This New York-based powerhouse has successfully defended five of the largest investment banking firms in the country against antitrust charges filed by Feds. Key Sullivan & Cromwell clients: JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, and Porsche. (Photo: JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon)

This firm dates to pre-WWI New York and was the first Big Apple firm to hire a black associate as well as the first to make a woman a partner. Key Paul, Weiss clients: Pfizer, Citigroup, and the now defunct Bear Stearns. (Photo: Former Bear Stearns CEO James Cayne)

Founded by Eli Whitney Debevoise (a direct descendent of the cotton gin inventor) and William E. Stevenson (an Olympic gold medalist in 1924), this New York-based firm has represented numerous clients in the U.S. and abroad involved in criminal and SEC investigations and litigation. Key Debevoise & Plimpton clients: AIG, Bristol-Myers Squibb, and Occidental Petroleum. (Photo: AIG CEO Robert Benmosche)

This New York-based Goliath was the first law firm to book $1 billion in annual revenue. It also formerly employed ex-New York State Governor Eliot Spitzer and is widely considered one of the most powerful Wall Street M&A advisor and litigation firms. Key Skadden clients: Deloitte, KPMG, JPMorgan Chase, Pfizer, and UBS. (Photo: Former New York State Governor Eliot Spitzer)

In 1967, legendary litigator-to-the-stars Edward Bennett Williams teamed with a former student of his at Georgetown Law to open this small shop in Washington, D.C. Resisting globalization, this one-office firm with 270 attorneys continues to holds its own against firms ten times its size. Key Williams & Connolly clients: Oliver North, John Hinckley Jr., Bill and Hillary Clinton, GE, McDonald’s, Marriott, and Time Warner. (Photo: Former United States Marine Lieutenant Colonel Oliver North)