Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP vs. Sullivan & Cromwell LLP vs. Kirkland & Ellis LLP
Category by category. Sources: Vault 2027, Am Law 200 FY2025, and reported Chambers records from the years shown.
- Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP
Est. 1819
- Sullivan & Cromwell LLP
Est. 1879
- Kirkland & Ellis LLP
Est. 1909
Est. 1819
Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP is a mid-size firm of ~572 attorneys, Vault #1 / Am Law #50. Jurisdiction-specific Chambers rankings include Band 1 in Antitrust, Capital Markets: Investment Grade Debt: Issuer Counsel, and Capital Markets: Investment Grade Debt: Manager Counsel.
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. 1909
Kirkland & Ellis LLP is a 2,000-plus-attorney global firm, Vault #6 / Am Law #1. Jurisdiction-specific Chambers rankings include Band 1 in Antitrust, Asset Management M&A, and Banking & Finance. Operates from 27 offices worldwide.
- Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP#1
- Sullivan & Cromwell LLP#5
- Kirkland & Ellis LLP#6
- Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP#50
- Sullivan & Cromwell LLP#25
- Kirkland & Ellis LLP#1
- Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP15 records
- Sullivan & Cromwell LLP21 records
- Kirkland & Ellis LLP65 records
- #1
- #50
- 15 records
- Vault rank
- #5
- Am Law rank
- #25
- Reported Chambers Band 1 records
- 21 records
- Vault rank
- #6
- Am Law rank
- #1
- Reported Chambers Band 1 records
- 65 records
- Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP$225,000
- Sullivan & Cromwell LLP$235,000+
- Kirkland & Ellis LLP$225,000
- Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP$7.20M
- Sullivan & Cromwell LLP$7.57M
- Kirkland & Ellis LLP$11.12M
- Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP$1.29B
- Sullivan & Cromwell LLP$2.28B
- Kirkland & Ellis LLP$10.56B
Revenue per lawyer
- Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP$2.26M
- Sullivan & Cromwell LLP$2.51M
- Kirkland & Ellis LLP$2.55M
- $225,000
- $7.20M
- $1.29B
- Revenue per lawyer
- $2.26M
- First-Year Comp
- $235,000+
- Profits Per Partner
- $7.57M
- Firm revenue
- $2.28B
- Revenue per lawyer
- $2.51M
- First-Year Comp
- $225,000
- Profits Per Partner
- $11.12M
- Firm revenue
- $10.56B
- Revenue per lawyer
- $2.55M
- Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLPNot Reported
- Sullivan & Cromwell LLPNot Reported
- Kirkland & Ellis LLPNot Reported
- Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP7 years
- Sullivan & Cromwell LLPNot Reported
- Kirkland & Ellis LLP6 years
- Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP3.4:1
- Sullivan & Cromwell LLP2.4:1
- Kirkland & Ellis LLP1.2:1
- Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP~550
- Sullivan & Cromwell LLP~1,000
- Kirkland & Ellis LLP~4,150
Offices
- Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP4
- Sullivan & Cromwell LLP11
- Kirkland & Ellis LLP27
- Not Reported
- 7 years
- 3.4:1
- ~550
- Offices
- 4
- Billable target
- Not Reported
- Partnership track
- Not Reported
- US associates per partner
- 2.4:1
- Firm size (rounded to 50)
- ~1,000
- Offices
- 11
- Billable target
- Not Reported
- Partnership track
- 6 years
- US associates per partner
- 1.2:1
- Firm size (rounded to 50)
- ~4,150
- Offices
- 27
- Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP100%
- Sullivan & Cromwell LLP100%
- Kirkland & Ellis LLPNot Reported
Class size
- Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP143 (year not confirmed)
- Sullivan & Cromwell LLP216 (2026)
- Kirkland & Ellis LLP957 (year not confirmed)
- Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLPRotation
- Sullivan & Cromwell LLPCentralized staffing
- Kirkland & Ellis LLPFree market
- Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLPYes
- Sullivan & Cromwell LLPNo
- Kirkland & Ellis LLPYes
- 100%
- Class size
- 143 (year not confirmed)
- Rotation
- Yes
- Offer rate
- 100%
- Class size
- 216 (2026)
- How associates get work
- Centralized staffing
- Specific practice area
- No
- Offer rate
- Not Reported
- Class size
- 957 (year not confirmed)
- How associates get work
- Free market
- Specific practice area
- Yes
Green marks the stronger for the same practice, market and year. Shared results are listed once. split some top tables.
Shared rankings
Rank differences
- Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLPBand 1
- Sullivan & Cromwell LLPBand 3
- Kirkland & Ellis LLPBand 1
- Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLPBand 1 · Highly Regarded
- Sullivan & Cromwell LLPBand 1 · Elite
- Kirkland & Ellis LLPBand 1 · Elite
- Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLPBand 1
- Sullivan & Cromwell LLPBand 1
- Kirkland & Ellis LLPBand 3
- Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLPBand 1
- Sullivan & Cromwell LLPBand 1
- Kirkland & Ellis LLPBand 2
- Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLPBand 1
- Sullivan & Cromwell LLPBand 2
- Kirkland & Ellis LLPBand 2
- Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLPBand 2
- Sullivan & Cromwell LLPBand 4
- Kirkland & Ellis LLPBand 1
- Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLPBand 2
- Sullivan & Cromwell LLPBand 3
- Kirkland & Ellis LLPBand 1
- Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLPBand 1 · Highly Regarded
- Sullivan & Cromwell LLPBand 3 · Elite
- Kirkland & Ellis LLPBand 1 · Elite
- Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLPBand 2
- Sullivan & Cromwell LLPBand 3
- Kirkland & Ellis LLPBand 1
- Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLPBand 1
- Sullivan & Cromwell LLPBand 2
- Kirkland & Ellis LLPBand 3
- Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLPBand 2
- Sullivan & Cromwell LLPBand 3
- Kirkland & Ellis LLPBand 1
- Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLPBand 1
- Sullivan & Cromwell LLPBand 2
- Kirkland & Ellis 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.
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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”.