Cravath, Swaine & Moore
Elite New York law firm advising top corporations on M&A, litigation, and deals.
On the record
Checkpoint: FY2025 Am Law 200 financial results release, showing if revenue growth held above 5% amid partner exits
The call
Cravath still tops the prestige and deal-flow tables, but partner defections and peer-firm profit gaps show cracks under the polished surface.
Cravath is one of the most prestigious law firms in the world, known for handling complex corporate and legal work for the biggest companies. The firm is hard to replace because of its long-standing relationships with major clients who have worked with Cravath for decades, plus only human lawyers can sign off on certain legal papers, which AI cannot do. However, rival firms like Wachtell Lipton and Simpson Thacher are growing faster and making more profit per partner, and they are recruiting away Cravath's top lawyers, which suggests Cravath's advantage is real but slipping. The key thing to watch is whether this partner departures stay at a slow trickle or speed up in the next couple of years, because that would signal the firm is losing its grip on its best talent and strongest position.
Why
01
AI pressure: Harvey (AI legal platform). 42% of Am Law 100 firms already use Harvey for research and drafting, pressuring associate-hour billing that funds Cravath's model. Could AI do the core job? Unlikely.
02
Bigger players: Wachtell, Simpson Thacher, Sidley Austin. Rivals are poaching partners and posting faster profit growth: Wachtell's PEP rose 35% to $12.2M versus Cravath's 5.2% to $7.2M. Could a giant copy it? No, they are blocked.
03
What protects it. Only licensed attorneys can sign court filings, and 200-year client ties plus the #1 Vault rank keep top mandates flowing to Cravath.
What would change this call
Vault Law 100 2027 ranking release. Whether Cravath holds #1 prestige spot or slips, signaling weakening brand pull.
Am Law 200 FY2025 financial results (~April 2027). Shows if revenue growth stayed near 9% or fell below 5% versus peers.
Any full practice group (e.g. capital markets, investigations) departure announcement. Would confirm structural erosion beyond scattered partner exits.
Am Law 200 FY2025 financial results (~April 2027). Shows if revenue growth stayed near 9% or fell below 5% versus peers.
Any full practice group (e.g. capital markets, investigations) departure announcement. Would confirm structural erosion beyond scattered partner exits.
Key numbers
- 2024 gross revenue $1.2B, up 9% YoY
- PEP grew only 5.2% to $7.2M in 2025
- About 12 partner exits reported in 2026
Named risks
- Unusual 2026 wave of about a dozen partner exits to rival firms threatens practice group stability.
- Profits-per-partner growth (5.2%) lagging peers like Wachtell (35%) signals competitive pressure.
- No disclosed flagship AI platform partnership versus peers reportedly adopting tools like Harvey.
- Heavy revenue reliance on mega-deals like the pending $110B Paramount-WBD acquisition, subject to regulatory review.
Rivals, as read in July 2026
| Rival | Direction | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Simpson Thacher & Bartlett | gaining on | Poached top Cravath litigator Cameron, 2026-07-08; revenue over $3.5B in 2025 |
| Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz | gaining on | PEP up 35% to $12.2M versus Cravath's +5.2% to $7.2M, 2025-2026 |
| Sidley Austin | gaining on | Broadened raid on Cravath capital markets partners, reported 2026-04-15 |
| Milbank | gaining on | Led 2026 BigLaw associate pay scale hike to $235K, a role Cravath traditionally held |
| Latham & Watkins | contesting | Revenue hit $7B, up 23% in 2024, dwarfing Cravath's $1.2B scale |
Questions people ask
- Is Cravath, Swaine & Moore profitable in 2026?
- Yes, highly profitable but growth is slowing versus peers. Profits per equity partner rose 5.2% to about $7.2 million in the most recent cycle (2025-2026), after climbing 13% to $6.85 million in 2024, while Wachtell's PEP jumped 35% to $12.2 million in the same period.
- Is Cravath having layoffs or losing lawyers in 2026?
- No mass layoffs, but Cravath saw an unusual wave of roughly a dozen partner departures in 2026, including litigator Cameron to Simpson Thacher (2026-07-08) and Benjamin Gruenstein founding his own boutique (2026-07-15), a shift from its historic near-zero attrition.
- Could AI replace Cravath, Swaine & Moore's lawyers?
- Unlikely for core work. Cravath's licensed liability signing, courtroom advocacy, and decades-long client relationships resist automation. It uses AI for e-discovery via NLP tools like Reveal Brainspace since 2022-2023 and launched an internal AI advisory practice, but has no flagship platform deal like Harvey.
- Who is Cravath's biggest competitor?
- Simpson Thacher, Wachtell Lipton, and Sidley Austin are the most active rivals, poaching Cravath partners through 2026 and outpacing it on profits per partner (Wachtell's PEP grew 35% to $12.2 million versus Cravath's 5.2% to $7.2 million, per 2026 Vault-linked reporting).
- Who owns Cravath, Swaine & Moore?
- Cravath is a privately held partnership with no outside owner or parent company, funded entirely through client billings. Faiza J. Saeed has served as Presiding Partner since July 2016, the first woman to lead the 200-year-old firm.
- Does Cravath use Harvey or other legal AI tools?
- Cravath has taken a quieter, more internal approach than many Am Law 100 peers, publishing a monthly 'Artificial Intelligence Developments' newsletter starting January 2026 and using NLP e-discovery tools since 2022-2023, rather than adopting a named platform like Harvey.
Timeline
- 2026-07-15Litigation partner Benjamin Gruenstein leaves Cravath to found his own New York boutique
- 2026-07-08Top Cravath litigator Cameron departs for Simpson Thacher
- 2026-06-26Vault report shows Wachtell PEP up 35% to $12.2M versus Cravath's 5.2% rise to $7.2M
- 2026-06-14Milbank, not Cravath, leads 2026 BigLaw associate pay scale to $235K base
- 2026-06-01Cravath's Washington DC office grows to about 14 lawyers
- 2026-05-21Analysis details Cravath's internal, quiet AI adoption versus Harvey's Am Law 100 use
- 2026-03-05Bloomberg profiles Faiza Saeed's deals: Google-Wiz, Paramount-Skydance, Paramount-WBD
- 2026-01-28Cravath launches monthly Artificial Intelligence Developments newsletter
- 2026-01-13Reports detail partner exits to five rival firms; six new partners elevated
- 2025-06-18Cravath tops 2026 Vault Law 100 prestige ranking
- 2024Cravath relocates New York HQ to Two Manhattan West
- 2016-07Faiza Saeed becomes Cravath's first female Presiding Partner
Revision history
23 July 2026
First assessed. Defensible for now. The text above is fixed as of this date and is not edited afterwards.
In the same band
Sources
- A Successful Am Law 100 Compensation Model Means 'More Flexibility and Less Lockstep' (2025-04-15)
- Cravath Holds At No. 1 As Paul Weiss Drops Out Of The Top 10 (2026-06-26)
- Bloomberg Features Faiza Saeed as Top Dealmaker (2026-03-05)
- Cravath Tops 2026 Vault Law 100 Ranking of Most Prestigious Law Firms (2025-06-18)
- Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP · LSD.Law
- Cravath Builds in DC with National Security Division Counsel (2026-06-01)
- Top Cravath Litigator Cameron Heads to Simpson Thacher in NY (2026-07-08)
- Cravath Partner Exits Show No Firm Is 'Untouchable' for Poaching (2026-01-13)
- Longtime Cravath litigation partner launches New York boutique (2026-07-15)
- Faiza Saeed (2025-10-06)
- The Top 20 Most Profitable Law Firms (2024) (2025-06-06)
- Artificial Intelligence Developments, January 2026 (2026-01-28)