Awards & Recognition

Chambers USA ranks the nation’s leading firms and lawyers in a wide range of practice areas and features client commentary. McKool Smith’s 2026 rankings include:

• Ranked in Band 1 (highest ranking) for Intellectual Property in Texas. "McKool Smith is a best-in-class litigation firm that wins. It has a deep technical bench. It's one of the top strategy and litigation firms in the world."
• Ranked Band 1 (highest ranking) for Litigation: General Commercial in Texas. "McKool Smith's attorneys are really good litigators on matters of any level of complexity." 
• Ranked Band 1 (highest ranking) for Litigation: Securities: Institutional Plaintiffs in New York. "McKool Smith's knowledge of the industry is second to none and it is able to cover every angle and issue. The firm's attorneys are experts in the industry."
• Ranked nationally as a leading firm for Intellectual Property. "They have experience and industry-specific knowledge that helps them effectively manage complex IP disputes."
• Ranked nationally as a leading firm for Litigation: General Commercial: Highly Regarded. "McKool Smith has an incredible depth of knowledge and a large bench of subject matter experts who are creative and offer thoughtful approaches to all litigation matters."
• Ranked as a leading firm for Litigation: General Commercial: Highly Regarded in California. "They are seasoned trial attorneys with exceptional presentation skills. They focus on distilling the core concepts of a complex and convoluted case into a narrative that is accessible."

Chambers Global identifies leading lawyers and firms in more than 190 countries. McKool Smith's 2026 rankings include:

• Ranked as a leading U.S. firm in the Intellectual Property: Patent category

Benchmark Litigation focuses exclusively on litigation in the U.S. McKool Smith's 2026 rankings include:

• Ranked nationally as a “Top 20 Trial Law Firm”
• Ranked as a “Highly Recommended” litigation firm. 

For the past two decades, The Legal 500 Series has provided the most comprehensive worldwide coverage currently available on legal services providers in more than 100 countries. McKool Smith's 2026 rankings include:

• Ranked nationally as a leading firm for Intellectual Property: Patent Litigation – Full Service.
• Ranked regionally as a leading firm for Commercial Disputes in Dallas
• Ranked regionally as a leading firm for Intellectual Property Litigation in Washington, D.C.

McKool Smith received national and regional rankings in the 2026 edition of IAM Patent 1000: The World's Leading Patent Professionals.

• One of six firms ranked Gold (highest tier) in Texas in the “Firms: Litigation” category
• Recommended in Austin, Texas in the “Firms: Plaintiff” category

Managing IP is a leading global resource covering all aspects of IP law and practice. Our 2026 accolades

• • Awarded "Patent Plaintiff Firm: Texas" category and "Impact Case of Year"
    

Best Lawyers compiles lists of outstanding lawyers by conducting surveys in which thousands of leading lawyers confidentially evaluate their peers. McKool Smith's ranked practitioners for 2026 include:

• Josh Budwin, Mathew Cameron, John Campbell, Gary Cruciani, Erik Fountain, Michael Fritz, Scott Hejny, Daniel Hendler, Richard Kamprath, William LaFuze, Lewis LeClair, Robert Manley, Veronica Manning, Nick Mathews, Chris McNett, Michael Miguel, Josh Newcomer, Steven Pollinger, Jonathan Powers, Hugh Ray, Steven Rizzi, Casey Shomaker, David Sochia, John Sparacino, and Avery Williams.

Best Law Firms in America

Best Law Firms features national and metropolitan firm rankings. Below are McKool Smith’s 2026 national Tier 1 rankings:

National Tier 1

• Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights / Insolvency and Reorganization Law
• Commercial Litigation
• Litigation - Bankruptcy
• Litigation - Patent
• Litigation - Securities