered release of our rankings on Diversity, Top Law Firms by Region, Best Firms to Work for and more. Well also be staggering the release of our firm profiles, providing new, juicy insider tidbits each week (wat ch out for those releases on our twitter stream: @VaultLaw).2012 Vault Law 100Read More:2011 Vault Law 100: The Vault Law 100 is here! CONNECT WITH VAULT LAW ON TWITTER! @VaultLaw