New York, NY __ Vault.com released its Regional Law Rankings for 2014, and the Miami rankings have a new leader as White & Case has moved into the top spot. The crowning of a new No. 1 firm has ended Greenberg Traurig’s three-year reign as Miami’s top firm.

“While our Vault Law 100 provides a broad overview of the most prestigious firms in the nation, legal practice is largely local throughout most of the country. Our Regional Rankings offer jobseekers a more targeted perspective on the top firms in specific legal markets,” said Vera Djordjevich, Vault.com’s Director of Research and Consulting.

“Today’s rankings reflect the insights of attorneys on the strengths of peer firms within their geographic region,” added Djordjevich. “The law firms in our Regional Rankings include firms that may be renowned nationally or even internationally as well as locally; regardless of size, what they all have in common is that they have established themselves as leaders in their area.”

The Top 10 Miami firms based on Vault’s Annual Law Firm Associate Survey are:

1.    White & Case

2.    Weil, Gotshal & Manges

3.    Greenberg Traurig

4.    Holland & Knight

5.    Hunton & Williams                                             

6.    Akerman Senterfitt         

7.    Morgan Lewis & Bockius

8.    Bilzin Sumberg Baena Prince & Axelrod

9.    Hogan Lovells

10.  K&L Gates

Miami is one of just five U.S. offices for White & Case, a global giant known for its strong practices in banking, capital markets and securities, mergers and acquisitions, and real estate, among other areas. Survey respondents note that the firm has a “great international practice,” is “good for bank finance,” and boasts a “great white-collar” group.

White & Case’s takeover of the No. 1 spot represents the biggest change in this year’s rankings, along with Weil, Gotshal & Manges climbing one notch to No. 2, pushing last year’s top firm, Greenberg Traurig, down to No. 3. The rest of the rankings saw some minor movement as Morgan Lewis & Bockius moved up one spot to No. 7, and Bilzin Sumberg Baena Prince & Axelrod slipped down to No. 8. K&L Gates climbed one spot to No. 10, knocking Carlton Fields out of the Top 10.

Vault’s influential rankings, considered the “bible” for law students, associates, partners and law firm recruiters, provide a detailed perspective on the criteria considered by candidates when evaluating law firms.  Nearly 17,000 law associates from such locations as Atlanta, Texas, New York, Boston, Miami, California, Chicago, and Washington, D.C., rated law firms in their regions on a scale of 1 to 10 (associates were not allowed to rate their own firms and were asked to only rate firms with which they were familiar). 

The Regional Law Firm Rankings were released as part of a summer rollout of the Vault.com Top 100 Law Firm Rankings. Today, Vault also released its Practice Area Rankings, examining how law firms rank in categories ranging from Antitrust to Technology. Next week, Vault will release its Quality of Life Rankings, determining which firms provide the best overall working experience, in categories ranging from firm culture and compensation to training and career outlook. Vault will also examine the best Summer Associate programs.

To view each ranking as they are released, click here.

In addition to rankings, Vault.com also features individual profiles of each law firm that provide readers with an insider’s perspective, revealing information on compensation, culture, training, diversity, and other pros and cons of associate life, as well as “The Buzz,” external perceptions of each firm.