The L Suite
Outside
Counsel
& Matter
Management

Peer data on outside litigation counsel selection and matter management solutions, compiled from The L Suite 2026 Litigation Offsite attendees. Organized by practice area with attributed recommendations and direct commentary where respondents consented to attribution.

Key Findings

27 respondents shared their outside litigation counsel rosters and matter management approaches, offering a rich view of firm preferences, practice area specialization, and how tech and growth-stage legal teams manage their dockets.

27
Respondents
50+
Firms Named
9
Practice Areas

Outside Counsel — Key Themes


Matter Management — Key Themes

Outside Counsel & Matter Management Solutions · 2026 Litigation Offsite The L Suite | 1
Outside Counsel
by Practice Area

Practice Area 01
IP Litigation
Patent · Trade Secret · Trademark · Copyright
Firm Attorney(s) Named Use Case & Commentary · Recommended By
Gibson Dunn×3
Michael Holecek; Natalie Hausknecht; Ashlie Beringer (named by 1 anonymous respondent)
Trade secret, IP litigation, IP generally
Caitlyn Chacon (Samsara) — trade secret & IP
Kimmy Jee (Attentive Mobile) — IP litigation
+ 1 anonymous respondent
Orrick×3
Travis Jensen (for patent)
Patent litigation; IP litigation generally
Jared Crop (Microchip Technology) — Travis Jensen for patent
+ 2 anonymous respondents — IP litigation
WilmerHale×2
Sonal Mehta
Patent/IP, antitrust, privacy, copyright; class action IP
Natalie Naugle (Anthropic) — Sonal Mehta: "patent/IP trial lawyer by trade but has handled all manner of hi-vis high-priority matters — antitrust, privacy, copyright. Go-to emotional support lawyer and problem solver."
+ 1 anonymous respondent — class action & IP
Kirkland & Ellis×2
IP (incl. false advertising); IP litigation
Caitlyn Chacon (Samsara) — IP, false advertising
+ 1 anonymous respondent
Davis Polk
Jay Neukom
"High stakes patent and trade secret litigation"
Jared Crop (Microchip Technology)
Skadden×2
Bijal Vakil (IP); —
"IP Lit, Privacy"; IP (partner-specific)
Kimmy Jee (Attentive Mobile) — "IP Lit, Privacy"
Matt Turetzky (Kraken) — Bijal Vakil for IP
Latham & Watkins
IP, privacy, healthcare
Anonymous respondent
Morrison Foerster
IP litigation
Anonymous respondent
Fish & Richardson
IP litigation
Anonymous respondent
DLA Piper
IP litigation
Anonymous respondent
Neo
Patent litigation
Kimmy Jee (Attentive Mobile)
Winston & Strawn
Kathi Vidal
IP
Gillian Thackray
KBL
Kate Lazarus
"Patent litigation and smaller disputes"
Josh Furman (Canva)
Thompson Hine
Jen Seraphine
"Larger patent litigation matters and other arbitrations"
Josh Furman (Canva)
Debevoise & Plimpton
Megan Bannigan
"Top tier / high risk trademark litigation"
Josh Furman (Canva)
Notable Approach — Josh Furman, Lead Counsel – Litigation, Canva

Josh uses three separate specialist firms structured by matter scale: KBL / Kate Lazarus for patent litigation and smaller disputes; Thompson Hine / Jen Seraphine for larger patent matters and arbitrations; and Debevoise / Megan Bannigan for top-tier trademark work. A deliberately tiered model that matches firm to matter complexity rather than sending all IP work to a single shop.

Outside Counsel & Matter Management Solutions · 2026 Litigation Offsite The L Suite | 2
Practice Area 02
Privacy & Data Security
Incl. TCPA · CIPA · Pixel / Cookie Litigation · Data Breach
Firm Attorney(s) Named Use Case & Commentary · Recommended By
Orrick
"Data security compliance and litigation"
Ralph Carter (Workday)
Morrison Foerster×2
Tiffany Cheung
Data privacy litigation; privacy/class action
Aseem Gupta (Salesforce) — data privacy litigation
Jennifer Barry — Tiffany Cheung for privacy/class action
Skadden
"IP Lit, Privacy"
Kimmy Jee (Attentive Mobile)
Davis & Gilbert
"TCPA, CIPA, Product and Privacy"
Kimmy Jee (Attentive Mobile)
Latham & Watkins
IP, privacy, healthcare
Anonymous respondent
Cooley
Privacy litigation (EU/UK)
Anonymous respondent
Zwillgen
Jeff Landis; Adya Baker
"Subpoenas and pixel/cookie litigation"
Anonymous respondent

Note: Davis Wright Tremaine is listed under Platform Liability & 1st Amendment, where both respondents' DWT use (user harm / Section 230 and 1st Amendment / CDA 230) is consolidated.


Practice Area 03
Class Actions & Mass Arbitrations
Incl. Consumer Arbitrations · Appellate Class Work
Firm Attorney(s) Named Use Case & Commentary · Recommended By
Cooley×4
Class actions, arbitration; class actions & product liability; serious US & global matters
Candace Jackman — class actions, arbitration
Matthew Brown (Turo) — "most serious issues in the US and globally"
+ 2 anonymous respondents
Skadden×2
Meredith Slawe; Mike McTigue (mass arb/class); Alex Drylewski (securities)
Mass arbitrations, class actions; IP; securities litigation
Matt Turetzky (Kraken) — Slawe & McTigue for mass arb & class actions
Conrad Metlitzky Kane×2
Class actions, commercial litigation, consumer arbitrations; eve-of-trial / trial counsel
Matt Turetzky (Kraken) — class actions, commercial, consumer arb
+ 1 anonymous respondent — eve of trial / trial counsel
Norton Law Firm
"Class actions, commercial litigation, and consumer arbitrations"
Matt Turetzky (Kraken)
Covington & Burling
Andrew Sokup
Class actions
Gillian Thackray
Mayer Brown
Class actions and product liability
Anonymous respondent
Greenberg Traurig
Rob Herrington; Frank Citera
Class action
Anonymous respondent
WilmerHale
Class action & IP
Anonymous respondent
Outside Counsel & Matter Management Solutions · 2026 Litigation Offsite The L Suite | 3
Practice Area 04
Commercial Litigation
General B2B & Contract Disputes · Bankruptcy · Appellate
Firm Attorney(s) Named Use Case & Commentary · Recommended By
Pillsbury
"Everything" — general outside counsel for broad litigation matters
Aseem Gupta (Salesforce)
Latham & Watkins
Andy Clubok
Tech/trial; high-priority, high-visibility commercial matters
Natalie Naugle (Anthropic)"A brilliant trial lawyer and an impressive deal maker. For anything high-priority and high-viz."
Jones Day
Mark Rasmussen; Paula Quist
"Commercial/B2B litigation; global litigation issues (LATAM, EU, some APAC)"
Jeremy Gray (Circle)
Bartlit Beck
Abby Mollen; Adam Hoeflich
"Significant commercial disputes"
Jeremy Gray (Circle)
Cooley
"Most serious issues in the US and globally"
Matthew Brown (Turo)
Ropes & Gray
Amy Longo
Commercial litigation
Jennifer Barry
Benesch×2
Erik Connolly (named by 1 anonymous respondent)
Commercial & Midwest matters
Stephanie Yang (ThredUp) — "commercial & midwest matters"
+ 1 anonymous respondent — with Erik Connolly
Holland & Knight
"User disputes and random issues in random places around the US — they are everywhere with a wide range of expertise"
Matthew Brown (Turo)
O'Melveny & Myers
"High stakes litigation"
Anonymous respondent
Shartsis Friese
"Mid-range litigation, user arbitrations"
Anonymous respondent
Ballard Spahr
Commercial
Stephanie Yang (ThredUp)
McGuire Woods
General litigation
Rob Nolan
Perkins Coie
Commercial litigation & bankruptcy
Ralph Carter (Workday)
Fenwick & West×2
General litigation; IP
2 anonymous respondents
Cooley
"Commercial litigation and FOIL requests"
Ralph Carter (Workday)
Morgan Lewis
"Commercial and IP litigation"
Ralph Carter (Workday)
Orrick
General litigation
Rob Nolan
Yocca Law Firm
Mark Yocca
"California smaller contract disputes"
Jared Crop (Microchip Technology)
Cooley
Corporate
Kimmy Jee (Attentive Mobile)
Alston & Bird
Bankruptcy
Anonymous respondent

Practice Area 05
Employment Litigation
Incl. BIPA · Law Enforcement Response · Bid Protests
Firm Attorney(s) Named Use Case & Commentary · Recommended By
Jenner & Block
"BIPA, law enforcement response, bid protest"
Caitlyn Chacon (Samsara)
Seyfarth Shaw
Employment
Caitlyn Chacon (Samsara)
Sheppard Mullin
Employment
Caitlyn Chacon (Samsara)
Barnes & Thornburg
John Maley
Employment
Jennifer Barry
Quinn Emanuel
Employment litigation
Lindsay Burke
Jackson Lewis
Employment litigation
Stephanie Yang (ThredUp)
Morgan Lewis
Employment
Anonymous respondent
Donahue Fitzgerald
Louis Lee
California employment
Anonymous respondent
Outside Counsel & Matter Management Solutions · 2026 Litigation Offsite The L Suite | 4
Practice Area 06
Government Investigations & Regulatory
Antitrust · Congressional Inquiries · Qui Tam · Enforcement · Financial Regulatory
Firm Attorney(s) Named Use Case & Commentary · Recommended By
WilmerHale×2
Antitrust, government investigations; regulatory, constitutional, appellate
Lindsay Burke — antitrust, government investigations
Candace Jackman — regulatory, constitutional, appellate
Quinn Emanuel×2
Business litigation, employment, government investigations
Lindsay Burke — business litigation, employment & government investigations
+ 1 anonymous respondent
Freshfields×2
Investigations and tax litigation; "everything" (broad/global matters)
Lindsay Burke — investigations & tax litigation
Aseem Gupta (Salesforce) — everything
Arnold & Porter×3
Giselle Joffre (govt investigations); Dan Asimow (intl arb & antitrust)
Government investigation / qui tam litigation; international arbitration & antitrust
Jared Crop (Microchip Technology) — Dan Asimow, international arbitration & antitrust
+ 2 anonymous respondents — incl. Giselle Joffre, govt investigation / qui tam
Steptoe×2
Michel Paradis (DOD/AI); Ross Weingarten (blockchain)
DOD/ATA-related matters; AI-related litigation; blockchain litigation
Natalie Naugle (Anthropic) — Michel Paradis: "anything DOD/ATA related; also very knowledgeable in the AI space"
Jeremy Gray (Circle) — Ross Weingarten for blockchain litigation
Faegre Drinker
Carolyn McNiven
"Government investigation / qui tam litigation"
Anonymous respondent
Orrick
Fredrick Levin; Amanda Lawrence
"State financial regulator investigations / litigation"
Anonymous respondent
Wachtell Lipton
Kevin Schwartz
"Tier 1 litigation matters (usually regulatory enforcement)"
Anonymous respondent
Simpson Thacher
Raphael Prober
Congressional inquiries
Anonymous respondent
Foley
Regulatory
Anonymous respondent
Wilson Sonsini
Regulatory
Anonymous respondent

Practice Area 07
Securities & Crypto / Blockchain
Securities Litigation · Blockchain Disputes · Crypto Commercial
Firm Attorney(s) Named Use Case & Commentary · Recommended By
Wilson Sonsini
Colleen Bal; John Flynn
"Cutting-edge litigation in blockchain space (domestic)"
Jeremy Gray (Circle)
Steptoe
Ross Weingarten
"Blockchain litigation (domestic)"
Jeremy Gray (Circle)
DLA Piper
Michael Fluhr
"Various crypto-related commercial disputes"
Matt Turetzky (Kraken)
Skadden
Alex Drylewski
Securities litigation
Matt Turetzky (Kraken)
Quinn Emanuel
Securities litigation
Rob Nolan
White & Case
Securities litigation
Anonymous respondent
Notable Panel — Jeremy Gray, AGC Litigation, Circle

Jeremy uses four firms forming a comprehensive blockchain litigation ecosystem: Wilson Sonsini (Colleen Bal & John Flynn) for cutting-edge domestic blockchain cases; Steptoe (Ross Weingarten) for additional domestic blockchain matters; Jones Day (Mark Rasmussen & Paula Quist) for commercial/B2B and global disputes across LATAM, EU, and APAC; and Bartlit Beck (Abby Mollen & Adam Hoeflich) for significant commercial matters. A model for specialized crypto-native litigation coverage across multiple risk vectors and geographies.

Outside Counsel & Matter Management Solutions · 2026 Litigation Offsite The L Suite | 5
Practice Area 08
Product Liability
Personal Injury · UGC Product Claims
Firm Use Case · Recommended By
Cooley×2 Class actions & product liability
2 anonymous respondents
Orrick Product liability & IP
Anonymous respondent
Mayer Brown Class actions & product liability
Anonymous respondent
Bowman & Brooke Product liability
John Garrett
Gillian Thackray
Shook Hardy Product liability
Rob Nolan
Davis & Gilbert "TCPA, CIPA, Product and Privacy"
Kimmy Jee (Attentive Mobile)
Practice Area — Delaware & Shareholder
Derivative & Shareholder Matters
Delaware Corporate Litigation
Firm Use Case · Recommended By
Ross, Aronstam & Mortz Derivative/shareholder matters in Delaware
David Ross
Natalie Naugle (Anthropic)
Wachtell Lipton Tier 1 litigation / regulatory enforcement
Kevin Schwartz
Anonymous respondent
Natalie Naugle (Anthropic) on Ross Aronstam

"David Ross — incredibly competent and calm under pressure. Knows the DE bench and has handled some of the most hi-vis matters in this space in recent years."

Practice Area 09
Platform Liability & 1st Amendment
CDA 230 · Defamation · UGC · Social Media · AI Liability
Firm Use Case · Recommended By
Davis Wright Tremaine×2 1st Amendment; CDA 230; social media/product liability; tech litigation; user harm / Section 230
Ambika Kumar
Natalie Naugle (Anthropic)
+ 1 anonymous respondent
Dykema "Defamation/UGC"
Anda Tatoiu
Anonymous respondent
Carson McDowell Northern Ireland media litigation
Fergal McGoldrick
Anonymous respondent
Natalie Naugle (Anthropic) on DWT / Ambika Kumar

"1st Amendment; CDA 230; social media/product liability litigation, and tech litigation in general."

Practice Area — International & Multi-Jurisdictional
International & Multi-Jurisdictional
International Arbitration · Canada · Global Coverage
Firm Use Case · Recommended By
McCarthy Tétrault "Most litigation and regulatory disputes in Canada — everywhere with wide range of expertise"
Matthew Brown (Turo)
Arnold & Porter International arbitration & antitrust
Dan Asimow
Jared Crop (Microchip Technology)
Jones Day Global litigation (LATAM, EU, APAC)
Mark Rasmussen; Paula Quist
Jeremy Gray (Circle)
Arent Fox Subpoenas / TCPA (cross-border)
Andrew Wong
Jennifer Barry
Outside Counsel & Matter Management Solutions · 2026 Litigation Offsite The L Suite | 6
Part II
Matter
Management
Solutions

Respondents described how they currently track and manage their litigation dockets — from spreadsheets to purpose-built legal platforms to custom AI-enhanced workflows. Three primary categories emerged, with a small group actively transitioning between them.

Matter Management:
Three Approaches

Breakdown — 26 respondents with tool data

31% Spreadsheet
42% Dedicated Tools
19% Custom / AI
8% Transition

Note: One respondent did not provide matter management data. Percentages based on n=26.

Category 1 — Spreadsheet & Manual Tracking
~8 respondents · 31%

Google Sheets, Excel, Word documents, or SharePoint as the primary (and often sole) matter tracking tool. The most common approach — and a frequent source of acknowledged friction. Several respondents noted they are actively looking to move beyond spreadsheets.

"Mostly through spreadsheets (looking to further develop this area)"
"We use a Word document that has litigation updates in bold text and we truncate at the end of each year to keep it manageable."
"Spreadsheet — testing Sandstone [as a potential replacement]"

Category 2 — Dedicated Legal Matter Management Tools
~11 respondents · 42%

The largest cohort uses at least one purpose-built legal or operations platform — often for invoice management, billing visibility, and docket tracking. Several combine a dedicated tool with spreadsheets for gaps in coverage.

LawVu Brightflag Thomson Reuters Legal Tracker TeamConnect iManage SimpleLegal CounselGo Acuity Streamline Litify (implementing) AirTable Salesforce (internal)
Category 3 — Custom & AI-Enhanced Solutions
~5 respondents · 19%

A small but forward-leaning cohort has built custom systems — either in-house with legal ops and IT, or by layering AI capabilities onto familiar infrastructure. These are highly team-specific but offer a window into where the field is heading.

  • → Jira board with custom fields + automations + AI agents (Kraken)
  • → Custom GPT workflow (over ChatGPT) + Google Sheets (Canva)
  • → In-house dashboard built with legal ops & IT (Gillian Thackray)
  • → Spreadsheets + custom tools (Attentive Mobile)
  • → Internal tracking system, always evolving (Anthropic)
In Active Transition
~2 respondents · 8%

Currently spreadsheet-based but actively building or evaluating replacements — one respondent building a self-managed AirTable database; one testing Sandstone as a potential dedicated platform.

Outside Counsel & Matter Management Solutions · 2026 Litigation Offsite The L Suite | 7
Matter Management:
Respondent Detail

Attributed Responses

Respondent Company Approach Category
Aseem Gupta Salesforce Salesforce (internal instance) Dedicated Tool
Candace Jackman LawVu Dedicated Tool
Caitlyn Chacon Samsara Google Sheets (tracking & matter metrics) + Brightflag (billing & budget management) Spreadsheet + Tool
Gillian Thackray Spreadsheets + in-house dashboard (built with legal ops & IT) Custom / Hybrid
Jared Crop Microchip Technology Rolling Word document — litigation updates in bold, truncated annually to stay manageable Manual
Jennifer Barry Spreadsheet + SharePoint Spreadsheet
Jeremy Gray Circle Spreadsheets — "looking to further develop this area" Spreadsheet
Josh Furman Canva Custom GPT workflow (built over ChatGPT) + Google Sheets for underlying data storage Custom / AI
Kimmy Jee Attentive Mobile Spreadsheets + custom tools Custom / Hybrid
Lindsay Burke Acuity Dedicated Tool
Matt Turetzky Kraken Jira board with custom fields + automations + AI agents to serve attorneys from the data Custom / AI
Matthew Brown Turo Google Sheets (litigation & regulatory) + arbitration portals (user disputes) Spreadsheet
Natalie Naugle Anthropic Internal tracking system — "always evolving" Custom / Internal
Ralph Carter Workday Implementing Litify Dedicated Tool
Rob Nolan TeamConnect + iManage Dedicated Tool
Stephanie Yang ThredUp SimpleLegal + Google Sheet Spreadsheet + Tool

Anonymous Responses

Approach Category
Spreadsheet Spreadsheet
Google Sheets Spreadsheet
Spreadsheet Spreadsheet
Google Sheets Spreadsheet
CounselGo (invoice management) + spreadsheets (accruals, annual budgets, matter metrics) Spreadsheet + Tool
AirTable + Thomson Reuters Legal Tracker + Brightflag Dedicated Tools
Spreadsheet — testing Sandstone as potential platform In Transition
Currently spreadsheet; building self-managed AirTable database In Transition
Streamline + spreadsheets Spreadsheet + Tool
Thomson Reuters Legal Tracker Dedicated Tool
Outside Counsel & Matter Management Solutions · 2026 Litigation Offsite The L Suite | 8
Notable Approaches
in Detail

Several respondents shared particularly thoughtful or innovative approaches to outside counsel selection or matter management worth highlighting for the group.

AI-Enhanced Matter Management — Josh Furman, Lead Counsel – Litigation, Canva

"Custom GPT workflow that I built (over ChatGPT) which is paired to Google Sheets for underlying data storage." Josh has layered an AI query and summarization interface directly onto familiar spreadsheet infrastructure — preserving flexibility while adding natural-language access to matter data. A pragmatic path to AI-enhanced workflows without dedicated enterprise software.

Jira + AI Agents — Matt Turetzky, Deputy General Counsel – Litigation, Kraken

"Jira — we created a Jira board with custom fields. We built automations and AI agents to use the data from Jira to better serve our attorneys." The most technically sophisticated approach in the group: Jira as a structured matter data layer with AI agent-driven summaries, status updates, and automation built on top. Particularly relevant for teams with legal ops or engineering resources.

Tiered IP Firm Strategy — Josh Furman, Lead Counsel – Litigation, Canva

Rather than routing all IP work to a single firm, Josh uses three specialists matched to matter scale: KBL / Kate Lazarus for patent and smaller disputes; Thompson Hine / Jen Seraphine for larger patent matters and arbitrations; and Debevoise / Megan Bannigan exclusively for top-tier trademark work. A cost-effective model that avoids overpaying for the wrong level of firm on smaller matters.

In-House Dashboard — Gillian Thackray

Built a custom in-house dashboard in partnership with legal ops and IT, layered on top of spreadsheets. A practical middle-ground between off-the-shelf enterprise software and full custom development — particularly useful for teams with a willing IT partner and a limited tools budget.

Multi-Tool Stack — Anonymous Respondent

Uses AirTable for matter organization, Thomson Reuters Legal Tracker for docket management, and Brightflag for billing and budget oversight. One of the most comprehensive dedicated-tool stacks in the group — showing how multiple purpose-built platforms can be layered to cover different needs rather than relying on a single system.

Curated Partner-Level Panel — Natalie Naugle, AGC, Anthropic

Five firms with distinct named-partner relationships: WilmerHale (Sonal Mehta — patent/IP/antitrust/privacy/"go-to emotional support lawyer"); DWT (Ambika Kumar — 1st Amendment, CDA 230, social media/product liability); Latham (Andy Clubok — tech/trial, high-visibility matters); Ross Aronstam & Mortz (David Ross — Delaware derivative/shareholder); Steptoe (Michel Paradis — DOD/ATA and AI). A model for how a well-curated panel is organized around individual lawyer relationships rather than firm brands — with full-stack coverage from AI/tech risk through Delaware corporate to government/national security work.

Outside Counsel & Matter Management Solutions · 2026 Litigation Offsite The L Suite | 9

The L Suite
2026 Litigation Offsite

This report was compiled from survey responses submitted by offsite attendees. Data is shared for peer benchmarking purposes only. Respondents who did not consent to attribution are referenced anonymously throughout — their firm and tool data is included in aggregate and category-level analysis.

The L Suite