2023 Vault Rankings
At a Glance
“Good culture, quality work, and respect for associates”
“Flexibility and independence”
“Slow to match national compensation increases”
“Communication, training, and formal mentorship”
About Alston & Bird
Alston & Bird is home to 800-plus lawyers located across the U.S., from its headquarters in the Peach State to nine additional domestic offices and three international locations. The firm has been recognized for its strength in such areas as health care, privacy and data security, real estate, and tax.
Shopping for Growth
Atlanta-based Alston & Bird’s predecessor firms date back to 1893. Nearly a century later, in 1982, the firm known as Alston, Miller & Gaines merged with Jones, Bird & Howell and adopted the combined name Alston & Bird. The firm’s operations remained in Georgia where it represented institutions like CNN, Emory University, and Augusta National founder Bobby Jones, a former firm partner, until the debut of its Washington, DC, office in 1990. A series of mergers and expansion efforts beginning in the late ’90s (and continuing to the present) increased the firm’s domestic footprint to California, New York, North Carolina, and Texas. Overseas, the firm opened its first international office in Beijing, followed by a Brussels office to focus on payments and data privacy, and followed with the addition of a London office.
Business Savvy
Alston & Bird’s eight major practice areas are broken down into dozens of subspecialties, ranging from ADR litigation to water resources issues. The firm’s industry focus includes the energy, health care, financial services, hospitality, infrastructure, special services, technology and insurance sectors, as well as colleges and universities. The firm also has a dedicated subprime mortgage markets group.
Attorneys at Alston & Bird help clients resolve some of the most challenging issues facing businesses today. The firm’s nationally recognized Privacy & Data Security group represents a full range of clients in identifying their objectives at every step of the information lifecycle regarding the collection, use, and protection of customer data. The group’s cybersecurity attorneys are called on by large, global corporations to assist in both preventing and responding to security incidents and data breaches, including all varieties of network intrusion and data loss events.
Another leading practice is Alston & Bird’s Finance group, centered on a lending core and bolstered by niche specialty areas, including corporate trust, commercial mortgage servicing, and structured finance. Representing the most active issuers, originators, servicers, trustees, master servicers, fund managers, investors, rating agencies, and insurers, the team has experience in structuring and closing complex transactions across a wide variety of asset classes. The practice includes long-time strengths like debt finance but also securitization, private equity funds, and emerging areas like aircraft and equipment financing.
Simply the Best
Its employees have spoken, and Alston & Bird is a pretty great place to work. The firm has been named to Fortune’s 100 Best Companies to Work For 23 years in a row. According to the firm, it is the only law firm to be honored in the survey for 23 consecutive years. Among the areas considered in the survey are values, leadership, trust, and camaraderie.
News & Awards
- Served as lead class action defense counsel to Toyota in its Unintended Acceleration MDL in California, one of the largest MDLs in U.S. history, following widely publicized vehicle recalls.
- Represented Dell in the largest appraisal proceeding ever filed in Delaware Chancery Court, with owners of over 38 million shares of Dell stock seeking to have the Chancery Court determine the fair value of their shares.
- Represented Nokia against Apple in several patent litigation and U.S. International Trade Commission proceedings covering smartphone and touch screen technology.
- Served as Examiner for the bankruptcy examination of Enron, after its highly publicized 2001 collapse.
- Corporate Equality Index, 2022 — Human Rights Campaign
- 100 Best Companies to Work For, 2022 — Fortune Magazine
- Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch, 2022 — The Best Lawyers in America®
- U.S. Law Firm Brand Index, 2022 — Thomson Reuters
- Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business, 2022 — Chambers
One Atlantic Center
1201 West Peachtree Street, Suite 4900
Atlanta, GA 30309
Phone: (404) 881-7000
Managing Partner: Richard R. Hays
Hiring Partners: Elizabeth A. Price (Atlanta); Christopher TL Douglas (Charlotte); Jared M. Slade (Dallas & Fort Worth); Julia Mediamolle (DC); Courtney M. Wright (LA); Christopher L. McArdle (NY); Michael A. Kaeding (Raleigh); Valarie C. Williams (San Francisco); William B. Snyder (Silicon Valley)
Total No. Attorneys (2022):
750 - 1K
No. of Partners Named 2022:
15
Base Salary (2022)
1st year: $215,000
2nd year: $225,000
3rd year: $250,000
4th year: $295,000
5th year: $345,000
6th year: $370,000
7th year+: $400,000+
Summer Associate: $4,135/week
Erin Springer
Director of Attorney Hiring
(404) 881-4464
erin.springer@alston.com
Recruiting contacts for all Alston & Bird locations can be found at www.alston.com/careers
No. of U.S. Offices: 10
No. of International Offices: 3
Atlanta, GA (HQ)
Charlotte, NC
Dallas, TX
Fort Worth, TX
Los Angeles, CA
New York, NY
Raleigh, NC
San Francisco, CA
Silicon Valley, CA
Washington, DC | Beijing
Brussels
London
Corporate & Finance
Environment, Land Development & Natural Resources
Health Care
Intellectual Property
Legislative & Public Policy
Litigation
Privacy & Data Security
Tax
*See firm website for complete list of practice areas and industries.