Which Biglaw firms are most beloved by general counsel for their superior client service? In 2024, with few rough waters for firms, it was generally smooth sailing until early 2025, when Trump came roaring in with enough executive orders and policy changes to make lawyers’ heads spin. This was the perfect time for outside counsel to show their corporate clients that they were still tops when it came to client service. That said, the BTI Consulting Group recently set out to find which firms handled the task with ease in its latest ranking, the Client Service A-Team. In case you’re unfamiliar with this ranking, it measures the top 30 law firms corporate counsel identify as delivering the very best in terms of client service.
To compile the ranking, BTI Consulting spoke with more than 300 in-house decision-makers who were asked to name firms that excelled in 17 different client-service-related activities, including important things like: mobilizing resources quickly, fielding the absolute best team, quickly assessing the situation, a commitment to help, delivering value for the dollar, client focus, and understanding the client’s business.
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, “This isn’t just about good work – it’s about building trust in the most unpredictable environment in decades.”
Here are the 30 firms that made the Client Service A-Team, whose names were mentioned most often across all categories:
1. DLA Piper
2. Littler
3. Kirkland & Ellis
4. Ogletree Deakins
5. Cooley
6. Baker McKenzie
7. McGuireWoods
8. Morgan Lewis
9. Reed Smith
10. Troutman Pepper Locke
11. Faegre Drinker
12. Morrison & Foerster
13. Jones Day
14. Sidley
15. Hogan Lovells
16. Skadden
17. Duane Morris
18. Dentons
19. King & Spalding
20. Latham & Watkins
21. Ropes & Gray
22. Gibson Dunn
23. Greenberg Traurig
24. Arnold & Porter
25. ArentFox Schiff
26. Fox Rothschild
27. Baker Donelson
28. Davis Polk
29. Maynard Nexsen
30. McDermott Will & Emery
DLA Piper is now the leader of the Client Service 30 for the first time ever, after kicking Kirkland & Ellis out of the top spot. Meanwhile, four firms — Jones Day, McGuireWoods, Morgan Lewis, and Skadden — are celebrating being in the Client Service 30 for a decade running. Excellent work on a job well done for years on end.
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.
Clients Single Out the Law Firms Best at Client Service Performance [Mad Clientist / BTI Consulting Group]
Staci Zaretsky is a senior editor at 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.
