How Does The Legal 500 Select Law Firms And Solicitors?
How Does The Legal 500 Select Law Firms And Solicitors?
The Legal 500 is one of the world’s most prestigious legal publications and provides the largest and most comprehensive survey of the global legal market. For legal professionals, being ranked in The Legal 500 is a significant achievement. Clients who instruct a law firm or solicitor ranked in The Legal 500 can be confident that they have chosen a practice or lawyer who is recognised as one of the best in the country in their particular legal specialism.
When ranking law firms, The Legal 500 breaks everything down by country, region, practice area, and sub practice areas. Firms that make it into the publication are then ranked in Tiers, for example, Tier 1, Tier 2, Tier 3 and so on. The number of tiers depends on the size of the region being covered and the category of law, for example, under financial services: non-contentious/regulatory for London there are six tiers. A search for a similar practice area in the Northeast of England may only have one to three tiers.
In each practice area, there is a list of leading individuals, Hall of Fame and ‘rising stars’ which refers to specific solicitors within a firm.
The Legal 500 is published every year, so although a particular law firm or solicitor may not appear in the current issue it does not mean they have not been ranked in the past few years.
How does a law firm get into The Legal 500?
To be considered by The Legal 500 a law firm must complete a comprehensive submission. Questions include:
- What measures has your firm introduced (or maintained) over the last year to benefit your clients?
- What sets your practice apart from other firms?
Several referees, including a client referee list, are also required.
Once a submission is received, a team of market researchers will review the firm and conduct interviews with referees.
When assessing a law firm’s entry submission, the following will be considered:
- Very strong technical ability available for the most complex and innovative work
- Most prestigious clients
- Individuals with the contacts at, and credibility with, the top clients
- In-depth capability beyond star partners
- Capacity for the biggest transactions/cases
- Market share
- Historical track record on top deals/cases
- Clear investment for the future in a particular practice area
- Progress made with acquiring new clients/ market share
- Strength in associated areas – for example, can a M&A department undertake competition work to an equal standard?
- Reputation for handling complex, innovative deals
- Capacity to handle all client requirements in an area – for example international offices/connections
- Commitment to IT and the use of IT to improve client services
- Perception in the market
Every year The Legal 500 interviews law firms to establish the type of work and methods they used to achieve successful outcomes (often this information is unable to enter the public domain due to client confidentiality). It then talks to around 300,000 clients about their experience with the solicitors they have instructed as well as businesses, accountants, investment bankers, and in-house counsel. In gathering this wealth of information about the profession The Legal 500 can set a benchmark by which to measure the claims and performance of law firms and solicitors who have provided submissions.
How does The Legal 500 benefit clients?
The above covers how firms are selected for The Legal 500 and how significant being chosen is for those working in the legal profession. But what does a ranking in The Legal 500 mean to a couple purchasing their first home? Or an employer facing a discrimination claim? Or a group of 20-somethings who have created a phenomenal new app and want to know how to raise their first round of funding?
For the users of legal services, The Legal 500 provides the confidence and assurance that if they choose a law firm or solicitor included in its rankings, that firm or person has been measured against the best in their practice specialism and geographical area and has been deemed exceptional.
Final words
There are over 10,000 law firms in the UK and naturally, every one of them claims to be the best at what they do. For users of legal services, accreditations such as Lexcel and The Legal 500 publication provides independent verification of the quality, talent, and experience of a particular firm and/or solicitor.
Any business can claim they are the finest in their profession. It takes a certain amount of confidence and courage to apply for and achieve accreditations to back up such assertions.
Our Employment Law Partner, Lianne Payne has been mentioned in the Legal 500. Askews Legal is also one of only 12 law firms in Coventry to hold a Lexcel accreditation. To find out more please call us on 02476 231000 or email enquiries@askewslegal.co
