Key Insights
- Economic consulting is organized around four core areas: Competition economics, litigation support, disputes and investigations, and digital market analysis.
- The leading firms differentiate themselves through the strength of their economists, expert witnesses, and academic networks.
- Antitrust enforcement, AI regulation, and digital platform litigation are among the fastest-growing drivers of demand in economic consulting.
Economic consulting sits at the intersection of economics, law, finance, and public policy.
Unlike traditional management consulting, economic and litigation consultants help clients answer questions that often end up in courtrooms, regulatory proceedings, merger reviews, and arbitration hearings. Their work influences billion-dollar acquisitions, antitrust investigations, securities litigation, intellectual property disputes, and energy market regulation.
As the market has evolved, economic consulting has become increasingly specialized. The leading firms tend to dominate one of four distinct capability lanes:
- Antitrust & Competition Economics: Merger reviews, market definition, competition analysis, and regulatory proceedings.
- Litigation & Expert Testimony: Damages analysis, securities litigation, intellectual property disputes, and expert witness support.
- Disputes & Investigations: Commercial disputes, forensic matters, restructuring, and investigations.
- Digital Markets & Emerging Economics: Platform economics, AI, digital competition policy, and plaintiff-side litigation.
This ranking evaluates firms across:
- Prestige within economic consulting and litigation support
- Strength of expert witness networks
- Market position across major practice areas
- Hiring outlook and growth prospects
- Career opportunities for analysts, economists, and consultants
The result reflects how the economic consulting industry operates in 2026.
Top Economic & Litigation Consulting Firms
1. Compass Lexecon
Compass Lexecon earns the top spot as the dominant franchise in economic consulting. The firm fields one of the deepest benches of academic economists in the world and regularly advises on the largest antitrust, merger, securities, arbitration, and regulatory matters globally.
The firm's influence is particularly visible in competition economics, where it consistently appears at the center of major merger reviews and regulatory proceedings. Its roster of affiliated experts includes many of the most influential economists in academia and public policy.
Compass Lexecon ranks #1 because no firm combines scale, academic prestige, global reach, and case complexity as effectively.
Best for:
- Antitrust and competition economics
- Academic prestige
- Global litigation exposure
2. Analysis Group
Analysis Group remains Compass Lexecon's closest competitor and arguably the most balanced firm in the industry. Its practice spans antitrust, healthcare economics, intellectual property, securities litigation, life sciences, and commercial damages.
The firm's breadth is unmatched outside Compass. It has built particularly strong positions in healthcare and pharmaceutical litigation, while maintaining elite credentials in competition and litigation economics.
For candidates, Analysis Group is one of the industry's strongest destinations for undergraduate analysts and economists seeking broad exposure.
Best for:
- Healthcare and life sciences economics
- Broad litigation exposure
- Analyst career development
3. Cornerstone Research
Cornerstone Research is the most litigation-focused firm in the ranking. The firm has built its reputation on high-profile securities litigation, financial economics, class actions, and expert testimony.
While it is narrower than Compass Lexecon or Analysis Group, its specialization has made it a trusted advisor on some of the largest disputes in the world. Few firms have stronger relationships with leading litigation practices and trial teams.
Cornerstone ranks third because of its exceptional reputation within litigation economics and financial damages analysis.
Best for:
- Securities litigation
- Financial economics
- Expert testimony work
4. The Brattle Group
Brattle occupies a unique position at the intersection of litigation, regulation, and public policy. The firm is especially influential in energy, utilities, competition economics, telecommunications, and regulatory proceedings.
Unlike many competitors, Brattle's work often extends beyond litigation into policy design and market regulation. This has become increasingly valuable as governments and regulators grapple with AI, energy transition, and digital market oversight.
Brattle ranks fourth due to its distinctive blend of economics, policy expertise, and industry specialization.
Best for:
- Energy and utilities economics
- Regulatory proceedings
- Public policy work
5. Charles River Associates (CRA)
CRA remains one of the foundational firms in economic consulting. Its strengths span antitrust, intellectual property, labor economics, financial economics, and regulatory matters.
The firm is particularly respected for the quality of its economic analysis and continues to maintain a strong position in competition economics globally.
CRA ranks fifth because of its consistently strong reputation across multiple practice areas and decades-long industry influence.
Best for:
- Antitrust economics
- Intellectual property disputes
- Broad economics training
6. NERA Economic Consulting
NERA helped pioneer the economic consulting industry and remains one of its most respected names. The firm maintains strong positions in antitrust, energy, competition policy, and regulatory economics.
Its global footprint and deep relationships with regulators, corporations, and law firms continue to make it a major player in complex disputes.
NERA ranks sixth because of its historical influence and continued strength in competition and regulatory matters.
Best for:
- Competition economics
- Regulatory matters
- International litigation
7. Berkeley Research Group (BRG)
BRG has emerged as one of the fastest-growing firms in disputes, investigations, and expert services. Its practice spans healthcare, commercial disputes, investigations, damages, and restructuring-related advisory.
The firm's multidisciplinary model differentiates it from traditional economics-focused competitors and allows it to tackle a broader range of client problems.
BRG ranks seventh because of its growing influence and expanding footprint in complex disputes.
Best for:
- Disputes and investigations
- Healthcare litigation
- Restructuring-related work
8. Bates White
Bates White is one of the most respected economics boutiques in the market. The firm has built strong practices in antitrust, healthcare economics, intellectual property, and damages analysis.
Despite its smaller size, Bates White consistently punches above its weight due to its analytical rigor and strong academic orientation.
The firm ranks eighth because of the quality of its work and reputation among economists.
Best for:
- Academic economics
- Quantitative analysis
- Antitrust work
9. FTI Consulting
FTI's economic consulting capabilities benefit from being embedded within one of the world's largest disputes and advisory platforms. The firm's combination of economics, investigations, forensic accounting, and restructuring creates opportunities few pure-play competitors can match.
While Compass Lexecon remains the premier economics brand within the broader FTI ecosystem, FTI's integrated disputes platform continues to gain relevance.
FTI ranks ninth because of its multidisciplinary strength and broad disputes exposure.
Best for:
- Multi-disciplinary disputes
- Investigations
- Expert services careers
10. Fideres
Fideres is the most disruptive entrant in the ranking. The London-based firm has built a strong reputation in digital markets, competition economics, financial litigation, and plaintiff-side advisory.
As collective actions, platform regulation, and digital competition policy become increasingly important, Fideres has established itself as a firm to watch.
The firm ranks tenth due to its growing influence and differentiated positioning.
Best for:
- Plaintiff-side litigation
- Digital markets
- European competition cases
Economic & Litigation Consulting "Best For" Comparison
| Category | Best Firm | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Antitrust & Competition Economics | Compass Lexecon | Dominant franchise for merger reviews, competition analysis, regulatory economics, and expert testimony. |
| Healthcare Economics | Analysis Group | Strongest platform for healthcare, pharmaceutical, life sciences, and health policy litigation. |
| Securities Litigation | Cornerstone Research | Premier destination for financial economics, securities disputes, class actions, and damages analysis. |
| Energy & Regulatory Economics | The Brattle Group | Combines litigation support with deep expertise in energy markets, utilities, telecommunications, and regulation. |
| Intellectual Property Economics | Charles River Associates (CRA) | Consistently strong in IP disputes, damages analysis, antitrust economics, and expert support. |
| International Competition Matters | NERA Economic Consulting | Global reach and deep expertise in antitrust, competition policy, regulatory proceedings, and international litigation. |
| Disputes & Investigations | Berkeley Research Group (BRG) | Fast-growing platform for disputes, investigations, healthcare litigation, damages, and restructuring-related work. |
| Quantitative Economics | Bates White | Known for analytical rigor, economics-first problem solving, antitrust analysis, and quantitative research. |
| Multi-Disciplinary Expert Services | FTI Consulting | Offers exposure across economics, investigations, forensic accounting, restructuring, and expert services. |
| Digital Markets & Plaintiff-Side Litigation | Fideres | Rising specialist in platform economics, collective actions, financial litigation, and digital competition policy. |
Frequently Asked Questions: Top Economic Consulting Firms
The top economic consulting firms in 2026 are Compass Lexecon, Analysis Group, Cornerstone Research, The Brattle Group, Charles River Associates (CRA), NERA Economic Consulting, Berkeley Research Group (BRG), Bates White, FTI Consulting, and Fideres.
Compass Lexecon ranks #1 because it combines the industry’s deepest bench of academic experts with leadership in antitrust, competition economics, merger reviews, arbitration, and litigation support. No firm matches its combination of scale, prestige, and involvement in high-profile cases.
Compass Lexecon, CRA, and NERA are among the strongest firms for antitrust and competition economics. These firms regularly advise on merger reviews, competition investigations, and regulatory proceedings around the world.
Compass Lexecon, Analysis Group, Cornerstone Research, and Brattle are widely regarded as the top destinations for analysts and economists due to their prestige, training, exposure to high-profile matters, and exit opportunities.
Economic consulting is increasingly focused on digital markets, artificial intelligence, antitrust enforcement, and platform regulation. As regulators and courts devote greater attention to technology companies and market competition, demand for competition economists and expert witnesses continues to grow.
Conclusion
Economic consulting remains one of the most intellectually rigorous segments of the consulting industry. As competition policy, AI regulation, digital markets, and large-scale litigation continue to expand, demand for economic expertise is likely to grow.
The best firm ultimately depends on your interests. Candidates seeking academic prestige and competition economics may gravitate toward Compass Lexecon or NERA. Those interested in litigation may prefer Cornerstone or Analysis Group. Professionals drawn to regulation and public policy may find Brattle particularly compelling.
What unites the firms on this list is their ability to apply economic reasoning to some of the most consequential business, legal, and regulatory decisions in the world.