The Client Performance Index™: Measuring How Life Sciences Clients Experience Law Firms
Law firms often describe their commitment to client service in similar terms. Life Sciences clients, however, experience meaningful differences in responsiveness, predictability, communication, and value from firm to firm—and even team to team.
To capture those differences, I developed the Client Performance Index™ (CPI)—a framework evaluating 264 law firms based on observable indicators of how effectively they serve Life Sciences clients in practice.
While the Sector Leadership Index™ (SLI) measures industry-sector strength, the CPI focuses on service delivery and client experience.
CPI Tier Definitions
Elite Client Experience Providers
These are the firms delivering consistently exceptional client service, marked by responsiveness, predictability, and deep understanding of Life Sciences client needs, including:
Arnold & Porter
Bookoff McAndrews
Cooley
Covington & Burling
Fenwick
Gibson Dunn & Crutcher
Goodwin
Hogan Lovells
Hyman, Phelps & McNamara
King & Spalding
Latham & Watkins
Sidley Austin
WilmerHale
Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati
Client Experience Leaders
These are the firms with strong, repeatable service models and high satisfaction across core Life Sciences engagements, including:
Axinn Veltrop & Harkrider
Baker McKenzie
Bartlit Beck
Bird & Bird
Clifford Chance
CMS (CMS Cameron McKenna Nabarro Olswang)
Debevoise & Plimpton
Dechert
DLA Piper (US)
Freshfields
Kirkland & Ellis
Knobbe Martens
Linklaters
Manatt Phelps & Phillips
McDermott Will & Schulte
McGuireWoods
Morgan Lewis & Bockius
Morrison Foerster
Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe
Paul Hastings
Ropes & Gray
Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton
Simpson Thacher & Bartlett
Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom & Affiliates
Smith Anderson
Sullivan & Cromwell
Susman Godfrey
Winston & Strawn
Wolf Greenfield & Sacks
Client Experience Performers
These are the firms delivering solid, reliable service, often with pockets of excellence but uneven consistency across teams or offices:
Akin
Allen Matkins
Alston & Bird
Bass Berry & Sims PLC
Butler Snow
Choate Hall & Stewart
Crowell & Moring
Dentons
Dorsey & Whitney
Dykema Gossett
Finnegan Henderson Farabow Garrett & Dunner
Fish & Richardson
Fitch Even Tabin & Flannery
Foley & Lardner
Foley Hoag
Fried Frank Harris Shriver & Jacobson
Gardner Law
Goldman Ismail Tomaselli Brennan & Baum
Goulston & Storrs
Greenberg Traurig
Groombridge Wu Baughman & Stone
Gunderson Dettmer Stough Villeneuve Franklin & Hachigian
Holland & Knight
Hunton Andrews Kurth
Jackson Walker
Kleinfeld, Kaplan & Becker, (KKB)
Lathrop GPM
Leydig Voit & Mayer
McAndrews Held & Malloy
McDonnell Boehnen Hulbert & Berghoff
McNeill
Milbank
Mintz
Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough
Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison
Perkins Coie
Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan
Rakoczy Molino Mazzochi Siwik
Sterne Kessler Goldstein & Fox
Taylor Wessing
Williams & Connolly
Client Experience Builders
Firms investing meaningfully in improving service delivery, pricing discipline, project management, and feedback loops.
A&O Shearman
Akerman
ArentFox Schiff
Arnall Golden Gregory
Baker Botts
Baker Donelson Bearman Caldwell & Berkowitz
Ballard Spahr
Benesch
Bradley Arant Boult Cummings
Brown Rudnick
Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney
Carlson Caspers
Clark+Elbing
Davis Polk & Wardwell
Day Pitney
Desmarais
Duane Morris
Epstein Becker & Green
Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath
Fox Rothschild
Fredrikson & Byron PA
Frier Levitt
Frost Brown Todd
Hamilton Brook Smith & Reynolds
Haynes and Boone
Honigman
Hooper Lundy Bookman
Hughes Hubbard & Reed
Husch Blackwell
Ice Miller
Irell & Manella
Jones Day
K&L Gates
Keller and Heckman
Kelley Drye & Warren
Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton
Krieg Devault
Loeb & Loeb
Lowenstein Sandler
Mayer Brown
Maynard Nexsen
McCarter & English
Michael Best & Friedrich
Miles & Stockbridge
Munger Tolles & Olson
Nixon Peabody
Norton Rose Fulbright
O'Melveny & Myers
Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler
Polsinelli
Proskauer Rose
Pryor Cashman
Quarles & Brady
Reed Smith
Saul Ewing
Spencer Fane
Steptoe
Stinson
Taft
Thompson Hine
Troutman Pepper Locke
Tucker Ellis
Upadhye Tang
Vinson & Elkins
Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz
Weil Gotshal & Manges
White & Case
Wiggin and Dana
Wiley
Willkie Farr & Gallagher
Womble Bond Dickinson US
Zuckerman Spaeder
The Seven Elements of the Client Performance Index™
The CPI evaluates client experience across seven dimensions that Life Sciences clients consistently value:
Responsiveness & accessibility
Understanding of client business objectives
Project management & predictability
Value delivery & pricing discipline
Collaboration & team integration
Communication quality
Client feedback & continuous improvement
Important Disclaimers
The CPI measures client-service performance, not legal outcomes or firm prestige.
CPI scores reflect observable delivery behaviors, not marketing claims.
Results are comparative and directional, designed to mirror client experience rather than internal firm processes.
James J. Stapleton is the Managing Principal of Client Sciences and the creator of the Sector Leadership Index and the Client Performance Index. He challenges the way the legal market evaluates expertise, arguing that clients use industry sector expertise as a primary lens into their law firm selection.
After more than three decades building AmLaw 100 law firms and global professional services firms PwC and Arthur Andersen—and advising on over 7,500 law firm/client transitions—Mr. Stapleton now helps law firms communicate their industry credibility and aids clients in cutting through marketing claims to identify firms with genuine sector immersion.
Mr. Stapleton can be reached at 408-440-7660 or james.stapleton@clientsciences.com.
