For the second year running, one US-headquartered firm takes the top spot
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BTI Consulting has once again revealed the best-branded firms according to in-house lawyers at the world’s largest organisations.
Jones Day bested rival firms for the second year in a row to top the “Brand Elite 28,” even as BTI revealed another shift in clients’ brand perception of law firms.
This year Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld; Mayer Brown; Paul Hastings; and Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison entered the list. Unfortunately, that means K&L Gates, Ogletree Deakins, Seyfarth Shaw, and Simpson Thacher lost their spots.
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The “BTI Brand Elite 2018” firms are:
- Jones Day
- Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom
- Latham & Watkins
- Dentons
- DLA Piper
- Cooley
- Baker McKenzie
- Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher
- Sidley Austin
- Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz
- White & Case
- Hogan Lovells
- Morgan, Lewis & Bockius
- Dechert
- Cravath, Swaine & Moore
- Kirkland & Ellis
- Davis Polk & Wardwell
- Sullivan & Cromwell
- Greenberg Traurig
- Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld
- Reed Smith
- McGuireWoods
- Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison
- Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman
- Mayer Brown
- Norton Rose Fulbright
- Polsinelli
- Paul Hastings
BTI incorporated data from more than 686 in-depth interviews of corporate counsel in making the list. The firms are ranked based on feedback from the in-house lawyers in three core success factors, which are client experience, premium work, and innovation.
These factors are further split into nine characteristics driving the selection, consideration, and hire of new law firms. Under client experience, for instance, the study asked whether a firm is recommended first to peers and clients without prompting and whether a firm is considered first for hiring in new assignments.
Under premium work, the study asked whether a firm is paid above-market rates by clients who believe the work is worthy of premium pay, whether a firm is a safe choice for the most complex and high-risk work, and whether a firm is more likely than others to be an industry leader over the long term.
Under innovation, the list considers whether a firm is delivering new and valuable services or behaviours that other firms don’t. It also looks at whether a firm is using technology more effectively or in new ways to add value. Innovation characteristics also include whether the firm is making changes in process or the client experience to add value, and whether a firm is making changes other firms don’t to improve the client experience.