2023 Vault/Firsthand Rankings Forum

[Anonymous User]

Anyone know when the new ranks drop? Thought it was typically around Juneteenth in non-covid years... possibly/hopefully Sunday?

[Anonymous User]

honest question - assuming your firm pays market, and isn’t noticeably hemorrhaging clients or partners - who cares about vault rankings?

[Anonymous User]

honest response - it's just a fun metric, kinda like seeing tabloid headlines, and always produces some entertaining threads

[Anonymous User]

honest question - assuming your firm pays market, and isn’t noticeably hemorrhaging clients or partners - who cares about vault rankings?

Preftige. Also, let's be real. Blank Rome =/= DPW.

[BrowsingTLS]

honest question - assuming your firm pays market, and isn’t noticeably hemorrhaging clients or partners - who cares about vault rankings?

Idk about you but I need to be able to look law students in the eye and say I'm cool because I work at a V50 or greater. Sorry bottom of the barrel, V51-V100 brothers.

[Anonymous User]

honest response - it's just a fun metric, kinda like seeing tabloid headlines, and always produces some entertaining threads

yeah but median CCN grads arguing that their v20 firm is more prestigious than v30s that would prefer to hire top 10% at vandy gets old after a while.

[Anonymous User]

v10 or nothing ngl

[objctnyrhnr]

honest question - assuming your firm pays market, and isn’t noticeably hemorrhaging clients or partners - who cares about vault rankings?

This. Best decision I ever made was my market matching v30-v40 rather than has the preftige. It’s just so dumb.

[Anonymous User]

honest question - assuming your firm pays market, and isn’t noticeably hemorrhaging clients or partners - who cares about vault rankings?

Preftige. Also, let's be real. Blank Rome =/= DPW.

Blank Rome is easily one of the coolest names though. Up there with Freshfields.

[Anonymous User]

Any predictions for moving in/out of the v20? I'm guessing that Paul Hastings and White Case drop out.

[nealric]

Getting worked up about year to year movements in vault is silly. A long-term trend can be meaningful, but the nature of vault is that it's going to be extremely noisy. Remember, that underlying "data" is just a giant survey where a bunch of attorneys rank a giant list of firms from 1 to 10 in terms of "prestige" (whatever that means to them). Larger firms that people have heard of tend to be systematically over-ranked relative to smaller firms that do comparable work.

[Anonymous User]

Any predictions for moving in/out of the v20? I'm guessing that Paul Hastings and White Case drop out.

Don’t work there but PH seems to be having a banner year, I seriously doubt they get hurt here.

[BrowsingTLS]

1. Wachtell (+1 - in its rightful spot)
2. Cravath (-1 - still higher than it should be)
3. Sullivan and Cromwell (+1)
4. Skadden (-1)
5. Davis Polk (+2)
6. Simpson Thatcher (+1)
7. Paul Weiss (+2)
8. Kirkland (-2)
9. Latham (-4)
10. Weil (+2 - welcome back buddy)
11. Milbank
...
Everyone else
...
51-100. Literally who are you?

[Anonymous User]

1. Wachtell (+1 - in its rightful spot)
2. Cravath (-1 - still higher than it should be)
3. Sullivan and Cromwell (+1)
4. Skadden (-1)
5. Davis Polk (+2)
6. Simpson Thatcher (+1)
7. Paul Weiss (+2)
8. Kirkland (-2)
9. Latham (-4)
10. Weil (+2 - welcome back buddy)
11. Milbank
...
Everyone else
...
51-100. Literally who are you?

I can't believe i thought this was real for a second

[Anonymous User]

Any predictions for moving in/out of the v20? I'm guessing that Paul Hastings and White Case drop out.

Heard Milbank was pleased with its substantial gain. Prob v10 or even v5 now.

[Anonymous User]

Any predictions for moving in/out of the v20? I'm guessing that Paul Hastings and White Case drop out.

Heard Milbank was pleased with its substantial gain. Prob v10 or even v5 now.

do law firms get a sneak peak?

[Anonymous User]

Any predictions for moving in/out of the v20? I'm guessing that Paul Hastings and White Case drop out.

Heard Milbank was pleased with its substantial gain. Prob v10 or even v5 now.

do law firms get a sneak peak?

the higher-ups in recruiting do.

[Ultramar vistas]

Any predictions for moving in/out of the v20? I'm guessing that Paul Hastings and White Case drop out.

Heard Milbank was pleased with its substantial gain. Prob v10 or even v5 now.

I’ll be delighted if I’m wrong, but there’s absolutely no way Milbank is a V5.

I’m pretty much 100% sure Vault does some smoothing year to year to limit major jumps that might otherwise happen due to sudden compensation-related bursts of popularity / major declines due to layoffs (cough Latham cough).

Milbank as a V5 wouldn’t reflect reality in any conventional sense, and would make Vault less credible by extension, and I don’t think they will allow that to happen. Could be wrong though, in which case Milbank will have got more than it’s money’s worth from being a comp leader, and will hopefully inspire other perennial outsiders to raise the stakes in hope of a major vault jump.

[BrowsingTLS]

Any predictions for moving in/out of the v20? I'm guessing that Paul Hastings and White Case drop out.

Heard Milbank was pleased with its substantial gain. Prob v10 or even v5 now.

I’ll be delighted if I’m wrong, but there’s absolutely no way Milbank is a V5.

I’m pretty much 100% sure Vault does some smoothing year to year to limit major jumps that might otherwise happen due to sudden compensation-related bursts of popularity / major declines due to layoffs (cough Latham cough).

Milbank as a V5 wouldn’t reflect reality in any conventional sense, and would make Vault less credible by extension, and I don’t think they will allow that to happen. Could be wrong though, in which case Milbank will have got more than it’s money’s worth from being a comp leader, and will hopefully inspire other perennial outsiders to raise the stakes in hope of a major vault jump.

Paying more money than other firms or raising the market is prestigious. And Vault is about prestige. So jumping for moving money is reasonable. You forget Milbank jumped 15 spots after it first raised market.

You think we respect Wachtell so highly because they work their associates more than other firms? No, it's the money. They also have a reputation justified or not for being exceedingly intelligent/doing more complex work than even their "peers."

[Anonymous User]

Any predictions for moving in/out of the v20? I'm guessing that Paul Hastings and White Case drop out.

Heard Milbank was pleased with its substantial gain. Prob v10 or even v5 now.

I’ll be delighted if I’m wrong, but there’s absolutely no way Milbank is a V5.

I’m pretty much 100% sure Vault does some smoothing year to year to limit major jumps that might otherwise happen due to sudden compensation-related bursts of popularity / major declines due to layoffs (cough Latham cough).

Milbank as a V5 wouldn’t reflect reality in any conventional sense, and would make Vault less credible by extension, and I don’t think they will allow that to happen. Could be wrong though, in which case Milbank will have got more than it’s money’s worth from being a comp leader, and will hopefully inspire other perennial outsiders to raise the stakes in hope of a major vault jump.

Paying more money than other firms or raising the market is prestigious. And Vault is about prestige. So jumping for moving money is reasonable. You forget Milbank jumped 15 spots after it first raised market.

You think we respect Wachtell so highly because they work their associates more than other firms? No, it's the money. They also have a reputation justified or not for being exceedingly intelligent/doing more complex work than even their "peers."

Milbank has no real prestige. Dead stop.

[BrowsingTLS]

Paying more money than other firms or raising the market is prestigious. And Vault is about prestige. So jumping for moving money is reasonable. You forget Milbank jumped 15 spots after it first raised market.

You think we respect Wachtell so highly because they work their associates more than other firms? No, it's the money. They also have a reputation justified or not for being exceedingly intelligent/doing more complex work than even their "peers."

Milbank has no real prestige. Dead stop.

Sorry they rejected you at OCI. And thanks for the anon non-argument.

Milbank to V10.

[NoLongerALurker]

Fairly, I’ve been impressed by Milbank. Unfairly, I’ve never been impressed by someone solely by virtue of the fact they work at Milbank.

I say this as someone who would lateral to Milbank and don’t really care whether or not I’m impressed by someone’s job and fully realize what a worthless shallow factor that is. But vaults literal only purpose is exclusive shallow indicators, so that’s the playing field.

[Anonymous User]

Paying more money than other firms or raising the market is prestigious. And Vault is about prestige. So jumping for moving money is reasonable. You forget Milbank jumped 15 spots after it first raised market.

You think we respect Wachtell so highly because they work their associates more than other firms? No, it's the money. They also have a reputation justified or not for being exceedingly intelligent/doing more complex work than even their "peers."

Milbank has no real prestige. Dead stop.

Sorry they rejected you at OCI. And thanks for the anon non-argument.

Milbank to V10.

Lolz currently at a real v10. You cant just purchase true prestige… guess I presumed too much

No extra hate on Milbank, and even appreciate them pushing the salary envelope, but cmon

[Anonymous User]

1. Wachtell (+1 - in its rightful spot)
2. Cravath (-1 - still higher than it should be)
3. Sullivan and Cromwell (+1)
4. Skadden (-1)
5. Davis Polk (+2)
6. Simpson Thatcher (+1)
7. Paul Weiss (+2)
8. Kirkland (-2)
9. Latham (-4)
10. Weil (+2 - welcome back buddy)
11. Milbank
...
Everyone else
...
51-100. Literally who are you?

I know this isn't it but it should be. I'm weirdly okay with this, it just feels right.

[Anonymous User]

Paying more money than other firms or raising the market is prestigious. And Vault is about prestige. So jumping for moving money is reasonable. You forget Milbank jumped 15 spots after it first raised market.

You think we respect Wachtell so highly because they work their associates more than other firms? No, it's the money. They also have a reputation justified or not for being exceedingly intelligent/doing more complex work than even their "peers."

Milbank has no real prestige. Dead stop.

Sorry they rejected you at OCI. And thanks for the anon non-argument.

Milbank to V10.

Lolz currently at a real v10. You cant just purchase true prestige… guess I presumed too much

No extra hate on Milbank, and even appreciate them pushing the salary envelope, but cmon

lol