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Rankings · Global Law Awards 2026

Law firm rankings 2026

How to read a ranking table: five bands, per jurisdiction and practice area.

Put your firm forward About the awards

Submissions close 31 October 2026 · Results published 15 December 2026

Photo: Alex Varela / Unsplash

Global Law Awards 2026

Five bands, market by market

Our law firm rankings place firms in one of five bands within a single jurisdiction and practice area. Band 1 is for the firms the market turns to first for its hardest work; Band 5 is for recognised entrants whose work merits attention. The bands are comparative, so a firm is measured against the other firms doing the same work in the same place, not against a fixed target. A band may be empty when no firm meets its standard.

Within each band, firms are listed alphabetically. The order never reflects membership, advertising or anything a firm has paid. Results pages are published only where at least three firms are ranked for a country and practice area; smaller sets are shown on the country page instead, so no ranking table rests on one or two entries.

Each placement rests on the firm's submission and confidential references from clients and peers, scored against six weighted criteria and confirmed by an editor. The 2026 rankings are published on 15 December 2026. Previous editions stay online under their own year, so a firm's movement from one edition to the next can be followed.

FreeTo enter and be ranked
5Ranking bands
8Named designations
6Weighted criteria
How it works

Four steps from submission to ranking

Put your firm's work forward. Our research team gathers the evidence, and editors make the final decision.

  1. 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.

  2. 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.

  3. Your evidence is assessed

    Research software drafts an assessment against six weighted criteria. An editor reviews the evidence and confirms every placement.

  4. Results are published

    Results are published on 15 December 2026. Every firm that entered is told its outcome directly.

No fee to enter. No confidential client details required.

Questions

Asked and answered

01How are firms ordered within a band?

Alphabetically. Bands carry the judgement; the order within a band does not, and it never reflects membership or payment.

02Why does a country have no table for a practice area?

A practice-area table is published only when at least three firms are ranked in it. Fewer placements are shown on the country results page, so there are no thin tables.

03Can a firm be ranked in more than one practice area?

Yes. A firm strong in two areas is assessed and placed separately in each, and may hold different bands in each.

Explore

More on the Global Law Awards

Global Law Awards 2026 · Open for submissions

Put your firm's work forward

Open to firms of every size, in every jurisdiction. No fee to enter.

Submissions close 31 October 2026 · Results published 15 December 2026

Put your firm forwardRead the methodology