Skip to main content

Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP vs. Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz

Category by category. Sources: Vault 2027, Am Law 200 FY2025, and reported Chambers records from the years shown.

+ Add firm

Who Wins Each Category

Each row stands on its own. There is no overall winner; weigh what matters to you.

CategoryCravathWachtell
Higher pay winsNot Comparable$225,000$450,000+Estimate with bonus
Higher wins$7.20M$12.15M (wins this category)
Lower rank wins#1 (wins this category)#2
Lower rank wins#50#46 (wins this category)
Higher wins$1.29B$1.39B (wins this category)
More lawyers wins572 (wins this category)272
OfficesMore offices wins4 (wins this category)1
Nationwide, Chambers USA 2026More Band 1 tables wins6 tables (wins this category)3 tables
2L OpensSummer 2028Earlier date winsJan 4, 2027Dec 1, 2026 (wins this category)
1L OpensEarlier date winsNo 1L ProgramNo 1L Program

Sources: Vault 2027 and Am Law 200 FY2025 rankings, Chambers USA 2026, first-year pay as each firm or the market reports it, and program dates from firm career pages on the Job Board. Missing data reads Not Reported and never counts as a loss.

Full Comparison

Swipe sideways to see every firm, or focus the comparison and use the arrow keys.

Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP

Est. 1819

Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP is a mid-size firm of ~572 attorneys, Vault #1 / Am Law #50. Jurisdiction-specific Chambers rankings include Band 1 in Antitrust, Capital Markets: Investment Grade Debt: Issuer Counsel, and Capital Markets: Investment Grade Debt: Manager Counsel.

Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz

Est. 1965

Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz is a ~272-attorney firm, Vault #2 / Am Law #46. Jurisdiction-specific Chambers rankings include Band 1 in Antitrust, Corporate/M&A, and Corporate/M&A: Takeover Defense.

Rankings & prestige
#1
#50
15 records
Vault rank
#2
Am Law rank
#46
Reported Chambers Band 1 records
8 records
Compensation
$225,000
$7.20M
$1.29B
Revenue per lawyer
$2.26M
First-Year Comp
$450,000+
Profits Per Partner
$12.15M
Firm revenue
$1.39B
Revenue per lawyer
$5.09M
Work & scale
Not Reported
7 years
3.3:1
~550
Offices
4
Billable target
Not Reported
Partnership track
Not Reported
US associates per partner
Not Reported
Firm size (rounded to 50)
~250
Offices
1
Summer Program
100%
Class size
143 (year not confirmed)
Rotation
Yes
Offer rate
100%
Class size
32 (2026)
How associates get work
Not Reported
Specific practice area
No
1L and 2L programs
1L program
No 1L summer program
1L applications open
Not Reported
2L applications open
Jan 4, 2027
2L deadline
Not announced
1L program
No 1L summer program
1L applications open
Not Reported
2L applications open
Dec 1, 2026
2L deadline
Not announced
Chambers by practice, market and year

Green marks the stronger for the same practice, market and year. Shared results are listed once. split some top tables.

Shared rankings

Antitrust · New York · 2026Band 1
Corporate/M&A · Nationwide · 2026Band 1 · The Elite
Corporate/M&A · New York · 2026Band 1 · The Elite
Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation · New York · 2026Band 1
Tax · New York · 2026Band 1
Tax: Corporate & Finance · Nationwide · 2026Band 1
Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation · Nationwide · 2026Band 2
Securities: Litigation · Nationwide · 2026Band 2

Rank differences

AntitrustNationwide · 2026
Band 1
Band 3
Litigation: General CommercialNew York · 2026
Band 1 · Elite
Band 2 · Elite
Litigation: SecuritiesNew York · 2026
Band 1
Band 2
Banking & FinanceNationwide · 2026
Band 2
Band 4
Banking & FinanceNew York · 2026
Band 2
Band 4
Bankruptcy/RestructuringNew York · 2026
Band 1 · Highly Regarded
Band 2 · Elite
Litigation: General CommercialNationwide · 2026
Band 2 · Elite
Band 4 · Elite
Litigation: White-Collar Crime & Government InvestigationsNew York · 2026
Band 1 · Highly Regarded
Band 3 · Elite
Corporate Crime & InvestigationsNationwide · 2026
Band 1 · Highly Regarded
Band 5 · Elite

Firm-only and additional rankings remain available on each firm profile so missing coverage is not mistaken for a head-to-head loss.

Data sources: Vault 2027, Am Law 200 FY2025, and reported Chambers records from the years shown. Chambers record counts can span years and reporting coverage varies; missing years or markets are not compared. Current Chambers bands were checked against each firm’s Chambers profile on Sep 26, 2026; where Chambers splits a table, every Elite firm ranks above every Highly Regarded firm. Missing values read “Not Reported”.