Which Biglaw firms are most beloved by general counsel for their superior client service? If there’s one thing corporate clients needed over the last year, it was trusted outside counsel. Between the Trump administration’s barrage of executive orders, rapidly shifting regulatory priorities, aggressive enforcement changes, and a wave of high-stakes litigation, companies were forced to navigate an almost constant state of legal uncertainty. That gave law firms plenty of opportunities to prove their value. The BTI Consulting Group recently set out to determine which firms rose to the occasion in its latest Client Service A-Team ranking. If you’re unfamiliar with the list, it identifies the 30 law firms that corporate counsel say deliver the very best client service.
To compile the ranking, BTI Consulting spoke with more than 350 in-house decision-makers who were asked to name firms that excelled in 17 different client-service-related activities, including important things like: relentless client focus; immediate, decisive action; creative, business-driven thinking; clear, constant communication; deep industry and business understanding; agility in complex situation; and visible commitment to client success.
So, which firms are considered the best of the best when it comes to client service? Per BTI Consulting, the firms that made the latest top 30 ranking performed 9 to 15 times better than the typical law firm in terms of client service. As the report notes, “These firms are investing heavily in client service. They know the payback dwarfs the investment – whatever the economy and market say – they are all in.”
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Here are the 30 firms that made the Client Service A-Team, whose names were mentioned most often across all categories:
- DLA Piper
- Baker McKenzie
- Latham & Watkins
- Kirkland & Ellis
- Ogletree Deakins
- Littler
- Morrison & Foerster
- King & Spalding
- Sidley
- Cooley
- Hogan Lovells
- Faegre Drinker
- Morgan Lewis
- Gibson Dunn
- Jones Day
- Troutman Pepper Locke
- Davis Wright Tremaine
- Duane Morris
- Dentons
- Reed Smith
- Mayer Brown
- Sullivan & Cromwell
- Alston & Bird
- O’Melveny
- Eversheds Sutherland
- Skadden
- Perkins Coie
- McGuireWoods
- Greenberg Traurig
- Fox Rothschild
DLA Piper has retained its place as the leader of the Client Service 30, after kicking Kirkland & Ellis out of the top spot last year. Six firms — DLA Piper, Gibson Dunn, Jones Day, McGuireWoods, Morgan Lewis, and Skadden — are celebrating being in the Client Service 30 for a decade running, while Jones Day and Morgan Lewis have made the list for 25 years straight. Cheers to a quarter century of excellent client service!
If attorneys at your firm make more of an effort to better understand your clients’ businesses, then you may find your place of work on this list next time around. Congratulations to all 30 firms that made it to the highest ranks of the Client Service A-Team. You’ve proven yourselves to be outstanding when it comes to making corporate clients happy, and that’s worth celebrating.
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The Law Firms Absolutely Best at Client Service [Mad Clientist / BTI Consulting Group]
Staci Zaretsky is the managing editor of Above the Law, where she’s worked since 2011. She’d love to hear from you, so please feel free to email her with any tips, questions, comments, or critiques. You can follow her on Bluesky, X/Twitter, and Threads, or connect with her on LinkedIn.