International lawyer awards
How individual lawyers are recognised: through the work of their practice, on evidence.
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The lawyer's work, judged through the practice
Many international lawyer awards are personal titles decided by nomination. The Global Law Awards 2026 take a different route. We rank practices within a jurisdiction and practice area, because that is how clients instruct counsel and how references can be checked. The lawyers who do the work are at the centre of that assessment: the matters they handled, what their clients say about them and how their peers regard them.
A lawyer who practises alone, or leads a small specialist practice, can enter on the same terms as a large firm. There is no minimum size and no fee. The entry describes representative matters in one practice area, names at least two client or peer referees, and confirms a licence to practise in the jurisdiction.
Our team contacts referees in confidence. Research software prepares a draft assessment against six weighted criteria, one of which is the depth and expertise of the team, and an editor confirms every placement. A ranked practice shows its result on its profile on Global Law Lists, linked to the public results for 2026, published on 15 December 2026.
Four steps from submission to ranking
Put your firm's work forward. Our research team gathers the evidence, and editors make the final decision.
Submit your work
Start with your name, firm and work email, and we email you a link that opens your entry. There, tell us where your firm practises, describe representative matters in one practice area and name at least two client or peer referees.
We gather references
Our team contacts referees in confidence and checks what the firm says against public sources. A firm never sees what a referee said.
Your evidence is assessed
Research software drafts an assessment against six weighted criteria. An editor reviews the evidence and confirms every placement.
Results are published
Results are published on 15 December 2026. Every firm that entered is told its outcome directly.
Asked and answered
01Can a sole practitioner enter?
Yes. A sole practice is assessed in the same way as a firm, against the other practices doing the same work in the same jurisdiction. Size is not a criterion.
02Are individual lawyers ranked by name?
Placements are made for a practice in a jurisdiction and practice area. The lawyers responsible for that work are what the references describe, and the result appears on the practice's profile, linked to its public record.
03Do I need to be a member to be recognised?
No. Members and non-members are assessed the same way and appear in the same results. Payment is never part of the decision.
More on the Global Law Awards
- Global Law Awards 2026Dates, criteria and how to enter
- Rankings and resultsBy jurisdiction and practice area
- The methodologyCriteria, evidence, conflicts and appeals
- Global legal awards
- International law firm awards
- International legal awards 2026
- Law firm rankings 2026
- Global law firm rankings
- Lawyer of the Year awards
- Top law firms in the world
Put your firm's work forward
Open to firms of every size, in every jurisdiction. No fee to enter.