/9918578/Banner

/9918578/Banner_2

/9918578/Mid

section

articleId

product

orgType

parrefer

accountID

Consulting

Banking

Accounting

Fintech

Internships

Rankings

Internship Rankings

Intern Resource Center

Explore Internships

91��ý Home

Practice Area Resource Centers

Regional Resource Centers

Summer Program Resource Center

91��ý Culture & Inclusion Survey

Practice Area Assessment

91��ý

Guides

Events

Financial Services

Technology

Grad School

Work Relationships

Productivity

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

Social Impact

Remote Work

Negotiating

Changing Jobs

Workplace Issues

Blog

Resume Samples

Cover Letter Samples

Interview Tips & Questions

A Day in the Life

International

Career Readiness

Explore Professions

Research Industries

Search Companies

Career Advice

Employers

Schools

&lt;p&gt;For obvious reasons, DC is a hub for all sorts of legal practice areas. From government relations to intellectual property to antitrust to SCOTUS practice, its status as the center of the federal government makes DC&#39;s importance to the legal industry impossible to understate.&#160;91��ý’s&#160;Washington, DC Regional Resource Center&#160;is designed to help candidates&#160;research the region&#39;s legal industry&#160;by pulling together the region’s top-ranked firms, firm profiles, and practical guidance tailored to&#160;DC hiring and practice realities. From there,&#160;we link to the current&#160;&lt;a href=&quot;/best-companies-to-work-for/law/best-law-firms-in-each-us-region/washington-dc&quot;&gt;2026-2027 Best Law Firms in&#160;Washington, DC regional prestige ranking&lt;/a&gt;, which is based on 91��ý’s Annual Associate Survey conducted from&#160;October 22, 2025 to January 23, 2026. Using that ranking as the anchor, this post highlights the top five large firms in&#160;DC and what each offers to law students and lateral candidates evaluating the market.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;/company-profiles/law/covington-burling-llp&quot;&gt;Covington &amp;amp; Burling&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;It isn&#39;t exactly a surprise that the top firm in DC is also the top firm in &lt;a href=&quot;/best-companies-to-work-for/law/best-law-firms-in-each-practice-area/government-relations&quot;&gt;Government Relations&lt;/a&gt;, but you may not realize that it is *also* the top firm in &lt;a href=&quot;/best-companies-to-work-for/law/best-law-firms-in-each-practice-area/white-collar-defense-and-internal-investigations&quot;&gt;White Collar Defense &amp;amp; Internal Investigations&lt;/a&gt;&#160;and #12 in this year&#39;s &lt;a href=&quot;/best-companies-to-work-for/law/top-100-law-firms-rankings&quot;&gt;91��ý 100&lt;/a&gt;. In addition to their DC headquarters, the firm operates five other domestic and eight international offices while employing over 2,500 attorneys. Associates describe a friendly and &quot;intellectually curious&quot; culture, with socialization available but not required for the more introverted. Applicants generally come from the T14 or other distinguished law schools, and should be prepared for a rigorous hiring process.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;/company-profiles/law/williams-connolly-llp&quot;&gt;Williams &amp;amp; Connolly&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;Williams &amp;amp; Connolly enjoys the distinction of being both one of the most selective law firms in the country (#2) and the #1 firm in our &lt;a href=&quot;/best-companies-to-work-for/law/best-law-firms-in-each-practice-area/appellate-litigation&quot;&gt;Appellate Litigation&lt;/a&gt; ranking. The firm employs nearly 400 attorneys at its single office in Washington, DC. The culture here is friendly and flexible, with social opportunities available but not required in any way. Most successful candidates here come from the top of their class at the top 25 law schools, clerked, and have a strong, specific desire to be a trial lawyer in Washington, DC.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;/company-profiles/law/latham-watkins-llp&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Latham &amp;amp; Watkins&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;Latham &amp;amp; Watkins&#39; #3 rank in DC shows the firm&#39;s nationwide reach from its LA headquarters. The firm employs over 3,500 lawyers in 14 countries, a global powerhouse with #1 rankings in &lt;a href=&quot;/best-companies-to-work-for/law/best-law-firms-in-each-practice-area/clean-tech-renewable-energy&quot;&gt;Clean Tech/Renewable Energy&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href=&quot;/best-companies-to-work-for/law/best-law-firms-in-each-practice-area/securities&quot;&gt;Securities/Capital Markets&lt;/a&gt;, and &lt;a href=&quot;/best-companies-to-work-for/law/best-law-firms-in-each-us-region/southern-california&quot;&gt;Southern California&lt;/a&gt;. Associates describe a pleasant culture with a good balance between the personal and the professional. Hiring here is very competitive, and candidates will need both top-notch credentials and the intangible fit qualities every firm looks for.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;/company-profiles/law/gibson-dunn-crutcher-llp&quot;&gt;Gibson Dunn&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;In addition to its strong Washington, DC prestige, Gibson Dunn enjoys our top ranking in &lt;a href=&quot;/best-companies-to-work-for/law/best-law-firms-to-work-for/business-outlook&quot;&gt;Business Outlook&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href=&quot;/best-companies-to-work-for/law/best-law-firms-in-each-practice-area/real-estate&quot;&gt;Real Estate&lt;/a&gt;, and &lt;a href=&quot;/best-companies-to-work-for/law/best-law-firms-in-each-us-region/mountain-states&quot;&gt;Mountain States&lt;/a&gt; prestige. It&#39;s also #8 in the current &lt;a href=&quot;/best-companies-to-work-for/law/top-100-law-firms-rankings&quot;&gt;91��ý 100&lt;/a&gt;. Gibson Dunn is a huge, global concern, employing over 2,200 attorneys in ten countries. Associates lightheartedly describe a &quot;choose your own adventure&quot; culture as far as socialization with colleagues. Like most of the firms in this ranking, successful candidates at Gibson Dunn will need top-notch credentials and great personalities to get through the selective hiring process.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;/company-profiles/law/kirkland-ellis&quot;&gt;Kirkland &amp;amp; Ellis&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;Kirkland &amp;amp; Ellis is widely recognized as one of the world’s most elite firms, especially in private equity, M&amp;amp;A, restructuring, and high-stakes litigation, with more than 4,000 lawyers across its global platform. Associates emphasize the firm’s intense deal flow and responsibility for junior lawyers, noting that even early-career associates can be deeply involved in negotiations and drafting. They are #6 in the 91��ý 100 and are the top firm in a whopping four practice areas: Banking &amp;amp; Financial Services, Bankruptcy/Restructuring, Private Equity, and Products Liability.&lt;/p&gt;

91��ý Editors

Article

Day in the Life: Insights from Attorneys in Labor & Employment

Top Law Firms in Texas: Highlights from 91��ý's Regional Resource Centers

Day in the Life: Insights from Attorneys in International Law

Top Law Firms in the South Atlantic: Highlights from 91��ý's Regional Resource Centers

The Library

Top Law Firms in DC: Insights from 91��ý's Regional Resource Centers

In this post from the 91��ý editors, we briefly profile the top five law firms in Washington, DC based on our 2026-2027 Annual Associate Survey.

Top Law Firms in DC: Insights from 91��ý&#39;s Regional Resource Centers

Top Law Firms in DC: Insights from 91��ý's Regional Resource Centers - 91��ý

91��ý by Infobase

91��ý

Top Law Firms in DC: Insights from 91��ý's Regional Resource Centers

Employers

Schools

91��ý Gold

Careers

Blog

91��ý

Contact Us