Summary: Vault’s latest associate survey examining law firm culture put O’Melveny & Myers at the top.
Law firms are typically known as a place of work that expects 80 hours a week from their attorneys and demand work free of any errors. While this is true at many law firms, there are a number of law firms that foster a better work experience for their employees. Vault put together a list of the top firms to work for, topping that list was O’Melveny & Myers.
In the annual survey of around 20,000 associates, they are asked to rate peer firms and their own experiences. The survey questions cover things like satisfaction firm culture, compensation, hours, mentoring and informal training.
Coming in at No. 2 on the list was Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson. Behind them was global law firm Clifford Chance in third, Paul Hastings in fourth, White & Case in fifth, and Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe in sixth.
The associates described O’Melveny as “laid back” and having “super interesting work.” O’Melveny chair Bradley J. Butwin said the results “reflect an ongoing collaboration among our leadership, talent team, and lawyers to enhance the associate and counsel experience at O’Melveny.”
Vault senior law editor Matt Moody noted, “Prestige and compensation will always be important for law firms, but a stellar work environment is becoming non-negotiable for many attorneys.”
Moody said there was a shift in associate views this year, placing O’Melveny at the top of six categories, including firm culture and hours, quality of work, transparency, associate/partner relations, satisfaction, and informal training and mentoring.
The No. 1 firm for compensation remained Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz.
No. 1 in business outlook was Kirkland & Ellis.
No. 1 for career outlook was Thompson & Knight.
No. 1 for selectivity was Williams & Connolly.
No. 1 for pro bono was Jenner & Block.
Do any of the results surprise you? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below.
To learn more about past Vault survey results, read these articles:
- Wachtell Stays on Top of Vault Rankings for an Even Dozen
- Vault Ranks Law Firms with Best Quality of Life for 2018
- Cravath Named Most Prestigious Law Firm by Vault
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