A note from the editor

The making of lists is an irresistible human urge, so much so that it would surprise almost nobody to learn that the cave drawings left by early man were, in fact, rankings of the Top Ten Mastodons We Killed and Ate. Our list of South Carolina’s Largest Law Firms can’t match those cave drawings for mystery, but then again obscurity isn’t our aim. Clarity is, and it doesn’t get much more simple and clear than a ranking based on a single statistic: The number of lawyers a firm has in the state.

That’s the way Lawyers Weekly has always ordered its list, and so it is this year, too. But we had hoped this time to add a second ranking, based on money. This time around we also asked firms to tell us their total revenue, revenue per lawyer and profits per partner. It’s not unprecedented – American Lawyer magazine ranks firms this way – and besides, in the business world revenue, not the number of workers, is the surest gauge of economic health. That ranking would have attracted avid attention.

Problem is, while people may want to know other firm’s numbers, hardly anyone wanted to supply their own. Long story short: No ranking by revenue – at least for this year. But we’ll ask again next year.

G.D. Gearino

Editor,
South Carolina Lawyers Weekly