GCs Say These Firms Have 'All Star' Attys For Client Services

Kirkland partners Stefan Atkinson, Sandra Goldstein, Jeanne Heffernan, Ryan Kane, Gregg LoCascio and Craig Primis were named as "Client Service All-Stars" by the BTI Consulting Group in its 2023 Client Service All-Stars Report. 

Jones Day and Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP lead the way in an annual list of "all-star" law firm attorneys highlighted by in-house leaders for their top-notch service to clients, according to a report released Tuesday by the BTI Consulting Group.

The report, which asks general counsel and other in-house leaders to nominate outstanding lawyers based on their own set of criteria, includes 13 attorneys from Jones Day and 11 lawyers from Gibson Dunn.

Carlton Fields PA, Jackson Lewis PC, Kirkland & Ellis LLP and Ogletree Deakins each have six of their attorneys on the list, with seven other firms each seeing five of their lawyers listed in the report.

BTI's president, Michael Rynowecer, told Law360 that many of the companies who nominated attorneys for the report expressed an appreciation for lawyers who can anticipate what their clients need and provide it quickly and efficiently.

"Clients are beyond to their eyeballs in work," Rynowecer said. "So they've come to really value the attorneys who really, at an operating level, know what they need and just offer up those resources."

Of the 293 attorneys included in the report, only four lawyers were cited by more than one client: Stephanie L. Adler-Paindiris of Jackson Lewis, Sandra C. Goldstein of Kirkland & Ellis, Jeff E. Scott of Greenberg Traurig and Sara M. Turner of Baker Donelson.

Clients praised the four attorneys for attributes such as their being thorough and not overcomplicating matters, their thoughtful and pragmatic approaches to their work, and their excellent listening skills, according to BTI.

The report is based on more than 350 interviews with top legal decision makers at large organizations with over $700 million in annual revenue, conducted between January 2022 and March 2023, according to the report. BTI says it did not accept law firm submissions, self referrals or suggestions for inclusion in the report.

Several attorneys have multi-year streaks of appearing on the list: William P. Geraghty of Shook Hardy & Bacon LLP has been named for five years in a row, while Laura Leigh Geist of Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP, Jeffrey J. Jones of Jones Day, Lynn H. Murray of Shook Hardy & Bacon, Craig S. Primis of Kirkland & Ellis and Kathryn A. Reilly of Wheeler Trigg O'Donnell LLP have been named for four years in a row, according to the report.

"The all stars are very good at providing the best that they have," Rynowecer said. "There's no surprises, there's no, 'No we can't do that.'"