Vault 2024 vs. Vault 2025: What Actually Changed in the Law Firm Rankings
BigLaw Bear · 4 min read
Most students look at Vault movement the wrong way.
If Cravath stays No. 1 and Wachtell stays No. 2, they assume nothing happened. But the useful information is often just below the top line: which firms moved inside the top 10, which practice rankings changed, and which changes are big enough to help you ask smarter questions.
Vault's 2024 release and 2025 release are a good example. The very top was stable. The story was the smaller movement underneath.
The top 10 comparison
| Rank | 2024 Vault Law 100 | 2025 Vault Law 100 |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cravath | Cravath |
| 2 | Wachtell | Wachtell |
| 3 | Skadden | Skadden |
| 4 | Latham | Latham |
| 5 | Sullivan & Cromwell | Sullivan & Cromwell |
| 6 | Davis Polk | Kirkland |
| 7 | Kirkland | Davis Polk |
| 8 | Simpson Thacher | Paul Weiss |
| 9 | Paul Weiss | Simpson Thacher |
| 10 | Gibson Dunn | Gibson Dunn |
The honest read: this is not a revolution. It is mostly continuity.
Cravath, Wachtell, Skadden, Latham, and Sullivan & Cromwell held the top five spots. Gibson Dunn stayed at No. 10. The main movement was Kirkland moving ahead of Davis Polk, and Paul Weiss moving ahead of Simpson Thacher.
For a student, that movement is worth noticing, but not worshiping.
Kirkland moving to No. 6
Vault's 2025 release specifically noted that Kirkland took the No. 1 spot in General Corporate Practice and Banking & Financial Services, giving it five No. 1 practice-area rankings.
That matters more than the one-slot move in the overall ranking.
If you are interested in corporate, private equity, finance, or restructuring-adjacent work, the practice-area signal is more useful than the generic prestige move. It gives you a better interview question: "How do juniors enter the corporate or finance groups, and how centralized is staffing?"
That is stronger than saying, "I saw you moved up in Vault."
Paul Weiss moving to No. 8
Paul Weiss moved from No. 9 in 2024 to No. 8 in 2025. Vault also said Paul Weiss ranked No. 1 in White Collar for the first time.
Again, the practice-area movement is the more useful signal. If you are interested in investigations, enforcement, crisis litigation, or government-adjacent work, that White Collar ranking gives you a concrete research path.
Look at partner bios. Look at recent matters. Look at whether the office you are interviewing with actually does that work.
What changed after that
Because this article is updated in May 2026, there is now a newer release. Vault's 2026-2027 rankings release said Cravath and Wachtell remained No. 1 and No. 2, while Paul Weiss dropped from No. 8 to No. 13, Gibson Dunn rose from No. 11 to No. 8, and Sullivan & Cromwell moved one spot ahead of Kirkland.
That is a reminder that rankings move every year. Do not build your identity around a number that may change before you graduate.
How students should use the comparison
Use year-to-year movement for research, not ego.
Good uses:
- Identifying which firms are gaining peer reputation in a practice area
- Asking why a firm is investing in a certain group
- Checking whether a regional office has the same strength as the national name
- Comparing Vault with Chambers, NALP, firm matters, and alumni conversations
Bad uses:
- Choosing between offers based on one-slot movement
- Treating V10 and V20 as moral categories
- Assuming overall prestige equals training quality
- Ignoring the office and practice group you would actually join
The 2024 to 2025 comparison tells a simple story: elite law firm prestige is sticky, but practice-area reputation is where students can learn something useful.
Read the overall list. Then dig one layer deeper.