Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom
Top-5 global law firm known for M&A, deal advisory, and elite corporate litigation.
On the record
Checkpoint: 2027 Am Law 100/200 rankings and 2026 full-year M&A league tables
The call
Skadden still sits among the top five global deal firms, but its AI rollout and partner pay growth trail Kirkland and Paul Weiss.
Skadden is one of the world's biggest law firms, making $3.4 to $3.7 billion a year mostly from mergers, acquisitions, and advisory work for large corporations and financial firms. Competitors like Kirkland and Paul Weiss are growing faster (20-30% more in profits per partner per year), and they are using artificial intelligence tools better and quicker than Skadden is. The biggest risk: if Skadden stays a year or more behind on AI software while other top firms use it to do work faster with fewer lawyers, the best lawyers will leave for higher pay elsewhere, and the firm will keep losing ground.
Why
01
AI pressure: Harvey AI. Harvey hired Skadden's own AI chief in 2026; Skadden has no matching firm-wide rollout yet, unlike A&O Shearman or Microsoft. Could AI do the core job? Unlikely.
02
Bigger players: Kirkland & Ellis and Paul Weiss. Both rivals are pulling ahead on revenue and partner pay growth, squeezing Skadden's relative standing in deal tables. Could a giant copy it? No, they are blocked.
03
What protects it. Only licensed partners can appear as counsel of record, and Skadden still ranks top-5 globally in M&A deal value.
What would change this call
2027 Am Law 100 rankings show Skadden's revenue-per-lawyer vs Kirkland and Latham. Would show if Skadden is falling behind faster-growing rivals financially.
Skadden announces (or continues to lack) a firm-wide Harvey or Copilot AI rollout. Would show if Skadden is closing or widening its AI adoption gap versus A&O Shearman.
Additional senior partner departures to Kirkland, Paul Weiss, or Latham within 12 months. Would indicate morale or compensation erosion driving talent loss.
Skadden announces (or continues to lack) a firm-wide Harvey or Copilot AI rollout. Would show if Skadden is closing or widening its AI adoption gap versus A&O Shearman.
Additional senior partner departures to Kirkland, Paul Weiss, or Latham within 12 months. Would indicate morale or compensation erosion driving talent loss.
Key numbers
- 2024 gross revenue $3.4bn to $3.67bn
- 2024 profit per equity partner: $6.0 million
- 55 new partners named April 2026, up from 22 in 2025
Named risks
- Congressional scrutiny over 2025 Trump pro-bono settlement and Intel conflict allegations.
- Intel shareholder litigation implicating Skadden's ethics in Commerce Department deal.
- AI-adoption lag versus peers like A&O Shearman and Microsoft's Harvey rollout.
- Senior partner and AI-leadership departures to rivals and legal-tech vendors.
- Inconsistent revenue and PEP figures across sources complicate performance tracking.
Rivals, as read in July 2026
| Rival | Direction | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Kirkland & Ellis | gaining on | PEP $11.1M, up 20% YoY in 2025 vs Skadden's $6.0M 2024 PEP |
| Paul Weiss | gaining on | Revenue up 31.6% YoY in 2025, fastest among Am Law 100 |
| Latham & Watkins | gaining on | Ranked #1 global M&A adviser with ~$787bn value in 2025 |
| Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz | contesting | Topped 2025 North America M&A rankings alongside Kirkland |
| Harvey AI | contesting | Poached Skadden chief AI/tech officer Harris Tilevitz in early 2026 |
Questions people ask
- Is Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom profitable?
- Yes. Skadden reported profit per equity partner of $6.0 million in 2024, with gross revenue between $3.4 billion and $3.7 billion depending on source, ranking it 4th on the 2025 Am Law 200 by revenue and among the top-5 global law firms.
- Is Skadden losing ground to Kirkland & Ellis?
- Kirkland & Ellis is growing faster: it crossed $10 billion in revenue and posted a preliminary 2025 profit-per-equity-partner of $11.1 million, up 20% year over year, versus Skadden's reported $6.0 million PEP in 2024, suggesting Skadden is losing relative ground.
- Could AI replace Skadden lawyers?
- Unlikely for core work. AI tools like Harvey speed up due diligence and drafting, but Skadden's bet-the-company M&A judgment, courtroom advocacy, and licensed counsel-of-record signature cannot be replaced by AI as of July 2026, though document-heavy tasks face automation pressure.
- Who owns Skadden?
- Skadden is a private limited liability partnership with no external investors or parent company, founded April 1, 1948 by Marshall Skadden, John Slate and Les Arps. Jeremy D. London has served as executive partner since April 2024.
- Who is Skadden's biggest competitor?
- Kirkland & Ellis and Paul Weiss are the fastest-growing rivals as of 2025, with Kirkland's PEP up 20% year over year and Paul Weiss posting a 31.6% revenue jump, while Wachtell and Latham & Watkins topped 2025 M&A league tables ahead of Skadden.
- Is Skadden facing legal or ethics trouble?
- Yes. Skadden's March 2025 $100 million pro-bono settlement with the Trump administration drew repeated congressional letters (April 2025, September 2025, July 2026) and an Intel shareholder complaint alleging conflicts, with Skadden stonewalling inquiries as of July 2026.
Timeline
- 2026-07-22Senators Blumenthal, Schiff and Rep. Raskin send third letter demanding answers on Trump settlement and Intel conflict
- 2026-07-21Report says Intel shareholders dispute Skadden's claim its Trump deal raised no ethical issues
- 2026-06-16Skadden hires investment management lawyer trio from Akin Gump for Abu Dhabi office
- 2026-05-29Executive partner Jeremy London says firm promoted 55 new partners, up from 22 in 2025
- 2026-04-08Reports confirm chief AI/tech officer Harris Tilevitz departed to advise Harvey
- 2026-03-12Skadden recruits debt-financing duo from Paul Hastings to build private credit practice
- 2025-03Skadden agrees to $100 million pro-bono settlement with Trump administration
- 2025-01Skadden opens first Middle East office in Abu Dhabi
- 2024-10Skadden closes Shanghai office while retaining Beijing presence
- 1948-04-01Skadden founded in New York by Marshall Skadden, John Slate and Les Arps
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
- Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom (2026-07-23)
- Skadden's Jeremy London on the Mission to 'Evolve and Improve' (2026-05-29)
- Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, Law Firm Profile (2025)
- Skadden · LSD.Law
- The 2025 Am Law 100 | By the Numbers (2026-02-26)
- All You Need To Know (2026-05-27)
- Wachtell, Kirkland top North American M&A rankings 2025 (2026-01-27)
- Bloomberg Law 2025 League Tables (2026-04-01)
- Skadden Recruits Debt Financing Duo From Paul Hastings (2026-03-12)
- Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP & Affiliates, Global 2026
- Skadden Arps Slate Number of Employees 2026 (2026-06-29)
- Skadden Hires Investment Management Lawyer Trio From Akin Gump (2026-06-16)