Top BigLaw Firms for Corporate / M&A in San Francisco
Every firm in our directory with a San Francisco office that Chambers USA 2026 ranks for corporate and M&A in California: San Francisco, Silicon Valley & Surrou, strongest band first. Latham & Watkins LLP leads with Band 2 (The Elite).
- Ranked firms
- 22
- Band 1 firms
- 0
- Median first-year base
- $225,000
22 ranked firms for corporate and M&A in San Francisco
| # | Firm | Chambers 2026 | First-year base | 2L summer applications |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Latham & Watkins LLP Vault #4 |
| $225,000+ | Nov 1, 2026Deadline Jan 29, 2027 |
| 2 | Hogan Lovells Cadwalader Vault #30 |
| $225,000+ | Expected early January 2027 |
| 3 | Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, P.C. Vault #34 |
| $225,000+ | Expected mid-January 2027 |
| 4 | Fenwick & West LLP Vault #71 |
| $225,000+ | Nov 1, 2026 |
| 5 | Sidley Austin LLP Vault #11 |
| $225,000+ | Expected early November 2026 |
| 6 | Cooley LLP Vault #22 |
| $255,000+ | Expected November 2026 |
| 7 | Morrison & Foerster LLP Vault #27 |
| $225,000+ | Opened Oct 1Deadline Feb 28, 2027 |
| 8 | Goodwin Procter LLP Vault #31 |
| $255,000+ | Not announced |
| 9 | Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP Vault #8 |
| $225,000+ | Nov 2, 2026Deadline Feb 5, 2027 |
| 10 | Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP Vault #15 |
| $225,000+ | Not announced |
| 11 | Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP Vault #16 |
| $225,000+ | Nov 1, 2026 |
| 12 | Paul Hastings LLP Vault #21 |
| $225,000+ | Expected mid-December 2026 |
| 13 | Baker McKenzie LLP Vault #45 |
| $225,000+ | Nov 1, 2026Deadline Mar 1, 2027 |
| 14 | Freshfields US LLP Vault #50 |
| $225,000+ | Not announced |
| 15 | A&O Shearman LLP Vault #56 |
| $225,000+ | See the job board |
| 16 | Covington & Burling LLP Vault #12 |
| $225,000 | Not announced (last cycle Dec 1, 2025) |
| 17 | Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer LLP Vault #32 |
| $225,000+ | Expected early December 2026 |
| 18 | Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP Vault #40 |
| $225,000+ | Expected early November 2026 |
| 19 | DLA Piper LLP (US) Vault #42 |
| $225,000+ | Expected early January 2027 |
| 20 | Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP Vault #60 |
| $225,000+ | Oct 15, 2026 |
| 21 | Fox Rothschild LLP Vault #76 |
| $205,000 | Not announced |
| 22 | Gunderson Dettmer LLP Vault #83 |
| $225,000+ | Not announced |
Chambers bands from Chambers USA 2026, California: San Francisco, Silicon Valley & Surrou 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 Houston30 firms
- Corporate / M&A in Dallas26 firms
- Corporate / M&A in Silicon Valley24 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 San Francisco
- Labor & Employment35 firms
- Intellectual Property (Patent)31 firms
- Commercial Litigation30 firms
- White Collar Defense20 firms
- Healthcare18 firms
- Technology Transactions18 firms
- Environmental17 firms
- Insurance / Reinsurance17 firms
- Tax17 firms
- Antitrust16 firms
- Entertainment / Media / Sports16 firms
- Securities Litigation16 firms