What is Legal 500? Rankings Explained
The Legal 500 is an independent guide that ranks law firms and individual lawyers by practice area and region, based on research by its own team, written submissions from firms and confidential feedback from their clients. Firms are ranked in tiers, and lawyers can be recognised in several categories.
Ask most law firm partners which legal directories matter, and the Legal 500 will be near the top of the list. Ask how its rankings are actually decided, and the answers get a lot vaguer.
That’s a shame, because a Legal 500 ranking is one of the most useful things a firm can have, and the process is more straightforward than it looks. This guide explains what the Legal 500 is, how its rankings work, why they carry weight with clients, and what it takes to get listed.
What the Legal 500 is
The Legal 500 is a guide to law firms and lawyers, published online and covering legal markets around the world. Its UK guide ranks firms across London and the regions, including Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Rankings are organised by practice area and location. A firm might be ranked for private client work in the North West, for example, with a short editorial write-up describing the team, its key clients, and what referees said about it. Individual lawyers in that team can also be ranked alongside it.
Why Legal 500 rankings matter
The real value of the Legal 500 is its independence. Rankings are decided by the guide’s own researchers, based largely on what clients say, and firms can’t pay to be recommended. That makes a ranking something your own marketing can’t provide: a third party vouching for your firm.
Reassurance for clients
A ranking tells prospective clients that real clients have been asked about your work and spoke well of it. For anyone choosing between firms, that’s a powerful reason to pick you.
Evidence for tenders and panel reviews
Tender documents and panel applications regularly ask about directory rankings. Tiers, individual rankings and quotes from the editorial give you independent evidence to put alongside your own claims.
Referrals
Other firms and professional advisers can check rankings before recommending someone, especially for specialist work.
Recruitment
Lawyers at every level notice where a firm and its people are ranked.
Visibility
The Legal 500 is a well-known, trusted website, and its rankings and editorial can sit alongside your own content when people search for your firm or your lawyers.
How Legal 500 rankings work
Rankings are based on an annual cycle of research, carried out by the Legal 500’s own team for each practice area and region. These are the stages of submission and what happens at each of them:
Stage 1: Submission
Firms send a written submission for each practice area, covering the team, its key lawyers, clients and the work it has done over the past year. Submitting is free.
Stage 2: Referees
Firms provide referees, such as clients, introducers of work or counsel. The Legal 500 emails them for feedback, which is confidential and not attributed.
Stage 3: Research
Researchers review the submissions and referee feedback, and may contact a firm for an interview if they need more information. Firms can also request one.
Stage 4: Assessment
Researchers consider the depth and size of the team, the quality of its work, the calibre of its clients, referee feedback and the reputation of individual lawyers.
Stage 5: Publication
Rankings and editorial write-ups are published online, usually once a year.
Firms are ranked in tiers, with Tier 1 the highest. Individual lawyers can be recognised in categories such as Hall of Fame, Leading Partners, Next Generation Partners, and Leading Associates, depending on their seniority and standing.
The Legal 500 also sells profiles that firms write about themselves. These are run separately from the research. Researchers don’t use them, so paying for a profile doesn’t lead to a ranking, and a ranked firm doesn’t have to buy one.
What it takes to get listed
There’s no minimum team size, but researchers need enough evidence to judge your practice. The firms that do well tend to get these things right:
A clear picture of the team
Who does the work, how the team is structured and who the key lawyers are, including the associates coming through.
Specific examples of work
What each matter involved, what your team did and why it mattered. Facts and context are more persuasive than adjectives.
Strong client relationships
Referee feedback is central to the research, so the quality and responsiveness of your referees makes a real difference.
Consistency over time
Rankings often build year by year. A strong submission that isn’t ranked first time is still laying groundwork.
Meeting the deadline
Late submissions may get less thorough consideration, so plan ahead.
How to prepare for the Legal 500 submission
Preparation for the Legal 500 research schedule makes a big difference.
1. Check the research calendar
Deadlines differ by region and practice area. Check the current Legal 500 research calendar early and share the dates with everyone involved.
2. Choose your practice areas
Focus on the areas where you have strong work and clients happy to give feedback. Submit under the closest category if your practice doesn’t fit neatly into one.
3. Gather your work and your people
Pull together notable matters from the past year, along with details of the team and the lawyers you want to put forward. Logging work as it happens throughout the year makes this much easier. We have a helpful tool that can help with that.
4. Brief your referees
Ask referees for permission, check their details, and let them know to expect an email from the Legal 500. A short, friendly reminder when research opens helps feedback come back on time.
5. Write, review and submit
Keep the submission clear and factual, get input from the lawyers involved and check it carefully before the deadline.
6. Keep the researchers updated
If something significant happens after you submit, such as a team hire or a major new client, let the relevant researcher know.
7. Put your rankings to work
When the rankings come out, add them to lawyer profiles, your website, proposals and tender templates, and read the editorial for your firm and your competitors to see where to focus next year.
Legal 500 and Chambers
Most firms that submit to the Legal 500 also submit to Chambers. The two work in similar ways, but they have different timetables, submission formats and ranking categories, so it’s worth planning them together rather than treating them as a separate job. Our guide to the Chambers guide explains how it works.
Directory rankings also sit naturally alongside legal awards. If you’re thinking about awards too, our guide to what actually wins legal awards explains what judges look for.
How we approach Legal 500 submissions
We offer two separate legal directory advice services for Legal 500 and Chambers submissions, which start from £250. Whether you would like us to review and advice, or write and submit, we’ll work with your team provide Legal 500 with clear, evidence-led submissions that make researchers’ jobs easier.
Talk to us
Get in touch and we’ll talk it through properly. No pressure, no jargon, just an honest conversation about what your firm actually needs.
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