Accolades

Recognized Among Top Law Firm Brands

For a tenth consecutive year, K&L Gates was recognized among the top 20 strongest US law firm brands in legal market research company Acritas’ US Law Firm Brand Index 2021.

Ranked Among Most Innovative Law Firms

Legal workflow software company Litera named K&L Gates “Law Firm of the Year” during The 2020 Changing Lawyer Awards. The awards honor those in the legal industry for their willingness to embrace and drive change - through new technology, service models, or behavior - with the “Law Firm of the Year” award recognizing the firm that has most successfully reimagined the way they serve their clients.

K&L Gates was one of 15 Australian firms named to the Australasian Lawyer’s 2020 Innovative Law Firms list, recognizing firms at the forefront of innovation. K&L Gates was noted for its use of visual communication, client portals, and artificial intelligence, among other areas.

Recognized Among America’s Top Corporate Law Firms

Forbes recognized K&L Gates among America’s Top Corporate Law Firms for 2019 and as one of the most recommended firms in the area of litigation and dispute resolution as part of the magazine’s first-ever legal industry review. The firm was also recognized as “Law Firm of the Year” in the area of Corporate Law in the Best Law Firms^® 2022 and 2024 editions, as well as Commercial Litigation "Law Firm of the Year” in the 2023 edition. 

Recognized for Superior Client Service

The BTI Consulting Group (BTI) has recognized K&L Gates for “superior client service, demonstrating a culture driven by client focus, and understanding clients’ business,” according to BTI Consulting Group’s 2022 Most Recommended Law Firms report.

• Recognized by general counsel as one of the top law firms for superior client service. The firm has made 22 straight appearances on the BTI Client Service A-Team survey, an annual report based on in-depth interviews with legal decision makers at the world’s leading organizations.

Internationally Ranked Among Top Law Firms

K&L Gates was again among the top ten firms—out of more than 15,000 ranked—for most overall first-tier rankings in the 2025 edition of Best Law Firms^®. The firm’s full rankings include 29 national first-tier rankings and nearly 155 first-tier honors across 22 state and metropolitan regions in nearly 75 different practice areas. To read our full list of 2025 rankings, click here.

The firm has been recognized in the 2025 edition of Best Law Firms^® as “Law Firm of the Year” in the Securities Regulation category, as well as Corporate Law in 2024 and 2022, and Commercial Litigation in 2023.

Recognized as IP Litigation Powerhouse

BTI Consulting Group’s Litigation Outlook 2024 report names K&L Gates as one of only four “IP Litigation Powerhouses,” the topmost ranking in each category, and as a Litigation Leader among the “19 Best of the Best Law Firms in Cybersecurity/Data Privacy Litigation."

The firm delivers pro bono services in cooperation with dozens of organizations and legal services programs, including the American Civil Liberties Union, Cancer Council of Australia, Charlotte Center for Legal Advocacy, Chicago Volunteer Legal Services, Children’s Law Center, Coalition to Abolish Slavery and Trafficking, Consumer Action Law Centre, Global Pro Bono Bar Association, Habitat for Humanity, Her Justice, International Justice Mission, International Senior Lawyers Project, Kaleidoscope Human Rights Foundation, Kids in Need of Defense (KIND), Justice Connect, Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights, Lawyers for the Creative Arts, National Immigrant Justice Center, National Immigrant Women’s Advocacy Project (NIWAP) Inc., Neighborhood Legal Services Association, Northwest Immigrant Rights Project, Northwest Justice Project, Public Counsel, Refugee Legal, St. John’s Legal Centre, Tahirih Justice Center, and numerous local referral sources and bar associations.

On average, the firm records more than 40,000 hours on approved pro bono matters each year. We litigate civil rights cases, establish and advise nonprofit organizations, assist such organizations in transactions, and represent indigent persons in consumer, landlord-tenant, and immigration matters. In addition to providing legal assistance directly to individuals who have limited means but substantial civil legal needs, we provide legal counsel and public policy advocacy to help organizations advance their public-service programs, work to advance the rule of law around the world, and accept court appointments to provide pro bono counsel. Periodically, the firm highlights a selection of recent pro bono work and awards in For the Good of All. The firm received recognition for our anti-human trafficking initiative, drawing on the strength of nearly 2,000 lawyers in more than 45 offices.

Awards

Although the goal of our pro bono efforts is to help those in need, we are proud when our lawyers and our initiatives are recognized. Some select awards include the following: 

• Bloomberg Law named our firm a 2024 Pro Bono Innovator, one of only 10 law firms to be honored for going above and beyond in delivering pro bono legal services. Each firm is evaluated on how they strategized to tackle complex pro bono matters for the underserved, the impact of the client matters, and how the team ultimately achieved successful results. 
• We received the 2023 TrustLaw Impact Award for our work on a pre-trial detention project for the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative. As part of this project, we collaborated with local counsel or conducted desk-based research addressing the legal policy framework of pre-trial detention in 46 of the then-54 Commonwealth countries.  
• We received the Advancement in Animal Law Pro Bono Achievement Award from the Animal Legal Defense Fund. 
• The Pro Bono Institute awarded its 2020 Corporate Pro Bono Partner Award to our firm and Amazon for joint contributions in support of Mary’s Place, an organization providing shelter and services to women, children, and families in their journey out of homelessness.
• The New Jersey State Bar Association recognized partner Charles Rysavy as the Pro Bono Attorney of the Year (Individual) for his pro bono service to refugee children. Described as “the quintessential attorney-servant, motivated by the determination to pursue justice for the voiceless,” Rysavy has performed more than 2,100 hours of pro bono work during his career.