<p>“You are right Greybeard. I guess the word suggests more to me than just size - so firms like Ropes & Gray and Hale & Dorr jump to mind over Brobeck, Pillsbury or Morrison.”</p>
<p>I agree, it’s not just size. Hyatt Legal Services used to lead the lists of largest law firms in the US. The usual metrics include per-partner profits.</p>
<p>For 2006, in Boston, Ropes & Gray came in at $1.1 million (behind Goodwin at $1.43 million, and ahead of Wilmer at $.98 million). </p>
<p>In the Bay Area, Morrison & Foerster had profits per-partner of $1.13 million. Orrick Herrington came in at $1.43 million, Wilson Sonsini at $1.275 million, Heller Ehrman at $1.035, and Pillsbury lagged at $.875. Townsend, a smaller Bay Area firm, came in at $1.44.</p>