Best Places to Work Programs: A Strategic Investment for Law Firms

With the legal industry facing a 20% turnover rate and substantial costs associated with attorney departures, firms need every competitive advantage available to them. Many firms are experiencing turnover that could result in losing over 100% of their associates within a five-year period, an alarming trend compared with pre-pandemic standards.

While the adage “clients hire lawyers, not law firms” persists, firm reputation plays a major role in client decisions, particularly when the stakes are high. Best Places to Work recognition gives firms credible third-party validation that resonates with both job candidates and clients. The returns are concrete: better recruitment outcomes and stronger client confidence.

Law firms today are reevaluating their approach to workplace culture and employee experience. Reputation and culture have become key differentiators in attracting talent and winning business.

The Business Case for Legal Firms

The talent crunch in legal has created a seller’s market for attorneys. Law schools aren’t producing enough graduates to fill open positions, while experienced lawyers increasingly jump between firms for better opportunities and work-life balance. Add in early retirements and career changes accelerated by the pandemic, and many firms find themselves constantly recruiting.

In expertise-driven fields like law, reputation enhancement delivers extensive benefits.

The “Mental Shortcut” Effect

Workplace awards work like stamps of approval from outsiders who actually know the industry. Job hunters don’t have time to dig deep into every firm’s culture, so they look for shortcuts. An award based on employee feedback tells them, ‘Other people have already vetted this place — it’s legit.’ When someone’s deciding between two similar job offers, that recognition can be the deciding factor.

Demonstration of Positive Work Culture

Many workplace awards showcase a firm’s values around diversity, equity and inclusion, mentorship and work-life balance. Younger generations prioritize culture and purpose in their career decisions, making workplace recognition a credible way to communicate these qualities.

Building Employer Brand Visibility

Workplace recognition gets promoted across digital channels: social media, firm websites and job descriptions. This visibility keeps firms top-of-mind among passive candidates who might not be actively job hunting but remain aware of industry leaders. Firms with ongoing recognition appear stable, dynamic and growing, qualities that attract talent.

Validating the Career Path

Recognition programs signal that a firm offers opportunities for advancement and operates in a way that earns industry respect.

“Today’s candidates want assurance: If I go here, will I grow here?”

These same recognitions influence client development and business confidence. In competitive markets, workplace awards can differentiate firms when legal qualifications appear similar. Firms like O’Melveny & Myers and Morgan Lewis have successfully leveraged their workplace recognition in recruitment materials and business development conversations, creating tangible competitive advantages.

Workplace Awards as HR Intelligence Tools

These recognition programs offer a valuable secondary benefit that pays out even when firms aren’t selected. Survey-based programs like Vault Law Rankings, Great Place To Work Certification, and regional business journal assessments provide participating firms with detailed employee feedback reports, peer benchmarking, and actionable insights into workplace culture gaps. This intelligence helps firms identify retention risks, understand employee satisfaction drivers and guide strategic HR improvements.

Key Recognition Programs for Law Firms

Industry-Specific Recognition

Vault Law Rankings

Background: Vault is a career intelligence platform well-known for its rankings across various industries, particularly influential among students and junior associates. Their law firm rankings are highly anticipated annual guides.

Methodology: The most influential ranking for associates and law students, Vault Law Rankings are based on surveys of more than 23,000 law firm associates. The overall “Vault Law 100” focuses heavily on prestige, asking associates to rate firms other than their own. However, Vault also publishes specific “Best to Work For” sub-rankings covering firm culture, associate/partner relations, compensation, hours, wellness, pro bono and training. 

Application process: Firms cannot directly apply. Vault invites eligible firms to participate in their annual survey. To optimize for recognition, firms should focus on associate satisfaction through competitive compensation, clear career progression paths, strong mentorship programs, and empowering associates with leadership opportunities and meaningful work.

Cost: Free participation for invited firms.

Key Past Winners: 

• 2025 and 2026: O’Melveny & Myers LLP
• 2024: Clifford Chance US 

Best Companies to Work For: Law Firms — U.S. News & World Report

Background: Leveraging its established reputation in rankings, U.S. News expanded into “Best Companies to Work For” lists, including one specifically for law firms.

Methodology: This ranking partners with data providers to analyze publicly available data, including employee sentiment and reviews (requiring a minimum number of Glassdoor reviews). It evaluates firms based on factors mirroring workplace needs: quality of pay and benefits, work-life balance, job stability, physical and psychological comfort, belongingness and professional development opportunities.

Application process: Firms cannot apply. Selections are made using existing data sources, including Glassdoor reviews and legal market research. To position for recognition, firms should actively encourage satisfied employees to leave honest Glassdoor reviews, respond professionally to all reviews and systematically address feedback.

Cost: No cost. Selections made independently using publicly available data.

Key Past Winners:

• 2025: BAL Immigration Law 
• 2024: Jackson Lewis P.C.

Yale Law Women+ “Top Firms Report”

Background: This report offers a unique law student perspective on desirable firm characteristics.

Methodology: Categories include culture, advancement, agency and flexibility, compensation and benefits and diversity. The methodology incorporates surveys of Vault Law 100 firms and Yale Law students.

Application Process: Firms must participate in data collection and surveys sent by Yale Law Women+. To secure a placement, firms must provide comprehensive documentation of policies and practices across their five evaluation categories, with particular attention to measurable diversity initiatives, flexible work arrangements and advancement tracking systems.

Cost: No fee indicated, but requires time investment for data submission.

Key Past Winners:

• 2025 Gold Overall: Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP
• 2024 Top Firm for Advancement: Jenner & Block LLP
• 2024 Top Firm for Agency & Flexibility: Sheppard Mullin
• 2024 Top Firm for Compensation: Ropes & Gray LLP

Cross-Industry Recognition

Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For^®

Background: While not specific to the law, this prestigious list compiled by Fortune and Great Place To Work often includes large law firms that meet its high standards. Recognition indicates exceptional workplace culture across various industries.

Methodology: Based heavily on confidential employee surveys analyzed by Great Place To Work, evaluating trust, respect, fairness, pride and camaraderie. Also includes an assessment of company programs and practices. Firms must be Great Place To Work-Certified™ first.

Application Process: Firms must actively apply and complete the Great Place to Work Certification first, which requires employee surveys and culture audits. Eligible firms must have 1,000 or more U.S. employees and meet strict survey response and satisfaction thresholds.

Cost: Certification costs vary by company size and services selected. 

Key Past Winners (Law Firms):

• 2025: PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (No. 20, Alston & Bird LLP (No. 37), Perkins Coie (No. 89)
• 2024: Baker Donelson (No. 30), Alston & Bird (No. 41), Cooley (No. 42), Perkins Coie (No. 46), Arnold & Porter (No. 75)
• 2023: Orrick (celebrated its 10th consecutive year on the list)

Comparably Best Places to Work Awards

Background: Comparably is a leading workplace culture platform with over 20 million anonymous employee ratings spanning 70,000 companies. Their quarterly awards program recognizes excellence across 16 different workplace categories.

Methodology: Winners are determined based on over 50 structured workplace questions across nearly 20 core culture categories, including compensation, leadership, work-life balance, professional development and diversity. Employees rate companies on various scales, and scores are compared against similar-sized organizations.

Application: No formal application process required. Firms cannot apply directly. Winners are selected entirely by employee ratings and reviews on Comparably.com. To increase chances of being recognized, firms should encourage employees to leave honest reviews on the platform.

Cost: No fees or costs associated with participation.

Local Market Recognition

Business Journal “Best Places to Work” Programs

Background: These regional recognition programs operate through local business publications and chambers of commerce across North America. For firms with strong regional client bases, local recognition carries substantial weight in the markets where they compete most actively. Many are organized through the American City Business Journals network.

Methodology: These programs run on yearly cycles with set deadlines, and most rely on employee survey data to pick winners. For law firms looking to build their reputation in specific markets, this kind of local recognition can be incredibly valuable. It puts them on the radar of regional clients and shows they’re a serious player in their area.

Application: Firms need to apply every year during specific windows. Most programs require workplace evaluations and employee surveys handled by outside research companies.

Cost: The basic survey and evaluation typically don’t cost anything, but many firms end up buying the detailed feedback reports to get a better picture of where they stand and what their employees are actually saying.

Strategy and Preparation

Getting recognized takes some real upfront work. Companies that win these awards don’t just wing it. Here’s what they do:

1. Internal assessment: Before jumping into any application, firms need to take a hard look at their workplace culture and how satisfied their employees actually are. This reality check helps them figure out what they’re doing well and what needs fixing before they put themselves out there.
2. Data gathering: Firms should collect concrete numbers on retention, professional development, benefits usage and other programs that show their commitment to employees. Hard data strengthens applications and provides talking points.
3. Employee communication: Firms should be clear with employees about why they’re pursuing this recognition and why their participation matters. When people understand the purpose, firms get better participation rates and more honest responses.
4. Timeline planning: To plan most effectively, well-organized firms look at application deadlines alongside their business calendar to avoid doing this during their busiest times and give themselves enough lead time to gather everything properly.

When communicating with employees about these surveys, emphasize that their honest feedback helps improve the workplace. This honesty pays off with better feedback and makes for a stronger application.

Maximizing the Value While Navigating Ethical Considerations

When your firm wins recognition, balancing promotional value with ethical compliance is essential. The American Bar Association provides ethics guidelines that vary by jurisdiction, with some states imposing stricter requirements than others.

Before promoting your recognition, review ethics resources. We’ve outlined a practical guide to publicly promoting awards and rankings in our previous blog post “Touting Your Award Wins” and further discuss promotion within ethical constraints in “Reprint Rights 101.” Review your specific ethical requirements, then secure proper rights to use award logos in your marketing materials and integrate them on your website with appropriate disclaimers.

To get the most out of the recognition, develop a comprehensive digital strategy across social platforms, internal communications, recruitment materials and client outreach. Create a compliant press release and implement a yearlong social media plan that extends the value of your recognition without overstatement. Throughout this process, track metrics to quantify ROI and refine your approach for future award applications.

In today’s fiercely competitive legal talent market, Best Places to Work recognition provides law firms with strategic advantages that extend far beyond marketing value. These programs offer legitimate business intelligence, third-party validation and measurable benefits in addressing industry talent challenges.

As the legal industry continues to evolve, workplace reputation will only grow in importance. Firms that manage to stand out as great places to work have a real edge when it comes to landing and keeping the best talent. It creates a positive cycle: keeping good people leads to better client outcomes, stronger relationships, enhanced reputation and an easier time attracting both talent and new business.Ready to develop your firm’s awards strategy? Download Reputation Ink’s comprehensive guide to awards and rankings for law firms to learn how to maximize the ROI of your recognition program.