Sullivan & Cromwell LLP vs. Cooley LLP
Category by category. Sources: Vault 2027, Am Law 200 FY2025, and reported Chambers records from the years shown.
Who Wins Each Category
Each row stands on its own. There is no overall winner; weigh what matters to you.
| Category | Sullivan & Cromwell | Cooley |
|---|---|---|
| Higher pay wins | $235,000+ | $255,000+ (wins this category) |
| Higher wins | $7.57M (wins this category) | $4.58M |
| Lower rank wins | #5 (wins this category) | #22 |
| Lower rank wins | #25 | #24 (wins this category) |
| Higher wins | $2.28B | $2.37B (wins this category) |
| More lawyers wins | 1,000 | 1,304 (wins this category) |
| OfficesMore offices wins | 11 | 19 (wins this category) |
| Nationwide, Chambers USA 2026More Band 1 tables wins | 12 tables (wins this category) | 9 tables |
| 2L OpensSummer 2028Earlier date wins | Opened Nov 1, 2026 | Opened Oct 31, 2026 (wins this category) |
| 1L OpensEarlier date wins | No 1L Program | ClosedSummer 2027 |
Sources: Vault 2027 and Am Law 200 FY2025 rankings, Chambers USA 2026, first-year pay as each firm or the market reports it, and program dates from firm career pages on the Job Board. Missing data reads Not Reported and never counts as a loss.
Full Comparison
- Sullivan & Cromwell LLP
Est. 1879
- Cooley LLP
Est. 1920
Est. 1879
Sullivan & Cromwell LLP is a 1,000-plus-attorney firm, Vault #5 / Am Law #25. Jurisdiction-specific Chambers rankings include Band 1 in Corporate Crime & Investigations, Corporate/M&A, and Corporate/M&A: Takeover Defense. Operates from 11 offices worldwide.
Est. 1920
Cooley LLP is a 1,000-plus-attorney firm, Vault #22 / Am Law #24. Jurisdiction-specific Chambers rankings include Band 1 in Artificial Intelligence, Capital Markets, and Capital Markets: Debt & Equity. Operates from 19 offices worldwide.
- Sullivan & Cromwell LLP#5
- Cooley LLP#22
- Sullivan & Cromwell LLP#25
- Cooley LLP#24
- Sullivan & Cromwell LLP21 records
- Cooley LLP24 records
- #5
- #25
- 21 records
- Vault rank
- #22
- Am Law rank
- #24
- Reported Chambers Band 1 records
- 24 records
- Sullivan & Cromwell LLP$235,000+
- Cooley LLP$255,000+
- Sullivan & Cromwell LLP$7.57M
- Cooley LLP$4.58M
- Sullivan & Cromwell LLP$2.28B
- Cooley LLP$2.37B
Revenue per lawyer
- Sullivan & Cromwell LLP$2.51M
- Cooley LLP$1.82M
- $235,000+
- $7.57M
- $2.28B
- Revenue per lawyer
- $2.51M
- First-Year Comp
- $255,000+
- Profits Per Partner
- $4.58M
- Firm revenue
- $2.37B
- Revenue per lawyer
- $1.82M
- Sullivan & Cromwell LLPNot Reported
- Cooley LLP1,950
- Sullivan & Cromwell LLPNot Reported
- Cooley LLPNot Reported
- Sullivan & Cromwell LLP2.4:1
- Cooley LLPNot Reported
- Sullivan & Cromwell LLP~1,000
- Cooley LLP~1,300
Offices
- Sullivan & Cromwell LLP11
- Cooley LLP19
- Not Reported
- Not Reported
- 2.4:1
- ~1,000
- Offices
- 11
- Billable target
- 1,950
- Partnership track
- Not Reported
- US associates per partner
- Not Reported
- Firm size (rounded to 50)
- ~1,300
- Offices
- 19
- Sullivan & Cromwell LLP100%
- Cooley LLP98%
Class size
- Sullivan & Cromwell LLP216 (2026)
- Cooley LLP100 (year not confirmed)
- Sullivan & Cromwell LLPCentralized staffing
- Cooley LLPNot Reported
- Sullivan & Cromwell LLPNo
- Cooley LLPCase by Case
- 100%
- Class size
- 216 (2026)
- Centralized staffing
- No
- Offer rate
- 98%
- Class size
- 100 (year not confirmed)
- How associates get work
- Not Reported
- Specific practice area
- Case by Case
1L program
- Sullivan & Cromwell LLPNo 1L summer program
- Cooley LLPNot Reported
1L applications open
- Sullivan & Cromwell LLPNot Reported
- Cooley LLPExpected fall 2026
2L applications open
- Sullivan & Cromwell LLPOpened Nov 1
- Cooley LLPOpened Oct 31
2L deadline
- Sullivan & Cromwell LLPMar 5, 2027
- Cooley LLPJan 29, 2027
- 1L program
- No 1L summer program
- 1L applications open
- Not Reported
- 2L applications open
- Opened Nov 1
- 2L deadline
- Mar 5, 2027
- 1L program
- Not Reported
- 1L applications open
- Expected fall 2026
- 2L applications open
- Opened Oct 31
- 2L deadline
- Jan 29, 2027
Green marks the stronger for the same practice, market and year. Shared results are listed once. split some top tables.
Shared rankings
Rank differences
- Sullivan & Cromwell LLPBand 2
- Cooley LLPBand 1
- Sullivan & Cromwell LLPBand 2
- Cooley LLPBand 1
- Sullivan & Cromwell LLPBand 2
- Cooley LLPBand 1
- Sullivan & Cromwell LLPBand 1 · Elite
- Cooley LLPBand 5 · Elite
- Sullivan & Cromwell LLPBand 1 · Elite
- Cooley LLPBand 2 · Highly Regarded
- Sullivan & Cromwell LLPBand 5
- Cooley LLPBand 1
- Sullivan & Cromwell LLPBand 4 · Elite
- Cooley LLPBand 1 · Elite
- Sullivan & Cromwell LLPBand 1 · Elite
- Cooley LLPBand 2 · Highly Regarded
- Sullivan & Cromwell LLPBand 3
- Cooley LLPBand 1
- Sullivan & Cromwell LLPBand 1 · Elite
- Cooley LLPBand 4 · Elite
- Sullivan & Cromwell LLPBand 1
- Cooley LLPBand 2
- Sullivan & Cromwell LLPBand 4
- Cooley LLPBand 2
Firm-only and additional rankings remain available on each firm profile so missing coverage is not mistaken for a head-to-head loss.
See which of these firms are open on the Job Board
Data sources: Vault 2027, Am Law 200 FY2025, and reported Chambers records from the years shown. Chambers record counts can span years and reporting coverage varies; missing years or markets are not compared. Current Chambers bands were checked against each firm’s Chambers profile on Sep 26, 2026; where Chambers splits a table, every Elite firm ranks above every Highly Regarded firm. Missing values read “Not Reported”.
More head-to-head comparisons
- Cravath, Swaine & Moore vs. Sullivan & Cromwell
- Cravath, Swaine & Moore vs. Cooley
- Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz vs. Sullivan & Cromwell
- Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz vs. Cooley
- Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom vs. Sullivan & Cromwell
- Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom vs. Cooley
- Latham & Watkins vs. Sullivan & Cromwell
- Latham & Watkins vs. Cooley
- Sullivan & Cromwell vs. Kirkland & Ellis
- Sullivan & Cromwell vs. Davis Polk & Wardwell
- Sullivan & Cromwell vs. Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher
- Sullivan & Cromwell vs. Milbank
Firm data comes from each firm’s own publications, Chambers USA and Vault; see Sullivan & Cromwell and Cooley for sources and dates.