Skip to main content

Top BigLaw Firms for Private Equity

Diligence and document work on sponsor acquisitions and exits, plus portfolio company matters and fund-side support. The client is often the same fund, deal after deal. Chambers USA 2026 ranks 23 firms in our directory nationwide for private equity, 7 of them in Band 1. Pick a city for the local tables.

Ranked nationwide
23
Cities with 3+ ranked firms
10

Private Equity by city

Ranked nationwide, Chambers USA 2026

  1. 1.Ropes & Gray LLPFirst-year base $225,000+Band 1 · Private Equity: Buyouts: Mid-Market; Band 1 · Private Equity: Secondaries
  2. 2.Kirkland & Ellis LLPFirst-year base $225,000+Band 1 · Private Equity: Buyouts: High-end Capability; Band 1 · Private Equity: Secondaries
  3. 3.Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLPFirst-year base $225,000+Band 1 · Private Equity: Buyouts: High-end Capability; Band 2 · Private Equity: Secondaries
  4. 4.Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLPFirst-year base $225,000+Band 1 · Private Equity: Buyouts: Mid-Market; Band 3 · Private Equity: Buyouts: High-end Capability
  5. 5.Sidley Austin LLPFirst-year base $225,000+Band 1 · Private Equity: Buyouts: Mid-Market
  6. 6.Goodwin Procter LLPFirst-year base $255,000+Band 1 · Private Equity: Buyouts: Mid-Market
  7. 7.Proskauer Rose LLPFirst-year base $225,000+Band 1 · Private Equity: Secondaries
  8. 8.Debevoise & Plimpton LLPFirst-year base $225,000+Band 2 · Private Equity: Buyouts: High-end Capability; Band 2 · Private Equity: Secondaries
  9. 9.Latham & Watkins LLPFirst-year base $225,000+Band 2 · Private Equity: Buyouts: High-end Capability; Band 3 · Private Equity: Secondaries
  10. 10.Davis Polk & Wardwell LLPFirst-year base $225,000+Band 2 · Private Equity: Secondaries; Band 3 · Private Equity: Buyouts: High-end Capability
  11. 11.Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLPFirst-year base $225,000+Band 2 · Private Equity: Buyouts: Mid-Market
  12. 12.Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLPFirst-year base $225,000+Band 2 · Private Equity: Buyouts: High-end Capability
  13. 13.White & Case LLPFirst-year base $225,000+Band 2 · Private Equity: Buyouts: Mid-Market
  14. 14.Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLPFirst-year base $225,000+Band 2 · Private Equity: Buyouts: Mid-Market
  15. 15.Dechert LLPFirst-year base $225,000Band 2 · Private Equity: Buyouts: Mid-Market
  16. 16.DLA Piper LLP (US)First-year base $225,000+Band 3 · Private Equity: Buyouts: Mid-Market; Band 3 · Private Equity: Secondaries
  17. 17.Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLPFirst-year base $225,000+Band 3 · Private Equity: Buyouts: High-end Capability
  18. 18.Paul Hastings LLPFirst-year base $225,000+Band 3 · Private Equity: Buyouts: Mid-Market
  19. 19.Jones DayFirst-year base $240,000Band 3 · Private Equity: Buyouts: Mid-Market
  20. 20.Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLPFirst-year base $225,000+Band 3 · Private Equity: Secondaries
  21. 21.Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLPFirst-year base $225,000+Band 3 · Private Equity: Secondaries
  22. 22.McDermott Will & Schulte LLPFirst-year base $255,000+Band 3 · Private Equity: Buyouts: Mid-Market
  23. 23.Vinson & Elkins LLPFirst-year base $225,000+Band 3 · Private Equity: Buyouts: High-end Capability

Is private equity a fit?

Who tends to thrive

  • Commercially minded people who like speed and repeat relationships
  • Those who enjoy finance and want to understand how buyouts create returns
  • People who stay calm when timelines compress

What a 1L can do this year

  • Learn the basics of an LBO (there are free primers and short courses online)
  • Take Corporations and, later, Mergers and Acquisitions
  • Follow a few sponsors' deal announcements to see the kind of companies they buy
Not sure this practice fits? Take the quiz Filter the directory by private equity

Other practices