A Data-Driven Look at Growth, Diversity, Promotion, and Retention Pillars
What defines a successful law firm today?
Size and reputation may signal market presence, but they don’t always reveal long-term health. SurePoint’s Leopard Law Firm Index (LLFI) was designed to go beyond traditional metrics and measure the drivers of sustainable firm success.
The newly released 2025 LLFI Top 200 recognizes firms that demonstrated consistent performance across several key pillars throughout the year.
Established in 2020, the LLFI is a real-time rating system within the SurePoint Legal Insights database. It evaluates U.S. firm performance across profitability, viability, growth, and stability using quantitative, size-adjusted data.
The 2025 rankings reflect month-by-month performance across indicators of firm health, including attorney headcount growth, partner promotions, revenue per lawyer (RPL), retention (hiring ROI), gender and ethnic diversity, and average lawyer tenure.
Each firm’s average LLFI score provides a comprehensive view of full-year performance.
NEW: SurePoint Releases the 2025 LLFI Top 200 Rankings
Below, we highlight several firms that stood out across key pillars of the rankings—growth, diversity, promotions, and retention—and what their performance signals about broader market trends.
Growth Performance
Within the LLFI, the growth pillar measures headcount change and strategic hiring activity. The 2025 LLFI Top 200 evaluates performance for each month of the year, calculating an average year-over-year change to reflect sustained growth.
While expansion can signal opportunity and momentum, it can also introduce integration and cultural risks if not managed carefully.
Within the 2025 Top 200:
- Average growth: +6%
Top Firms for Growth:
- Kahana & Feld LLP: +63%
- Troutman Pepper Locke LLP: +44%
- Womble Bond Dickinson LLP: +38%
- Harris Beach Murtha Cullina PLLC: +38%
- Ballard Spahr LLP: +27%
Top Performer: Kahana & Feld LLP (#174)
Kahana & Feld, the smallest firm by attorney headcount in the Top 200, recorded the highest average growth rate at 63%. In 2025, the firm added 98 attorneys (90 laterals and 8 new hires), offset by 35 departures.
The firm promoted four partners, achieved 92% lateral retention ROI and 78% new hire retention ROI, and achieved 36% ethnic diversity across the firm.
What stands out is not just the pace of expansion, but the retention behind it. Strong lateral ROI signals disciplined hiring aligned with long-term strategy.
Ethnic Diversity
The ethnic diversity pillar reflects firms’ representation of U.S.-based attorneys from historically underrepresented backgrounds, providing insight into how firms are building inclusive teams.
Within the 2025 Top 200:
- Average ethnic diversity: 20%
Top Firms for Ethnic Diversity:
- Fragomen: 41%
- Atkinson, Andelson, Loya, Ruud & Romo: 38%
- White & Case LLP: 38%
- Bremer Whyte Brown & O’Meara LLP: 37%
- Kahana & Feld LLP: 36%
Top Performer: Fragomen (#73)
Fragomen’s U.S. offices led the Top 200 for ethnic diversity representation, more than doubling the Top 200 average.
In 2025, the firm saw an average growth rate of 2% while achieving 98% lateral retention ROI and 93% new hire retention ROI. Although overall growth was modest, retention suggests a strong culture and stability.
Fragomen’s diversity performance continues to stand out year after year, reinforcing that representation and long-term retention can move in tandem, even as the pressures on law firms shift.
Partner Promotions
Partner promotion rates offer insight into internal mobility, leadership development, and succession planning. Firms that consistently elevate talent from within demonstrate a commitment to building the next generation of leaders.
The 2025 LLFI Top 200 measures partner promotions monthly and calculates an annual promotion rate across the full year.
Within the 2025 Top 200:
- Average partner promotion rate: 5%
Firms with the Highest Partner Promotion Rates:
- Bodman PLC: 17%
- Clark Hill PLC: 15%
- Gunster: 15%
- Fish & Richardson P.C.: 12%
- Dickinson Wright PLLC: 12%
Top Performer: Bodman PLC (#196)
Bodman PLC, a Non-Am Law 200 firm, led the Top 200 with a 17% partner promotion rate. Operating across four Michigan offices with 184 total attorneys, the firm also achieved 100% retention ROI on lateral hires and 94% retention ROI on new hires.
After narrowly missing the Top 200 last year (finishing #204), Bodman entered the Top 200 in 2025, propelled by strong promotion rates and excellent retention. A disciplined leadership pipeline remains a clear marker of long-term firm stability and competitive strength.
ROI on Hiring
Return on Investment (ROI) measures how effectively firms retain and leverage new talent. In a competitive recruiting environment, hiring without retention erodes profitability.
The LLFI evaluates how well firms both hire and retain attorneys, providing a clear view of long-term talent performance.
Within the 2025 Top 200:
- 95% average ROI on laterals
- 94% average ROI on new hires
An exclusive group of four firms achieved 100% ROI in both lateral and new hire categories:
- Stinson LLP (#121)
- Linklaters (#132)
- Choate Hall & Stewart LLP (#158)
- Beveridge & Diamond P.C. (#189)
These firms set the standard for alignment between recruiting, integration, and long-term retention.
What the Top 200 Tells Us
The 2025 LLFI rankings reinforce a critical point: strong firms do not rely on a single metric.
Performance is multi-dimensional. Firms that balance growth with retention, representation, and leadership development are better positioned for long-term resilience.
Because the day-to-day LLFI rankings update twice weekly, these insights are not a snapshot of a single moment in time. They are a living view of firm performance as the market shifts.
Explore the Data Further
For deeper analysis by region, practice area, growth stage, or competitor benchmarking, SurePoint Legal Insights provides the real-time intelligence needed to evaluate firm performance with precision.
Request a personalized demo to explore SurePoint’s 2025 LLFI Top 200 and see how your firm compares.