The Chicago Legal Market Leaderboard
3 minute read • Updated 27 October 2026
In our US leaderboard series, we look at the law firms with largest partner headcount and strongest recent headcount growth in US legal markets. This time we've looked specifically at AM Law 200 firms growth in Chicago. Here are the firms that have led the way over the last 12 months.
Chicago Matches Boston and Los Angeles in Partner Growth
Chicago' AM Law 200 partner headcount rose +2% over the last 12 months, from 4,001 partners to 4,089. That's the same as Boston (+2%) and Los Angeles (+2%), and puts Chicago mid-table among the largest US legal markets, behind New York City (+6%) and Washington, D.C. (+3%).
Ranked: Which Law Firms are Leading Growth in Chicago?
United States, Chicago, AM Law 200 firms with >10 Partners, September 2025 - September 2026
Partners with multiple locations have been evenly distributed across each
Insurance & Private Client Drove Chicago Practice Growth
Insurance posted the strongest practice growth over the year at +11%, adding 32 partners, ahead of Private Client (+6%) and Banking & Finance (+4%). Labor & Employment (-1%) and Tax (-2%) ran against the trend as the only practices to shrink.
Litigation remains as the largest practice in the city at 1,514 partners, but it grew just
+1%, slower than the Chicago market as a whole.
Washington, D.C. Was The Biggest Source Of Chicago’s Incoming Partners
Washington, D.C. was the single biggest source for partner hires. 10 partners moved from D.C. into Chicago, 20% of all arrivals, while only 2 went the other way. Dallas sent 5 and took 1, and Los Angeles sent 5 and took 2.
New York City was the only major market to take more from Chicago than it gave. 9 partners left Chicago for New York City,
25% of all departures and more than any other destination.
Private Equity Firms Dominate the Leading Firms’ Client Work
Eight of the ten clients appearing most often in publicly disclosed matters across Chicago’s top 10 AM Law 200 growing firms are investment funds.
GTCR leads with
147 publicly disclosed matters, ahead of Thoma Bravo (101) and Bain Capital (92). Only two clients on the list sit outside finance: General Motors, which is the most widely shared client on the leaderboard with 3 of the 10 firms acting for it, and Eli Lilly.
Chicago, AM Law 200, Top 10 ranked firms, Top 10 clients by publicly disclosed matters
Note on methodology
Source: Publicly-available data tracked by Pirical Legal Professionals
Location: Chicago, United States
Timeframe:
September 2025 - September 2026
Score weightings:
- 50% headcount growth
- 50% current headcount size
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