Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz vs. Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton 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 | Wachtell | Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton |
|---|---|---|
| Higher pay winsNot Comparable | $230,000Estimate with bonus | $225,000+ |
| Higher wins | $12.15M (wins this category) | $6.05M |
| Lower rank wins | #2 (wins this category) | #16 |
| Lower rank wins | #46 | #32 (wins this category) |
| Higher wins | $1.39B | $1.95B (wins this category) |
| More lawyers wins | 272 | 1,110 (wins this category) |
| OfficesMore offices wins | 1 | 16 (wins this category) |
| Nationwide, Chambers USA 2026More Band 1 tables wins | 3 tables | 9 tables (wins this category) |
| 2L OpensSummer 2028Earlier date wins | Dec 1, 2026 | Nov 12, 2026 (wins this category) |
| 1L OpensEarlier date wins | No 1L Program | Not Reported |
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
- Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz
Est. 1965
- Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP
Est. 1946 · New York and Washington
Est. 1965
Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz is a ~272-attorney firm, Vault #2 / Am Law #46. Jurisdiction-specific Chambers rankings include Band 1 in Antitrust, Corporate/M&A, and Corporate/M&A: Takeover Defense.
Est. 1946 · New York and Washington
Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP is a 1,000-plus-attorney firm, Vault #16 / Am Law #32, founded in New York and Washington, DC. Jurisdiction-specific Chambers rankings include Band 1 in Antitrust, Antitrust: Cartel, and Capital Markets: Investment Grade Debt: Issuer Counsel.
- Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz#2
- Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP#16
- Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz#46
- Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP#32
- Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz8 records
- Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP13 records
- #2
- #46
- 8 records
- Vault rank
- #16
- Am Law rank
- #32
- Reported Chambers Band 1 records
- 13 records
- Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz$230,000
- Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP$225,000+
- Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz$12.15M
- Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP$6.05M
- Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz$1.39B
- Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP$1.95B
Revenue per lawyer
- Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz$5.09M
- Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP$1.76M
- $230,000
- $12.15M
- $1.39B
- Revenue per lawyer
- $5.09M
- First-Year Comp
- $225,000+
- Profits Per Partner
- $6.05M
- Firm revenue
- $1.95B
- Revenue per lawyer
- $1.76M
- Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & KatzNot Reported
- Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLPNot Reported
- Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & KatzNot Reported
- Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP8 years
- Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & KatzNot Reported
- Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP2.3:1
- Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz~250
- Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP~1,100
Offices
- Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz1
- Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP16
- Not Reported
- Not Reported
- Not Reported
- ~250
- Offices
- 1
- Billable target
- Not Reported
- Partnership track
- 8 years
- US associates per partner
- 2.3:1
- Firm size (rounded to 50)
- ~1,100
- Offices
- 16
- Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz100%
- Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP100%
Class size
- Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz32 (2026)
- Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP128 (year not confirmed)
- Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & KatzNot Reported
- Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLPCentralized staffing
- Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & KatzNo
- Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLPNo
- 100%
- Class size
- 32 (2026)
- Not Reported
- No
- Offer rate
- 100%
- Class size
- 128 (year not confirmed)
- How associates get work
- Centralized staffing
- Specific practice area
- No
1L program
- Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & KatzNo 1L summer program
- Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP1L summer program
1L applications open
- Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & KatzNot Reported
- Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLPNot Reported
2L applications open
- Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & KatzDec 1, 2026
- Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLPNov 12, 2026
2L deadline
- Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & KatzFeb 6, 2027
- Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLPNot announced
- 1L program
- No 1L summer program
- 1L applications open
- Not Reported
- 2L applications open
- Dec 1, 2026
- 2L deadline
- Feb 6, 2027
- 1L program
- 1L summer program
- 1L applications open
- Not Reported
- 2L applications open
- Nov 12, 2026
- 2L deadline
- Not announced
Green marks the stronger for the same practice, market and year. Shared results are listed once. split some top tables.
Shared rankings
Rank differences
- Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & KatzBand 3
- Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLPBand 1
- Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & KatzBand 1 · Elite
- Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLPBand 3 · Elite
- Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & KatzBand 1 · Elite
- Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLPBand 3 · Elite
- Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & KatzBand 1
- Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLPBand 3
- Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & KatzBand 3 · Elite
- Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLPBand 1 · Elite
- Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & KatzBand 2 · Elite
- Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLPBand 3 · Elite
- Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & KatzBand 5 · Elite
- Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLPBand 2 · Elite
- Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & KatzBand 2
- Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLPBand 3
- Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & KatzBand 4
- Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLPBand 3
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. Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz
- Cravath, Swaine & Moore vs. Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton
- Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz vs. Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom
- Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz vs. Latham & Watkins
- Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz vs. Sullivan & Cromwell
- Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz vs. Kirkland & Ellis
- Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz vs. Davis Polk & Wardwell
- Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz vs. Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher
- Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz vs. Milbank
- Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz vs. Simpson Thacher & Bartlett
- Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz vs. Sidley Austin
- Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz vs. Covington & Burling
Firm data comes from each firm’s own publications, Chambers USA and Vault; see Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz and Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton for sources and dates.