Elite law firms exploded in count and size between 1968 and 2003.

Evidence

In 1968, there were only 20 firms that employed as many as 100 lawyers, but by 2003 the United States had two firms with more than 2,000 lawyers, 13 with more than 1,000 lawyers, and 73 with more than 500. … Within these large firms, a clear hierarchy exists. Atop the hierarchy are the senior partners, who manage the firm and determine the division of profits at year’s end. They are followed in descending order by junior partners, permanent associates who remain with the firm after being bypassed for partner, and associates. The most important distinction is that between partner and associate. The elite firms recruit the most promising graduates, those with top grades and membership on the law review, from the nation’s most prestigious law schools. These graduates start with annual salaries as high as $135,000. — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 687

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Law-firm employment concentration grew enormously between 1968 and 2011 — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 1043; Large law firms came to dominate legal practice nationwide by 2000. — Lawrence M. Friedman, A History of American Law, 4026; A sliver of giant firms dominates total sales volume — Samuel Bowles and Herbert Gintis, Schooling in Capitalist America:…, 622

Broader Connections

• Law-firm employment concentration grew enormously between 1968 and 2011 #corroborates (0.85) — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 1043