Top BigLaw Firms for Commercial Litigation in Washington, DC
Every firm in our directory with a Washington, DC office that Chambers USA 2026 ranks for commercial litigation in District of Columbia, strongest band first. Latham & Watkins LLP leads with Band 1 (The Elite), one of 5 firms in Band 1.
- Ranked firms
- 36
- Band 1 firms
- 5
- Median first-year base
- $225,000
36 ranked firms for commercial litigation in Washington, DC
| # | Firm | Chambers 2026 | First-year base | 2L summer applications |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Latham & Watkins LLP Vault #4 |
| $225,000+ | Nov 1, 2026Deadline Jan 29, 2027 |
| 2 | Kirkland & Ellis LLP Vault #6 |
| $225,000+ | Nov 1, 2026 |
| 3 | Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP Vault #8 |
| $225,000+ | Nov 2, 2026Deadline Feb 5, 2027 |
| 4 | Covington & Burling LLP Vault #12 |
| $225,000 | Not announced (last cycle Dec 1, 2025) |
| 5 | Williams & Connolly LLP Vault #17 |
| $260,000 | Expected late fall 2026 |
| 6 | Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, LLP Vault #14 |
| $235,000+ | See the job board |
| 7 | Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP Vault #25 |
| $225,000+ | Expected early November 2026 |
| 8 | Hogan Lovells Cadwalader Vault #30 |
| $225,000+ | Expected early January 2027 |
| 9 | Kellogg, Hansen, Todd, Figel & Frederick, P.L.L.C. Vault #70 |
| $255,000+ | Not announced |
| 10 | Sidley Austin LLP Vault #11 |
| $225,000+ | Expected early November 2026 |
| 11 | Jones Day Vault #26 |
| $240,000 | Not announced (last cycle Oct 27, 2025) |
| 12 | O'Melveny & Myers LLP Vault #28 |
| $225,000+ | Opened Oct 1Deadline Jan 31, 2027 |
| 13 | Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer LLP Vault #32 |
| $225,000+ | Expected early December 2026 |
| 14 | King & Spalding LLP Vault #36 |
| $225,000+ | Expected early November 2026 |
| 15 | Jenner & Block LLP Vault #43 |
| $225,000+ | Not announced (last cycle Nov 14, 2025) |
| 16 | Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP Vault #3 |
| $225,000+ | Nov 2, 2026 |
| 17 | Sullivan & Cromwell LLP Vault #5 |
| $235,000+ | Not announced (last cycle Nov 1, 2025) |
| 18 | Boies Schiller Flexner LLP Vault #61 |
| $225,000+ | Not announced |
| 19 | Crowell & Moring LLP Vault #65 |
| $215,000 | See the job board |
| 20 | Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP Vault #15 |
| $225,000+ | Not announced |
| 21 | White & Case LLP Vault #18 |
| $225,000+ | Nov 1, 2026 |
| 22 | Cooley LLP Vault #22 |
| $255,000+ | Expected November 2026 |
| 23 | Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP Vault #35 |
| $225,000+ | Expected late November 2026 |
| 24 | Winston Taylor LLP Vault #39 |
| $225,000+ | Expected late October to early November 2026 |
| 25 | DLA Piper LLP (US) Vault #42 |
| $225,000+ | Expected early January 2027 |
| 26 | Mayer Brown LLP Vault #44 |
| $225,000+ | See the job board |
| 27 | Steptoe LLP Vault #79 |
| $225,000+ | Not announced |
| 28 | Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP Vault #40 |
| $225,000+ | Expected early November 2026 |
| 29 | Dechert LLP Vault #51 |
| $225,000 | Expected late October to November 2026 |
| 30 | Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP Vault #93 |
| $225,000+ | See the job board |
| 31 | Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP Vault #47 |
| $225,000+ | Expected mid-December 2026 |
| 32 | A&O Shearman LLP Vault #56 |
| $225,000+ | See the job board |
| 33 | Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP Vault #60 |
| $225,000+ | Oct 15, 2026 |
| 34 | Dentons US LLP Vault #62 |
| $225,000+ | Not announced |
| 35 | Venable LLP Vault #69 |
| $215,000 | Not announced |
| 36 | ArentFox Schiff LLP Vault #80 |
| $215,000 | Not announced (last cycle Sep 28, 2026) |
Chambers bands from Chambers USA 2026, District of Columbia tables; Band 1 is the strongest, and a “Highly Regarded” band sits below every “Elite” band. Pay is each firm’s first-year base; summer dates come from each firm’s own page via the BigLaw job board. How rankings work
Commercial Litigation in other cities
- Commercial Litigation in New York55 firms
- Commercial Litigation in Los Angeles35 firms
- Commercial Litigation in San Francisco30 firms
- Commercial Litigation in Chicago25 firms
- Commercial Litigation in Silicon Valley24 firms
- Commercial Litigation in Houston19 firms
- Commercial Litigation in Dallas19 firms
- Commercial Litigation in Miami19 firms
- Commercial Litigation in Boston18 firms
- Commercial Litigation in Philadelphia14 firms
- Commercial Litigation in Orange County13 firms
- Commercial Litigation in Atlanta13 firms
Other practices in Washington, DC
- White Collar Defense41 firms
- Antitrust38 firms
- Healthcare29 firms
- Intellectual Property (Patent)29 firms
- Environmental21 firms
- Government Regulatory / Public Policy21 firms
- Tax19 firms
- Real Estate17 firms
- Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation17 firms
- Corporate / M&A15 firms
- Labor & Employment14 firms
- Insurance / Reinsurance13 firms