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Top BigLaw Firms for White Collar Defense

Internal investigations, document review and witness interview prep, and defending companies and individuals facing government inquiries such as SEC or DOJ matters. Chambers USA 2026 ranks 50 firms in our directory nationwide for white collar defense, 8 of them in Band 1. Pick a city for the local tables.

Ranked nationwide
50
Cities with 3+ ranked firms
28

White Collar Defense by city

Ranked nationwide, Chambers USA 2026

  1. 1.Latham & Watkins LLPFirst-year base $225,000+Band 1 (The Elite) · Corporate Crime & Investigations
  2. 2.Sullivan & Cromwell LLPFirst-year base $235,000+Band 1 (The Elite) · Corporate Crime & Investigations
  3. 3.Kirkland & Ellis LLPFirst-year base $225,000+Band 1 (The Elite) · Corporate Crime & Investigations
  4. 4.Davis Polk & Wardwell LLPFirst-year base $225,000+Band 1 (The Elite) · Corporate Crime & Investigations
  5. 5.Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLPFirst-year base $225,000+Band 1 (The Elite) · Corporate Crime & Investigations
  6. 6.Covington & Burling LLPFirst-year base $225,000Band 1 (The Elite) · Corporate Crime & Investigations
  7. 7.Debevoise & Plimpton LLPFirst-year base $225,000+Band 1 (The Elite) · Corporate Crime & Investigations
  8. 8.King & Spalding LLPFirst-year base $225,000+Band 1 (The Elite) · Corporate Crime & Investigations
  9. 9.Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLPFirst-year base $225,000+Band 2 (The Elite) · Corporate Crime & Investigations
  10. 10.Sidley Austin LLPFirst-year base $225,000+Band 2 (The Elite) · Corporate Crime & Investigations
  11. 11.Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLPFirst-year base $225,000+Band 2 (The Elite) · Corporate Crime & Investigations
  12. 12.Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLPFirst-year base $225,000+Band 2 (The Elite) · Corporate Crime & Investigations
  13. 13.Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLPFirst-year base $225,000+Band 2 (The Elite) · Corporate Crime & Investigations
  14. 14.Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLPFirst-year base $225,000+Band 3 (The Elite) · Corporate Crime & Investigations
  15. 15.Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, LLPFirst-year base $235,000+Band 3 (The Elite) · Corporate Crime & Investigations
  16. 16.Williams & Connolly LLPFirst-year base $260,000Band 3 (The Elite) · Corporate Crime & Investigations
  17. 17.Jones DayFirst-year base $240,000Band 3 (The Elite) · Corporate Crime & Investigations
  18. 18.Jenner & Block LLPFirst-year base $225,000+Band 3 (The Elite) · Corporate Crime & Investigations
  19. 19.Ropes & Gray LLPFirst-year base $225,000+Band 4 (The Elite) · Corporate Crime & Investigations
  20. 20.Morrison & Foerster LLPFirst-year base $225,000+Band 4 (The Elite) · Corporate Crime & Investigations
  21. 21.Hogan Lovells CadwaladerFirst-year base $225,000+Band 4 (The Elite) · Corporate Crime & Investigations
  22. 22.Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer LLPFirst-year base $225,000+Band 4 (The Elite) · Corporate Crime & Investigations
  23. 23.Dechert LLPFirst-year base $225,000Band 4 (The Elite) · Corporate Crime & Investigations
  24. 24.Steptoe LLPFirst-year base $225,000+Band 4 (The Elite) · Corporate Crime & Investigations
  25. 25.Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & KatzFirst-year base $450,000+Band 5 (The Elite) · Corporate Crime & Investigations
  26. 26.Milbank LLPFirst-year base $235,000+Band 5 (The Elite) · Corporate Crime & Investigations
  27. 27.Paul Hastings LLPFirst-year base $225,000+Band 5 (The Elite) · Corporate Crime & Investigations
  28. 28.Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLPFirst-year base $225,000+Band 1 (Highly Regarded) · Corporate Crime & Investigations
  29. 29.O'Melveny & Myers LLPFirst-year base $225,000+Band 1 (Highly Regarded) · Corporate Crime & Investigations
  30. 30.Goodwin Procter LLPFirst-year base $255,000+Band 1 (Highly Regarded) · Corporate Crime & Investigations
  31. 31.Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLPFirst-year base $225,000+Band 1 (Highly Regarded) · Corporate Crime & Investigations
  32. 32.Winston Taylor LLPFirst-year base $225,000+Band 1 (Highly Regarded) · Corporate Crime & Investigations
  33. 33.Clifford Chance US LLPFirst-year base $255,000+Band 1 (Highly Regarded) · Corporate Crime & Investigations
  34. 34.Crowell & Moring LLPFirst-year base $215,000Band 1 (Highly Regarded) · Corporate Crime & Investigations
  35. 35.Cahill Gordon & Reindel LLPFirst-year base $225,000+Band 1 (Highly Regarded) · Corporate Crime & Investigations
  36. 36.Cozen O'Connor P.C.First-year base $180,000 - $215,000Band 1 (Highly Regarded) · Corporate Crime & Investigations
  37. 37.Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLPFirst-year base $225,000+Band 2 (Highly Regarded) · Corporate Crime & Investigations
  38. 38.Munger, Tolles & Olson LLPFirst-year base $225,000+Band 2 (Highly Regarded) · Corporate Crime & Investigations
  39. 39.Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLPFirst-year base $225,000+Band 2 (Highly Regarded) · Corporate Crime & Investigations
  40. 40.Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLPFirst-year base $225,000+Band 2 (Highly Regarded) · Corporate Crime & Investigations
  41. 41.DLA Piper LLP (US)First-year base $225,000+Band 2 (Highly Regarded) · Corporate Crime & Investigations
  42. 42.Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLPFirst-year base $225,000+Band 2 (Highly Regarded) · Corporate Crime & Investigations
  43. 43.Freshfields US LLPFirst-year base $225,000+Band 2 (Highly Regarded) · Corporate Crime & Investigations
  44. 44.A&O Shearman LLPFirst-year base $225,000+Band 2 (Highly Regarded) · Corporate Crime & Investigations
  45. 45.Ashurst Perkins Coie LLPFirst-year base $255,000+Band 3 (Highly Regarded) · Corporate Crime & Investigations
  46. 46.Baker McKenzie LLPFirst-year base $225,000+Band 3 (Highly Regarded) · Corporate Crime & Investigations
  47. 47.McDermott Will & Schulte LLPFirst-year base $255,000+Band 3 (Highly Regarded) · Corporate Crime & Investigations
  48. 48.Vinson & Elkins LLPFirst-year base $225,000+Band 3 (Highly Regarded) · Corporate Crime & Investigations
  49. 49.Greenberg Traurig, LLPFirst-year base Varies by officeBand 3 (Highly Regarded) · Corporate Crime & Investigations
  50. 50.McGuireWoods LLPFirst-year base $215,000Band 3 (Highly Regarded) · Corporate Crime & Investigations

Is white collar defense a fit?

Who tends to thrive

  • People who like investigation and fact-finding
  • Those drawn to government enforcement and criminal law
  • Calm advisors under pressure

What a 1L can do this year

  • Take Criminal Procedure and Evidence
  • Read about a recent corporate enforcement action and the company's response
  • Ask associates how they think about a future clerkship or government stint
Not sure this practice fits? Take the quiz Filter the directory by white collar defense

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