Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP vs. Latham & Watkins LLP vs. Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP

Category by category. Sources: Vault 2027, Am Law 200 FY2025, and reported Chambers records from the years shown.

Swipe sideways to see every firm, or focus the comparison and use the arrow keys.

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP
Est. 1948 · New York
Latham & Watkins LLP
Est. 1934 · Los Angeles
Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP
Est. 1849

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP

Est. 1948 · New York

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP is a 1,000-plus-attorney firm, Vault #3 / Am Law #5, founded in New York, NY. Jurisdiction-specific Chambers rankings include Band 1 in Antitrust, Asset Management M&A, and Capital Markets: Debt & Equity.

Latham & Watkins LLP

Est. 1934 · Los Angeles

Latham & Watkins LLP is a 2,000-plus-attorney global firm, Vault #4 / Am Law #2, founded in Los Angeles, CA. Jurisdiction-specific Chambers rankings include Band 1 in Antitrust, Antitrust: Cartel, and Appellate Law. Operates from 34 offices worldwide.

Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP

Est. 1849

Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP is a 1,000-plus-attorney firm, Vault #7 / Am Law #14. Jurisdiction-specific Chambers rankings include Band 1 in Antitrust, Banking & Finance, and Bankruptcy/Restructuring. Operates from 12 offices worldwide.

Rankings & prestige

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP#3
Latham & Watkins LLP#4
Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP#7

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP#5
Latham & Watkins LLP#2
Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP#14

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP40 records
Latham & Watkins LLP96 records
Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP29 records

: #3
: #5
: 40 records

Vault rank: #4
Am Law rank: #2
Reported Chambers Band 1 records: 96 records

Vault rank: #7
Am Law rank: #14
Reported Chambers Band 1 records: 29 records

Compensation

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP$225,000
Latham & Watkins LLP$225,000
Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP$225,000

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP$7.01M
Latham & Watkins LLP$8.65M
Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP$9.80M

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP$4.07B
Latham & Watkins LLP$8.30B
Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP$3.20B

Revenue per lawyer

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP$2.32M
Latham & Watkins LLP$2.23M
Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP$2.59M

: $225,000
: $7.01M
: $4.07B
Revenue per lawyer: $2.32M

First-Year Comp: $225,000
Profits Per Partner: $8.65M
Firm revenue: $8.30B
Revenue per lawyer: $2.23M

First-Year Comp: $225,000
Profits Per Partner: $9.80M
Firm revenue: $3.20B
Revenue per lawyer: $2.59M

Work & scale

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLPNot Reported
Latham & Watkins LLP1,900
Davis Polk & Wardwell LLPNot Reported

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLPNot Reported
Latham & Watkins LLPNot Reported
Davis Polk & Wardwell LLPNot Reported

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLPNot Reported
Latham & Watkins LLP2.7:1
Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP3.5:1

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP~1,750
Latham & Watkins LLP~3,700
Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP~1,000

Offices

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP21
Latham & Watkins LLP34
Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP12

: Not Reported
: Not Reported
: Not Reported
: ~1,750
Offices: 21

Billable target: 1,900
Partnership track: Not Reported
US associates per partner: 2.7:1
Firm size (rounded to 50): ~3,700
Offices: 34

Billable target: Not Reported
Partnership track: Not Reported
US associates per partner: 3.5:1
Firm size (rounded to 50): ~1,000
Offices: 12

Summer Program

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP99.4%
Latham & Watkins LLP100%
Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP99.4%

Class size

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP190 (2026)
Latham & Watkins LLP398 (year not confirmed)
Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP220 (year not confirmed)

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLPNot Reported
Latham & Watkins LLPNot Reported
Davis Polk & Wardwell LLPCentralized staffing

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLPNo
Latham & Watkins LLPNo
Davis Polk & Wardwell LLPNo

: 99.4%
Class size: 190 (2026)
: Not Reported
: No

Offer rate: 100%
Class size: 398 (year not confirmed)
How associates get work: Not Reported
Specific practice area: No

Offer rate: 99.4%
Class size: 220 (year not confirmed)
How associates get work: Centralized staffing
Specific practice area: No

Chambers by practice, market and year

Green marks the stronger for the same practice, market and year. Shared results are listed once. split some top tables.

Shared rankings

Antitrust · New York · 2026Band 1

Capital Markets: Debt & Equity · California · 2026Band 1

Corporate/M&A · Nationwide · 2026Band 1 · The Elite

Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation · New York · 2026Band 1

Litigation: Securities · New York · 2026Band 1

Litigation: White-Collar Crime & Government Investigations · New York · 2026Band 1 · The Elite

Securities: Litigation · Nationwide · 2026Band 1

Tax: Corporate & Finance · Nationwide · 2026Band 1

Rank differences

AntitrustNationwide · 2026

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLPBand 1
Latham & Watkins LLPBand 1
Davis Polk & Wardwell LLPBand 2

Band 1

Band 2

Banking & FinanceNationwide · 2026

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLPBand 3
Latham & Watkins LLPBand 1
Davis Polk & Wardwell LLPBand 1

Band 3

Band 1

Banking & FinanceNew York · 2026

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLPBand 4
Latham & Watkins LLPBand 1
Davis Polk & Wardwell LLPBand 1

Band 4

Band 1

Bankruptcy/RestructuringNationwide · 2026

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLPBand 3 · Elite
Latham & Watkins LLPBand 1 · Elite
Davis Polk & Wardwell LLPBand 1 · Elite

Band 3 · Elite

Band 1 · Elite

Bankruptcy/RestructuringNew York · 2026

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLPBand 3 · Elite
Latham & Watkins LLPBand 1 · Elite
Davis Polk & Wardwell LLPBand 1 · Elite

Band 3 · Elite

Band 1 · Elite

Capital Markets: Convertible DebtNationwide · 2026

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLPBand 2
Latham & Watkins LLPBand 1
Davis Polk & Wardwell LLPBand 1

Band 2

Band 1

Capital Markets: Equity: Issuer CounselNationwide · 2026

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLPBand 2
Latham & Watkins LLPBand 1
Davis Polk & Wardwell LLPBand 1

Band 2

Band 1

Capital Markets: Equity: Manager CounselNationwide · 2026

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLPBand 2
Latham & Watkins LLPBand 1
Davis Polk & Wardwell LLPBand 1

Band 2

Band 1

Capital Markets: High-Yield DebtNationwide · 2026

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLPBand 2
Latham & Watkins LLPBand 1
Davis Polk & Wardwell LLPBand 1

Band 2

Band 1

Capital Markets: Investment Grade Debt: Issuer CounselNationwide · 2026

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLPBand 2
Latham & Watkins LLPBand 1
Davis Polk & Wardwell LLPBand 1

Band 2

Band 1

Corporate Crime & InvestigationsNationwide · 2026

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLPBand 2 · Elite
Latham & Watkins LLPBand 1 · Elite
Davis Polk & Wardwell LLPBand 1 · Elite

Band 2 · Elite

Band 1 · Elite

Corporate/M&ANew York · 2026

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLPBand 1 · Elite
Latham & Watkins LLPBand 2 · Elite
Davis Polk & Wardwell LLPBand 1 · Elite

Band 1 · Elite

Band 2 · Elite

Band 1 · Elite

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”.