Top BigLaw Firms for Corporate / M&A in Houston
Every firm in our directory with a Houston office that Chambers USA 2026 ranks for corporate and M&A in Texas, strongest band first. Latham & Watkins LLP leads with Band 1 (The Elite), one of 3 firms in Band 1.
- Ranked firms
- 30
- Band 1 firms
- 3
- Median first-year base
- $225,000
30 ranked firms for corporate and M&A in Houston
| # | 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 | Vinson & Elkins LLP Vault #53 |
| $225,000+ | Nov 1, 2026 |
| 4 | Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP Vault #8 |
| $225,000+ | Nov 2, 2026Deadline Feb 5, 2027 |
| 5 | Sidley Austin LLP Vault #11 |
| $225,000+ | Expected early November 2026 |
| 6 | Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP Vault #15 |
| $225,000+ | Not announced |
| 7 | Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP Vault #38 |
| $225,000+ | Oct 15, 2026 |
| 8 | Baker Botts L.L.P. Vault #54 |
| $225,000+ | Not announced |
| 9 | A&O Shearman LLP Vault #56 |
| $225,000+ | See the job board |
| 10 | Holland & Knight LLP Vault #48 |
| $225,000+ | See the job board |
| 11 | Haynes and Boone, LLP Vault #81 |
| $225,000 | Not announced |
| 12 | Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP Vault #93 |
| $225,000+ | See the job board |
| 13 | Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP Vault #3 |
| $225,000+ | Nov 2, 2026 |
| 14 | Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP Vault #10 |
| $225,000+ | Expected fall 2026 |
| 15 | White & Case LLP Vault #18 |
| $225,000+ | Nov 1, 2026 |
| 16 | Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP Vault #35 |
| $225,000+ | Expected late November 2026 |
| 17 | Winston Taylor LLP Vault #39 |
| $225,000+ | Expected late October to early November 2026 |
| 18 | Norton Rose Fulbright US LLP Vault #57 |
| $235,000+ | Not announced |
| 19 | Troutman Pepper Locke LLP Vault #72 |
| $235,000+ | See the job board |
| 20 | Jones Day Vault #26 |
| $240,000 | Not announced (last cycle Oct 27, 2025) |
| 21 | King & Spalding LLP Vault #36 |
| $225,000+ | Expected early November 2026 |
| 22 | Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP Vault #37 |
| $225,000+ | Nov 2, 2026 |
| 23 | Dechert LLP Vault #51 |
| $225,000 | Expected late October to November 2026 |
| 24 | Greenberg Traurig, LLP Vault #55 |
| Varies by office | Not announced |
| 25 | Baker & Hostetler LLP Vault #63 |
| $215,000 | Opened Sep 15Deadline Jan 15, 2027 |
| 26 | Mayer Brown LLP Vault #44 |
| $225,000+ | See the job board |
| 27 | McDermott Will & Schulte LLP Vault #46 |
| $255,000+ | See the job board |
| 28 | Reed Smith LLP Vault #59 |
| $225,000+ | Jan 4, 2027 |
| 29 | McGuireWoods LLP Vault #68 |
| $215,000 | See the job board |
| 30 | Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP |
| Not reported | Not announced |
Chambers bands from Chambers USA 2026, Texas 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
Corporate / M&A in other cities
- Corporate / M&A in New York48 firms
- Corporate / M&A in Dallas26 firms
- Corporate / M&A in Silicon Valley24 firms
- Corporate / M&A in San Francisco22 firms
- Corporate / M&A in Chicago21 firms
- Corporate / M&A in Austin17 firms
- Corporate / M&A in Washington, DC15 firms
- Corporate / M&A in Atlanta14 firms
- Corporate / M&A in Philadelphia13 firms
- Corporate / M&A in Boston13 firms
- Corporate / M&A in Los Angeles10 firms
- Corporate / M&A in Miami10 firms
Other practices in Houston
- Intellectual Property (General / Trademark)26 firms
- Banking & Finance19 firms
- Commercial Litigation19 firms
- Labor & Employment17 firms
- Restructuring / Bankruptcy17 firms
- Healthcare16 firms
- Tax15 firms
- White Collar Defense14 firms
- Capital Markets / Securities12 firms
- Real Estate12 firms
- Antitrust10 firms
- Insurance / Reinsurance9 firms