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Top BigLaw Firms for Commercial Litigation

Document review and fact development, research memos, drafting sections of motions and discovery requests, and preparing materials for depositions. Writing quality gets noticed early. Chambers USA 2026 ranks 76 firms in our directory nationwide for commercial litigation, 5 of them in Band 1. Pick a city for the local tables.

Ranked nationwide
76
Cities with 3+ ranked firms
38

Commercial Litigation by city

Ranked nationwide, Chambers USA 2026

  1. 1.Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLPFirst-year base $225,000+Band 1 (The Elite) · Litigation: General Commercial
  2. 2.Latham & Watkins LLPFirst-year base $225,000+Band 1 (The Elite) · Litigation: General Commercial
  3. 3.Kirkland & Ellis LLPFirst-year base $225,000+Band 1 (The Elite) · Litigation: General Commercial
  4. 4.Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLPFirst-year base $225,000+Band 1 (The Elite) · Litigation: General Commercial
  5. 5.Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, LLPFirst-year base $235,000+Band 1 (The Elite) · Litigation: General Commercial
  6. 6.Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLPFirst-year base $225,000+Band 2 (The Elite) · Litigation: General Commercial
  7. 7.Sullivan & Cromwell LLPFirst-year base $235,000+Band 2 (The Elite) · Litigation: General Commercial
  8. 8.Sidley Austin LLPFirst-year base $225,000+Band 2 (The Elite) · Litigation: General Commercial
  9. 9.Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLPFirst-year base $225,000+Band 2 (The Elite) · Litigation: General Commercial
  10. 10.White & Case LLPFirst-year base $225,000+Band 2 (The Elite) · Litigation: General Commercial
  11. 11.Susman Godfrey LLPFirst-year base $240,000+Band 2 (The Elite) · Litigation: General Commercial
  12. 12.Cooley LLPFirst-year base $255,000+Band 2 (The Elite) · Litigation: General Commercial
  13. 13.Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLPFirst-year base $225,000+Band 2 (The Elite) · Litigation: General Commercial
  14. 14.Jones DayFirst-year base $240,000Band 2 (The Elite) · Litigation: General Commercial
  15. 15.O'Melveny & Myers LLPFirst-year base $225,000+Band 2 (The Elite) · Litigation: General Commercial
  16. 16.King & Spalding LLPFirst-year base $225,000+Band 2 (The Elite) · Litigation: General Commercial
  17. 17.Covington & Burling LLPFirst-year base $225,000Band 3 (The Elite) · Litigation: General Commercial
  18. 18.Williams & Connolly LLPFirst-year base $260,000Band 3 (The Elite) · Litigation: General Commercial
  19. 19.Morrison & Foerster LLPFirst-year base $225,000+Band 3 (The Elite) · Litigation: General Commercial
  20. 20.Hogan Lovells CadwaladerFirst-year base $225,000+Band 3 (The Elite) · Litigation: General Commercial
  21. 21.Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer LLPFirst-year base $225,000+Band 3 (The Elite) · Litigation: General Commercial
  22. 22.Proskauer Rose LLPFirst-year base $225,000+Band 3 (The Elite) · Litigation: General Commercial
  23. 23.Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLPFirst-year base $225,000+Band 3 (The Elite) · Litigation: General Commercial
  24. 24.DLA Piper LLP (US)First-year base $225,000+Band 3 (The Elite) · Litigation: General Commercial
  25. 25.Jenner & Block LLPFirst-year base $225,000+Band 3 (The Elite) · Litigation: General Commercial
  26. 26.Mayer Brown LLPFirst-year base $225,000+Band 3 (The Elite) · Litigation: General Commercial
  27. 27.Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & KatzFirst-year base $450,000+Band 4 (The Elite) · Litigation: General Commercial
  28. 28.Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLPFirst-year base $225,000+Band 4 (The Elite) · Litigation: General Commercial
  29. 29.Paul Hastings LLPFirst-year base $225,000+Band 4 (The Elite) · Litigation: General Commercial
  30. 30.Munger, Tolles & Olson LLPFirst-year base $225,000+Band 4 (The Elite) · Litigation: General Commercial
  31. 31.Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLPFirst-year base $225,000+Band 4 (The Elite) · Litigation: General Commercial
  32. 32.Winston Taylor LLPFirst-year base $225,000+Band 4 (The Elite) · Litigation: General Commercial
  33. 33.Dechert LLPFirst-year base $225,000Band 4 (The Elite) · Litigation: General Commercial
  34. 34.Greenberg Traurig, LLPFirst-year base Varies by officeBand 4 (The Elite) · Litigation: General Commercial
  35. 35.Boies Schiller Flexner LLPFirst-year base $225,000+Band 4 (The Elite) · Litigation: General Commercial
  36. 36.Crowell & Moring LLPFirst-year base $215,000Band 4 (The Elite) · Litigation: General Commercial
  37. 37.Davis Polk & Wardwell LLPFirst-year base $225,000+Band 5 (The Elite) · Litigation: General Commercial
  38. 38.Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLPFirst-year base $225,000+Band 5 (The Elite) · Litigation: General Commercial
  39. 39.Debevoise & Plimpton LLPFirst-year base $225,000+Band 5 (The Elite) · Litigation: General Commercial
  40. 40.Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLPFirst-year base $225,000+Band 5 (The Elite) · Litigation: General Commercial
  41. 41.Kellogg, Hansen, Todd, Figel & Frederick, P.L.L.C.First-year base $255,000+Band 5 (The Elite) · Litigation: General Commercial
  42. 42.Ropes & Gray LLPFirst-year base $225,000+Band 1 (Highly Regarded) · Litigation: General Commercial
  43. 43.McDermott Will & Schulte LLPFirst-year base $255,000+Band 1 (Highly Regarded) · Litigation: General Commercial
  44. 44.Dentons US LLPFirst-year base $225,000+Band 1 (Highly Regarded) · Litigation: General Commercial
  45. 45.Venable LLPFirst-year base $215,000Band 1 (Highly Regarded) · Litigation: General Commercial
  46. 46.Steptoe LLPFirst-year base $225,000+Band 1 (Highly Regarded) · Litigation: General Commercial
  47. 47.Milbank LLPFirst-year base $235,000+Band 2 (Highly Regarded) · Litigation: General Commercial
  48. 48.Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLPFirst-year base $225,000+Band 2 (Highly Regarded) · Litigation: General Commercial
  49. 49.A&O Shearman LLPFirst-year base $225,000+Band 2 (Highly Regarded) · Litigation: General Commercial
  50. 50.Cahill Gordon & Reindel LLPFirst-year base $225,000+Band 2 (Highly Regarded) · Litigation: General Commercial
  51. 51.Hunton Andrews Kurth LLPFirst-year base $225,000+Band 2 (Highly Regarded) · Litigation: General Commercial
  52. 52.Shook, Hardy & Bacon L.L.P.Band 2 (Highly Regarded) · Litigation: General Commercial
  53. 53.Ashurst Perkins Coie LLPFirst-year base $255,000+Band 3 (Highly Regarded) · Litigation: General Commercial
  54. 54.Goodwin Procter LLPFirst-year base $255,000+Band 3 (Highly Regarded) · Litigation: General Commercial
  55. 55.Baker McKenzie LLPFirst-year base $225,000+Band 3 (Highly Regarded) · Litigation: General Commercial
  56. 56.Holland & Knight LLPFirst-year base $225,000+Band 3 (Highly Regarded) · Litigation: General Commercial
  57. 57.Alston & Bird LLPFirst-year base $225,000+Band 3 (Highly Regarded) · Litigation: General Commercial
  58. 58.Reed Smith LLPFirst-year base $225,000+Band 3 (Highly Regarded) · Litigation: General Commercial
  59. 59.Baker & Hostetler LLPFirst-year base $215,000Band 3 (Highly Regarded) · Litigation: General Commercial
  60. 60.Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLPFirst-year base $225,000+Band 3 (Highly Regarded) · Litigation: General Commercial
  61. 61.Troutman Pepper Locke LLPFirst-year base $235,000+Band 3 (Highly Regarded) · Litigation: General Commercial
  62. 62.Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLPFirst-year base $225,000Band 3 (Highly Regarded) · Litigation: General Commercial
  63. 63.K&L Gates LLPFirst-year base $225,000+Band 4 (Highly Regarded) · Litigation: General Commercial
  64. 64.Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLPFirst-year base $225,000+Band 4 (Highly Regarded) · Litigation: General Commercial
  65. 65.Davis Wright Tremaine LLPFirst-year base $225,000+Band 4 (Highly Regarded) · Litigation: General Commercial
  66. 66.Ballard Spahr LLPFirst-year base $225,000Band 4 (Highly Regarded) · Litigation: General Commercial
  67. 67.Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLPBand 4 (Highly Regarded) · Litigation: General Commercial
  68. 68.Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLPBand 4 (Highly Regarded) · Litigation: General Commercial
  69. 69.Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLPFirst-year base $225,000+Band 5 (Highly Regarded) · Litigation: General Commercial
  70. 70.McGuireWoods LLPFirst-year base $215,000Band 5 (Highly Regarded) · Litigation: General Commercial
  71. 71.Fox Rothschild LLPFirst-year base $205,000Band 5 (Highly Regarded) · Litigation: General Commercial
  72. 72.Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo, P.C.First-year base $225,000+Band 5 (Highly Regarded) · Litigation: General Commercial
  73. 73.Cozen O'Connor P.C.First-year base $180,000 - $215,000Band 5 (Highly Regarded) · Litigation: General Commercial
  74. 74.Duane Morris LLPFirst-year base $215,000Band 5 (Highly Regarded) · Litigation: General Commercial
  75. 75.Husch Blackwell LLPFirst-year base $200,000Band 5 (Highly Regarded) · Litigation: General Commercial
  76. 76.Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner LLPFirst-year base $200,000Band 5 (Highly Regarded) · Litigation: General Commercial

Is commercial litigation a fit?

Who tends to thrive

  • Strong writers who like building an argument from a messy record
  • People energized by an opponent and a strategy question
  • Those comfortable with long timelines and open-ended problems

What a 1L can do this year

  • Treat Legal Writing as the class that matters most; ask your instructor for extra feedback
  • Do moot court or a mock trial program to see if advocacy energizes you
  • Read a few federal complaints and motions to dismiss on a case you find interesting
Not sure this practice fits? Take the quiz Filter the directory by commercial litigation

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