Honors & Awards
Putting an emphasis on client service, and keeping our clients' objectives at the forefront of everything we do has earned Stites & Harbison numerous honors and awards:
Stites & Harbison earned 93 Metropolitan rankings in six regions and represent 52 legal practice areas. In addition, the firm’s three National Tier 1 rankings include: Litigation – Construction, Litigation – Real Estate, and Trademark Law. The survey was conducted by Best Lawyers.
101 Stites & Harbison lawyers are listed in The Best Lawyers in America® 2024; 28 named "Lawyer of the Year" and 19 named "Ones to Watch."
Stites & Harbison, PLLC is pleased to announce that it has achieved 2023-24 Mansfield Certification. Mansfield is a year-long structured certification process designed for law firms to ensure all lawyers have an opportunity to advance into leadership.
Corporate Counsel has honored Stites & Harbison, PLLC Chair Marjorie A. Farris as a “Managing Partner of the Year” in its 2023 Women, Influence & Power in Law (WIPL) Awards. She is one of six women honored in this category across the country.
BTI Consulting Group recently selected Stites & Harbison, PLLC as a standout in two key areas: investing in client relationships and client-facing communication, in the prestigious BTI Client Service A-Team 2020: The Survey of Law Firm Client Service Performance. In-depth interviews with more than 350 corporate counsel at Global 500 and Fortune 1000 companies were conducted by BTI for the 2020 results. BTI’s Client Service A-Team is regarded as “the gold standard to assess how law firms honestly stack up in client service and delivery.” Stites & Harbison was named to the list for the third time in six years after having placed in the top 20% of all law firms serving larger clients in BTI Consulting Group's Client Service A-Team 2015 and named a client service leader in BTI Consulting Group's Client Service A-Team 2019.
BTI Consulting Group named Stites & Harbison, PLLC as a best-branded law firm in its BTI Brand Elite 2019: Client Perceptions of the Best-Branded Law Firms. The BTI Brand Elite list reveals the 408 law firms with the best brand standing based solely on in-depth telephone interviews with general counsels and leading legal decision makers.
BTI Consulting Group named Stites & Harbison, PLLC as a brand leader in its BTI Brand Elite 2016: Client Perceptions of the Best-Branded Law Firms. The firm stands out for its innovation and is listed on BTI's Honor Roll of Value-Driven Firms. BTI's annual list ranks the top law firms based solely on in-depth telephone interviews with general counsels and leading legal decision makers.
The BTI Consulting Group recently released its report, BTI Litigation Outlook 2015, listing Stites & Harbison, PLLC in the top 10% of all law firms for Commercial Litigation and Complex Commercial Litigation.
Sixty-two Stites & Harbison lawyers are listed in the current Super Lawyers magazine, representing the top five percent of lawyers in their state. Sixteen lawyers are listed as Rising Stars.
More than 50% of Members and Counsel are listed in Martindale-Hubbell as AV®-rated.
The 2025 edition of Benchmark Litigation names 11 Stites & Harbison, PLLC attorneys as “Litigation Stars” and three as “Future Stars” in Kentucky. The firm has also been named Litigation Firm of the Year for Kentucky in 2020, 2021, 2023, 2024 and 2025. The guide honors the firms and attorneys who have demonstrated the ability to consistently handle complex, high-stakes cases in multiple jurisdictions.
Twenty-five Stites & Harbison lawyers are listed in the current edition of Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers for Business. Stites & Harbison is ranked Band 1 in Kentucky for Intellectual Property and Real Estate. The firm is also ranked Band 2 in Kentucky for Corporate/M&A; Environment, Natural Resources & Utilities; and Litigation: General Commercial, while earning Band 3 for Labor & Employment. In Tennessee, the firm is ranked Band 2 for Intellectual Property and Band 3 for Banking & Finance, Corporate and Real Estate.
Southern Economic Development named the firm to the top 24 law firms in the South providing economic development services for 2023.
Chambers High Net Worth selected Stites & Harbison, PLLC attorney Gregory D. Smith for inclusion in its 2023 guide in the category of Family/Matrimonial for USA: Tennessee. He is one of only four attorneys honored for Tennessee. Chambers High Net Worth ranks top lawyers and law firms in the international private wealth market. This is Smith’s third time earning the honor.
The Patent Lawyer Magazine has named Stites & Harbison, PLLC to the 2024 Top 10 Patent Firms and IP Practices in North America – South list. This is the firm’s third year being honored.
Managing Intellectual Property magazine named nine attorneys "IP Stars" for 2023; one attorney named to “Top 250 Women in IP.” Two attorneys were named to the "Rising Star" list for 2023.
Two Stites & Harbison lawyers were listed in Nashville Business Journal's Best of the Bar for 2023.
The American Bar Association (ABA) Health Law Section has ranked Stites & Harbison, PLLC in 5th place in its Annual Regional Law Firm Recognition List for the South region for 2024. The firm has been honored 11 consecutive times on the South list.
Emerging 100 of Atlanta (E100 Atlanta) inducted attorney Brandon Sartin as one of 27 new members in 2022.
Corporate Counsel names Stites & Harbison on its "Who Represents America's Biggest Companies" list, formerly known as Go-To Law Firms, 2007-17. The list features law firms who represented Fortune 50 companies.
Corporate INTL Magazine Global Awards selected Stites & Harbison for Asset Restructuring Law Firm of the Year in Georgia (2013-17).
Since the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce launched the “Best Places to Work in Kentucky” award in 2005, Stites & Harbison has been regularly recognized as one of the Top Places to Work in Kentucky. These awards exemplify the firm's long-standing commitment to providing quality service to its clients as well as providing a superior work environment for its attorneys and staff. Stites & Harbison, PLLC ranks in the Top 20 “Best Places to Work in Kentucky” for 2024 in the medium company category. The firm has made the list 18 times — 10 of those in the Top 10.