Are you working at one of the country’s 100 most prestigious law firms?

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By Ed Wesoloski
Dolan Media Newswires

Absolutely not, if you’re toiling away at a Wisconsin law firm, according to the Vault Law 100 rankings that came out last week.

Eastern Seaboard firms in general, and New York firms in particular, dominate the list. There is also a decent showing of West Coast firms. Firms from other parts of the country are sprinkled throughout the list.

But firms from the Great Lakes State apparently aren’t splashy enough to make the subjective grade for this beauty contest. Only one Wisconsin firm made the list — Foley & Lardner LLP at 68th. The Milwaukee-based firm moved up one spot from last year’s rankings.

Perhaps you’ll be far less disappointed, assuming you were disappointed at all, about your Wisconsin firm not making Vault’s grade once you learn how firms are selected for the list.

In Vault’s own words: “Remember that in the Top 100, Vault is not assessing firms by profit, size, lifestyle, number of deals or quality of service … .”

Alright then, just what are the rankings based upon?

“[W]e are ranking the most prestigious law firms based on the perceptions of currently practicing lawyers at peer firms,” says Vault.

Vault’s methodology goes a long way in explaining why if your firm isn’t already on the list, there’s scant chance of making it. It’s not hopeless, though; four of the top 100 firms are newcomers to Vault’s most recent rankings.

Vault’s “first step is to compile a list of the most renowned law firms in the land by reviewing the feedback we receive from previous surveys, consulting our previous lists, poring over legal newspapers, talking to lawyers in the field and checking out other published rankings.

“We then asked these top firms to distribute a password-protected online survey to their associates. This year, nearly 17,000 attorneys returned anonymous surveys to Vault. …

“The online survey asked attorneys to score each of the law firms on a scale of 1 to 10 based on how prestigious it is to work for the firm. Associates were asked to ignore any firm with which they were unfamiliar and were not allowed to rank their own firm.”

Vault then averages the scores and compiles the list.

So, exactly what is prestige? Dictionaries define “prestige” in terms of having the power to impress or influence due to wealth or success, or having a commanding position in people’s minds.

Interestingly, the word’s origin is far less flattering. Here’s how Merriam-Webster’s online dictionary explains things: “French, from Middle French, conjuror’s trick, illusion[.]”

Wisconsin Law Journal Web editor Joe Yovino also contributed to this report.