Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz 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 | Wachtell | Cooley |
|---|---|---|
| Higher pay winsNot Comparable | $230,000Estimate with bonus | $255,000+ |
| Higher wins | $12.15M (wins this category) | $4.58M |
| Lower rank wins | #2 (wins this category) | #22 |
| Lower rank wins | #46 | #24 (wins this category) |
| Higher wins | $1.39B | $2.37B (wins this category) |
| More lawyers wins | 272 | 1,304 (wins this category) |
| OfficesMore offices wins | 1 | 19 (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 | 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
- Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz
Est. 1965
- Cooley LLP
Est. 1920
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. 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.
- Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz#2
- Cooley LLP#22
- Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz#46
- Cooley LLP#24
- Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz8 records
- Cooley LLP24 records
- #2
- #46
- 8 records
- Vault rank
- #22
- Am Law rank
- #24
- Reported Chambers Band 1 records
- 24 records
- Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz$230,000
- Cooley LLP$255,000+
- Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz$12.15M
- Cooley LLP$4.58M
- Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz$1.39B
- Cooley LLP$2.37B
Revenue per lawyer
- Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz$5.09M
- Cooley LLP$1.82M
- $230,000
- $12.15M
- $1.39B
- Revenue per lawyer
- $5.09M
- First-Year Comp
- $255,000+
- Profits Per Partner
- $4.58M
- Firm revenue
- $2.37B
- Revenue per lawyer
- $1.82M
- Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & KatzNot Reported
- Cooley LLP1,950
- Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & KatzNot Reported
- Cooley LLPNot Reported
- Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & KatzNot Reported
- Cooley LLPNot Reported
- Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz~250
- Cooley LLP~1,300
Offices
- Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz1
- Cooley LLP19
- Not Reported
- Not Reported
- Not Reported
- ~250
- Offices
- 1
- Billable target
- 1,950
- Partnership track
- Not Reported
- US associates per partner
- Not Reported
- Firm size (rounded to 50)
- ~1,300
- Offices
- 19
- Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz100%
- Cooley LLP98%
Class size
- Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz32 (2026)
- Cooley LLP100 (year not confirmed)
- Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & KatzNot Reported
- Cooley LLPNot Reported
- Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & KatzNo
- Cooley LLPCase by Case
- 100%
- Class size
- 32 (2026)
- Not Reported
- No
- Offer rate
- 98%
- Class size
- 100 (year not confirmed)
- How associates get work
- Not Reported
- Specific practice area
- Case by Case
1L program
- Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & KatzNo 1L summer program
- Cooley LLPNot Reported
1L applications open
- Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & KatzNot Reported
- Cooley LLPExpected fall 2026
2L applications open
- Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & KatzDec 1, 2026
- Cooley LLPOpened Oct 31
2L deadline
- Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & KatzFeb 6, 2027
- Cooley LLPJan 29, 2027
- 1L program
- No 1L summer program
- 1L applications open
- Not Reported
- 2L applications open
- Dec 1, 2026
- 2L deadline
- Feb 6, 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
- Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & KatzBand 1 · Elite
- Cooley LLPBand 5 · Elite
- Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & KatzBand 1 · Elite
- Cooley LLPBand 2 · Highly Regarded
- Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & KatzBand 2
- Cooley LLPBand 5
- Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & KatzBand 4 · Elite
- Cooley LLPBand 2 · Elite
- Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & KatzBand 2 · Elite
- Cooley LLPBand 2 · Highly Regarded
- Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & KatzBand 3 · Elite
- Cooley LLPBand 4 · Elite
- Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & KatzBand 4
- Cooley LLPBand 5
- Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & KatzBand 4
- Cooley LLPBand 5
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. Cooley
- 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 Cooley for sources and dates.