Top BigLaw Firms for Corporate / M&A in New York
Every firm in our directory with a New York office that Chambers USA 2026 ranks for corporate and M&A in New York, strongest band first. Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP leads with Band 1 (The Elite), one of 7 firms in Band 1.
- Ranked firms
- 48
- Band 1 firms
- 7
- Median first-year base
- $225,000
48 ranked firms for corporate and M&A in New York
| # | Firm | Chambers 2026 | First-year base | 2L summer applications |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP Vault #1 |
| $225,000+ | Jan 4, 2027 |
| 2 | Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz Vault #2 |
| $450,000+ | Dec 1, 2026Deadline Feb 5, 2027 |
| 3 | Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP Vault #3 |
| $225,000+ | Nov 2, 2026 |
| 4 | Sullivan & Cromwell LLP Vault #5 |
| $235,000+ | Not announced (last cycle Nov 1, 2025) |
| 5 | Kirkland & Ellis LLP Vault #6 |
| $225,000+ | Nov 1, 2026 |
| 6 | Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP Vault #7 |
| $225,000+ | Opened Sep 15Deadline Mar 1, 2027 |
| 7 | Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP Vault #10 |
| $225,000+ | Expected fall 2026 |
| 8 | Latham & Watkins LLP Vault #4 |
| $225,000+ | Nov 1, 2026Deadline Jan 29, 2027 |
| 9 | Debevoise & Plimpton LLP Vault #23 |
| $225,000+ | Expected early November 2026 |
| 10 | Freshfields US LLP Vault #50 |
| $225,000+ | Not announced |
| 11 | Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP Vault #15 |
| $225,000+ | Not announced |
| 12 | Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP Vault #16 |
| $225,000+ | Nov 1, 2026 |
| 13 | Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP Vault #8 |
| $225,000+ | Nov 2, 2026Deadline Feb 5, 2027 |
| 14 | White & Case LLP Vault #18 |
| $225,000+ | Nov 1, 2026 |
| 15 | Paul Hastings LLP Vault #21 |
| $225,000+ | Expected mid-December 2026 |
| 16 | Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP Vault #35 |
| $225,000+ | Expected late November 2026 |
| 17 | A&O Shearman LLP Vault #56 |
| $225,000+ | See the job board |
| 18 | Sidley Austin LLP Vault #11 |
| $225,000+ | Expected early November 2026 |
| 19 | Ropes & Gray LLP Vault #20 |
| $225,000+ | Expected fall 2026 |
| 20 | Jones Day Vault #26 |
| $240,000 | Not announced (last cycle Oct 27, 2025) |
| 21 | Goodwin Procter LLP Vault #31 |
| $255,000+ | Not announced |
| 22 | Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP Vault #37 |
| $225,000+ | Nov 2, 2026 |
| 23 | Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP Vault #47 |
| $225,000+ | Expected mid-December 2026 |
| 24 | Milbank LLP Vault #9 |
| $235,000+ | Nov 1, 2026 |
| 25 | Covington & Burling LLP Vault #12 |
| $225,000 | Not announced (last cycle Dec 1, 2025) |
| 26 | Cooley LLP Vault #22 |
| $255,000+ | Expected November 2026 |
| 27 | Clifford Chance US LLP Vault #41 |
| $255,000+ | Expected fall 2026 |
| 28 | Dechert LLP Vault #51 |
| $225,000 | Expected late October to November 2026 |
| 29 | Morrison & Foerster LLP Vault #27 |
| $225,000+ | Opened Oct 1Deadline Feb 28, 2027 |
| 30 | Proskauer Rose LLP Vault #33 |
| $225,000+ | See the job board |
| 31 | Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP Vault #38 |
| $225,000+ | Oct 15, 2026 |
| 32 | DLA Piper LLP (US) Vault #42 |
| $225,000+ | Expected early January 2027 |
| 33 | Baker McKenzie LLP Vault #45 |
| $225,000+ | Nov 1, 2026Deadline Mar 1, 2027 |
| 34 | Hogan Lovells Cadwalader Vault #30 |
| $225,000+ | Expected early January 2027 |
| 35 | McDermott Will & Schulte LLP Vault #46 |
| $255,000+ | See the job board |
| 36 | Linklaters LLP Vault #52 |
| $225,000+ | See the job board |
| 37 | Baker Botts L.L.P. Vault #54 |
| $225,000+ | Not announced |
| 38 | Fenwick & West LLP Vault #71 |
| $225,000+ | Nov 1, 2026 |
| 39 | Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP Vault #25 |
| $225,000+ | Expected early November 2026 |
| 40 | Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer LLP Vault #32 |
| $225,000+ | Expected early December 2026 |
| 41 | Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP Vault #40 |
| $225,000+ | Expected early November 2026 |
| 42 | Mayer Brown LLP Vault #44 |
| $225,000+ | See the job board |
| 43 | Vinson & Elkins LLP Vault #53 |
| $225,000+ | Nov 1, 2026 |
| 44 | Reed Smith LLP Vault #59 |
| $225,000+ | Jan 4, 2027 |
| 45 | Baker & Hostetler LLP Vault #63 |
| $215,000 | Opened Sep 15Deadline Jan 15, 2027 |
| 46 | McGuireWoods LLP Vault #68 |
| $215,000 | See the job board |
| 47 | Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo, P.C. Vault #77 |
| $225,000+ | Opened Oct 1Deadline Dec 11, 2026 |
| 48 | Dorsey & Whitney LLP |
| Not reported | Not announced |
Chambers bands from Chambers USA 2026, New York 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 Houston30 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 New York
- Commercial Litigation55 firms
- White Collar Defense55 firms
- Restructuring / Bankruptcy49 firms
- Tax41 firms
- Banking & Finance34 firms
- Securities Litigation34 firms
- Intellectual Property (Patent)31 firms
- Insurance / Reinsurance28 firms
- Antitrust25 firms
- Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation24 firms
- Labor & Employment20 firms
- Entertainment / Media / Sports18 firms