Big Law Shrinks Two Years In A Row

Nearly 2,900 fewer lawyers worked for the 250 top firms last year. That's in addition to the approximately 6,600 attorneys who departed in 2009. In the 34 years the NLJ has been surveying large firms to gather headcount numbers, there have never been multiyear declines of this magnitude.

From here

The combined two year cut represents a reduction in force at the 250 largest law firms of about 6%.

The largest law firm in the United States, Baker McKenzie, has 3,738 attorneys. Twenty law firms have 1,000 or more attorneys. The 250th largest law firm in the United States has 160 attorneys.

The largest law firms headquartered in Colorado are Holland & Hart with 389 attorneys, Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck with 218 attorneys, Holme, Roberts & Owen with 192 attorneys, and Sherman and Howard with 187 attorneys (each of which have a Denver headquarters). No other Colorado headquartered firms are among the 250 largest in the United States, although some large firms with a headquarters in another state have large branch offices in Colorado.