Litigation used to be an overhead cost. Minimize the expense. Settle the case. Move on. Bet-the-company work was the exception.
No More. Welcome to 2026.
Complex litigation now stands between new revenue and no revenue. It can shut down competitors, protect entire markets, and open new ones. The wrong law firm can cost way more than any verdict.
Clients know it.
They want strategies on arrival – not weeks later. They want aggressive thinking, unconventional approaches, and lawyers willing to make new rules instead of following old ones. They want to win big because the business consequences are bigger than ever.
More than 70% of clients are increasing their outside counsel spending on complex litigation. The money is moving. So is the work. And not every law firm is invited.
Corporate counsel identified the following firms as best equipped for this new litigation landscape. No prompting. No law firm submissions. Just unfiltered, organic client feedback.
The BTI Litigation Powerhouses 2027
- Alston & Bird
- Arnold & Porter
- Ashurst Perkins Coie
- Bartlit Beck
- Benesch
- Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner
- Cravath
- DLA Piper
- Faegre Drinker
- Gibson Dunn
- Hogan Lovells Cadwalader
- Jenner & Block
- Jones Day
- K&L Gates
- King & Spalding
- Kirkland & Ellis
- Latham & Watkins
- Mitchell Silberberg & Knupp
- Nelson Mullins
- Orrick
- Quinn Emanuel
- Sheppard
- Skadden
- Troutman Pepper Locke
The BTI Litigation Leaders 2027
- Baker McKenzie
- BakerHostetler
- Butler Snow
- Cooley
- Dentons
- Fox Rothschild
- Holland & Knight
- Hollingsworth
- Hueston Hennigan
- Katten
- Kilpatrick
- Maynard Nexsen
- Mintz
- Morgan Lewis
- O’Melveny
- Ropes & Gray
- Sidley
- Williams Mullen
- WilmerHale
- Wilson Sonsini
The BTI Distinguished in Litigation 2027
- Akin
- ArentFox Schiff
- Crowell
- Duane Morris
- Dykema
- Eimer Stahl
- Foley & Lardner
- Fried Frank
- Gallo Vitucci Klar
- Greenberg Traurig
- Hunton Andrews Kurth
- Jackson Walker
- Jones Walker
- Kasowitz
- Keker, Van Nest & Peters
- Kelley Drye
- Manatt
- McGuireWoods
- Morrison & Foerster
- Paul Hastings
- Paul, Weiss
- Quarles
- Reed Smith
- Saul Ewing
- Spencer Fane
- Steptoe
- Tonkon Torp
- White & Case
- Willkie
- Wyrick Robbins
The BTI Litigation Standouts 2027
- Baker Botts
- Ballard Spahr
- Blank Rome
- Bradley
- Carlton Fields
- Carmody Torrance Sandak & Hennessey
- Clifford Chance
- Davis Polk
- Day Pitney
- Dechert
- Dorsey
- Dowd Bennett
- Fabiani Cohen & Hall
- Goodwin
- Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani
- Hinckley Allen
- Hinshaw
- Mayer Brown
- McDermott Will & Schulte
- Osborne Clarke
- Osler
- Patterson Belknap
- Polsinelli
- Poyner Spruill
- Proskauer
- Seyfarth
- Shook, Hardy & Bacon
- Simmons & Simmons
- Vinson & Elkins
- Warner Norcross + Judd
- Weil
- Wheeler Trigg O’Donnell
- Womble Bond Dickinson
Here’s the part most law firms should worry about: Most of this coveted complex litigation work never sees an RFP. Clients are making decisions long before firms realize there’s an opportunity.
The just-released The BTI Litigation Outlook 2027 reveals why complex litigation has moved to the center of client strategy, which firms corporate counsel prefer across 8 key litigation segments – by name – and what separates the firms winning this work from everyone else.
Find out where spending is accelerating, where opportunities are emerging, and which firms clients trust when the stakes are highest.
Complexity is no longer the problem. It’s the opportunity.
The getting is good. Go get it.
MBR
President and MAD Clientist
The BTI Consulting Group
p.s. The BTI Litigation Outlook 2027: More Aggressive. More Complexity. Higher Stakes. is available now. The Gold Standard for more than 15 years – learn where the complex matters are, how to win them – and who clients rank as best. Order Today!
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