Are you searching for a reputable law firm to work with? There are top law firms in New York that demonstrate their prowess in different practice areas, including securities litigation, private equity, and others. Some of them have offices in many countries worldwide and represent notable clients.
This article will make your search easy by providing you with the top 10 reputable law firms in New York. Here they are:
Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP
Cravath, Swaine, and Moore LLP has existed for about two centuries and has become one of the biggest law firms in the US. It has two offices: one in New York and the other in London, Uk.
Cravath is a leading firm for corporate cases, as it consistently ranks as the best in Vault’s best law firm for corporate practices. Also, the firm is reputable for its work in banking and credit, executive compensation and benefits, litigation, tax, M&A (Mergers and Acquisitions), trusts, real estate, and others.
The firm has about 500 attorneys and nine partners, with Faiza J. Saeed as the president partner. Cravath has many notable clients, which include Meta, Robinhood, Disney, and many others.
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Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz
One of the top law firms in new york is Wachtell. This law firm was established in 1965 by Herbert Wachtell, Martin Lipton, Leonard Rosen, and George Katz. It has a single office in New York and is reputable for handling risky and complex deals.

Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz ranks as the best law firm for handling mergers and acquisitions. It’s also the second most selective law firm, as they constantly turn down ple​be​ian cases.
One of its notable works includes the successful negotiation of the master development agreement for rebuilding the world trade center after September 11, 2001.
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Kirkland & Ellis
Founded in 1909 by Robert McCormick, Kirkland and Ellis is a global law firm popular for its works in private equity, corporate practices, M&A, litigation, intellectual property, and restructuring. The firm has many offices in many cities around the world, with about 3,000 attorneys scattered across the offices.
The firm ranks the best in private equity according to vault’s private equity ranking. Kirkland & Ellis has many notable clients, such as General Motors, Intel, Nike, Oaktree Capital, Vista, and others. Kirkland is also a go-to firm in bankruptcy and restructuring cases, as it’s best-rated in the field by Vaults.
Latham & Watkins
Latham and Watkins were founded in 1934 by Dana Lathams and Paul Watkins. It’s one of the largest law firms in the world, with about 31 offices and 3000 lawyers across its offices.
According to Vault’s ranking, it’s one of the best-rated law firms in antitrust, securities and capital market, environmental law, clean tech and renewable energy, and project finance. Also, the Human Right Campaign has named Latham and Watkins as one of the top law firms for LGBTQ equality.
The firm has many companies in its client list, including Airbnb, the University of Texas, Intuit, Civil rights groups, and many others.
Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP
Founded in 1884, Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP is an elite law firm with a reputable focus on banking, financial services, and private equity. It has about 10 offices in major cities worldwide, including New York, Beijing, London, Washington, DC, and others.
According to the Vault, Simpson Thatcher is also popular in its litigation prowess as it ranks among the top ten security litigation firms. The firm has about 1000 attorneys and is one of the best-rated elite law firms in the world.
The firm has many businesses and corporations on its client list, including Microsoft, Blackstone, Bank of America, Merill Lynch, The Carlyle Group, and many others.
Skadden
Founded by John Slate in 1948, Skadden has grown to be one of the top law firms in New York. It ranks as the 14 largest law firm in the US according to NLJ (National Law Journal) 2022. It has over 1700 lawyers serving across its 22 offices in major cities around the globe. The law firm has reputable prowess in securities litigation, tax laws, and M&A.
Skadden emerged as the best law firm in Vaults’s security litigation ranking and was the first law firm to handle over $1trillion M&A mega transactions in 2015 successfully. The firm currently has about 19 partners, with Eric J. Friedman as the Chief Executive partner.
Among many notable companies on the firm’s clients list are WL Ross & Co, Veritas Capital, OceanSound Partners, Fortress Investment Group, HgCapital, OMERS, and many others.
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Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP
Founded in 1849 by Francis Bangs, Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP is an elite global law firm headquartered in New York City. The firm has popular practice areas in tax, securities, antitrust, environmental law, civil litigation, white-collar criminal cases, intellectual property, and real estate law.

The firm has about 10 offices in big cities such as Hong Kong, London, Paris, Tokyo, Madrid, Beijing, and others. Spread across these offices are about 1000 attorneys. As of 2021, David Polk had 9 partners, with Neil Barr as the Managing partner.
Sullivan & Cromwell LLP
Sullivan & Cromwell is an American international law firm established in 1879 by William Cromwell and Algernon Sullivan. The firm is popular for high-profile handling works in securities litigation, M&A, white-collar defense practices, government investigation, and banking and financial services.
It has over 875 attorneys working in 13 offices located in major cities around the globe. Notable clients include Merill Lynch, Adelphia Communications Corp, Goldman, Sachs & Co, Eastman Kodak Co, and many others.
Debevoise & Plimpton LLP
Debevoise & Plimpton LLP has also grown to be one of the top law firms in New York. It is an international law firm founded by Eli Whitney Debevoise and William Stevenson in 1931.
This elite law firm has its headquarters in New York and is rated as one of the best law firms for international practices, internal investigation, and white-collar defense.
Debevoise has practice areas in M&A, private equity, insurance, and financial service transactions. It has about 6 international offices and 3 offices within the US with over 1000 attorneys.
The firm has many businesses, companies, and corporations on its client list. They include Rolls Royce PLC, The Ohio State University, Twitter, American Express, Toyota Motor Corp., spaced, and many others.
Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP
This American multinational firm was established in 1875 and had nine offices, including 5 international offices in big cities worldwide.
With over 1000 attorneys serving within the firm, Paul Weiss has emerged as the second-best law firm for white-collar defense and internal investigation, according to Vaults ranking. It has also won commercial litigation firm of the year according to Chambers ranking, 2022.
Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP has many clients, including Qualcomm, Sony, HP, Citigroup, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Tao Group, Weight Watchers, and many others.
If you live in New York, USA and you’re looking for a law firm to defend you, do well to check out any of these law firms. Rest assured you’ll be glad you did.