Menu
Legal directory rankings can often be confusing as each directory follows its own system. In general, individuals and firms are ranked on a scale from 1 (highest) to 6 (lowest). Other directories, such as IP Stars, WTR1000, GAR100, and Lexology Index, broadly follow a similar pattern.
Here’s an overview:
There are also separate rankings for individuals. For example:
Certain directories also focus on firm initiatives including DEI or innovative technology. For instance, IFLR1000, IP Stars, Best Lawyers and World Tax Review (WTR) have dedicated women in law rankings. If your lawyers are based in one jurisdiction but have expertise in other jurisdictions, consider submitting for Chambers Foreign Experts or Foreign Desks.
Each directory has its own methodology and factors that influence rankings, so understanding the nuances of each one is crucial for building a successful submission strategy.
Detailed legal directory rankings explained below, or use the dropdown to find specific legal directory rankings explained:
Chambers ranks law firms and individual lawyers in bands from 1 (highest) to 6 (lowest) by practice area. This applies to barristers, with separate tables for Silks and Juniors. A Star ranking is given to lawyers with exceptional recommendations in their field. Being ranked in any band is a significant achievement.
Additional rankings:
Senior Statesperson: a lawyer who no longer works hands-on with the same intensity but who, by virtue of close links with major clients, remains pivotal to the firms success.
Eminent Practitioner: highly influential lawyers in a particular practice area who, due to managerial or client relationship commitments, are less active in fee-earning work but remain key players in the team.
Up-and-Coming: lists those who do not yet have an established reputation but who are driving their firm's growth.
Star Associate: awarded to an associate who consistently demonstrates an outstanding degree of technical and commercial expertise beyond that of their peers.
Associates to Watch: senior associates who are recognised for their work in the background of major deals.
Foreign Experts / Foreign Desks: Chambers Global identifies leading Foreign Experts and Foreign Desks, individuals or teams with expertise in a different jurisdiction from where they are based. Usually, they will be identified in the jurisdiction in which they are based. For example, a lawyer based in the UK may have an in-depth knowledge of China. They would appear in the UK as a Foreign Expert for China.
Regional Spotlight Rankings: A 'Spotlight' ranking is given to firms or individuals where the table does not have numerical rankings. All 'Spotlight' rankings are equal and the ranking serves to highlight a select group of firms or individuals. These rankings are most commonly used for 'Foreign Experts/Foreign Desks'.
-> Chambers Rankings Explained
Legal 500 ranks law firms in tiers from 1 (highest) to 6 (lowest) by practice area and by location. The ‘Firms to Watch’ ranking is for law firms with an up-and-coming practice, either breaking new ground or a boutique specialist.
What does the Legal 500 Client Satisfaction badge mean? This is awarded to law firms who achieve exceptionally high scores for client service and experience.
What are US Elite rankings? US Elite rankings are for key US lawyers outside of global elite firms who are handling work at the top of the legal market in their respective cities. Law firm practice groups are not ranked, only individual lawyers.
Legal 500 lawyer rankings explained:
Hall of Fame rankings are for lawyers at the very top of the profession, widely known and respected by peers and clients for their longstanding involvement in market-leading work.
Leading Partners rankings are for the strongest senior partners in their field, leading on market-leading deals and endorsed by peers and clients alike
Next Generation Partners rankings are for junior partners with significant recognition from clients and peers in the market and key roles on multiple matters.
Leading Associates rankings are for associates with regular involvement in their team's key work, and recognition from peers or clients as being ones to watch.
The Legal 500 Green Guide highlights firms engaging with a green transition by region (USA, EMEA etc)
Barristers Chambers and barristers are ranked in the Legal 500 as above with separate tables for Silks and Juniors.
-> Legal 500 FAQs, who uses the Legal 500 rankings and what jurisdictions Legal 500 cover. Here is an interview with Tim Girvan, Senior Editor for the Western Hemisphere, about what the Legal 500 look for in submissions.
IFLR1000 ranks firms and individuals. This guide only recognises lawyers in the jurisdiction where they are based. IFLR1000 Rankings breakdown:
Market Leader: Partners who are the true leaders in their practice area(s) and jurisdiction in the eyes of clients and peers, with clear records of leading on the most high-profile, innovative and complex deals in their markets.
Women Leader: To be ranked Women Leader, lawyers must meet the criteria for Market Leader (stated above) or must hold high status within their market for their leadership abilities. See ‘Women Leaders’ section for more detail.
Highly Regarded: Partners who have outstanding deal records in the practice in question and are highly regarded by clients and peers.
Expert Consultant: Senior figures with name recognition who focus on consulting and building client relationships. These are individuals who may stepped back from the active client work to serve as rainmakers or figureheads for a practice.
Rising Star Partner: Lawyers who made partner relatively recently who are working on complex deals and are recommended by clients or peers. To be eligible for this rating, lawyers must have made partner within three years of the current submission deadline. Only lawyers who were promoted to partner within three years of the submission deadline are eligible for this rating.
Rising Star: Ones to watch – lawyers building their reputations in the market who are working on notable deals and are recommended by clients or peers. Only non-partners who qualified within 15 years of the submission deadline are eligible for this rating. Eligible candidates cannot have made partner and must have no more than 15 years post qualification experience.
Notable Practitioner: Lawyers supported records of advising on significant deals in the jurisdiction and practice area in question.
IP Stars ranks firms either in Tiers, with Tier 1 being the highest ranking, or as highly recommended or recommended. For most jurisdictions, the rankings are split into prosecution and contentious work, whereas in smaller jurisdictions firms are ranked for their IP practice as a whole. There are special national rankings for the United States.
Individuals are ranked on IP Stars lists. The IP STARS and Rising Stars lists are for individuals in private practice, while the Corporate IP STARS list is for in-house practitioners. There is also a special IP Star list titled Top 250 Women in IP.
ITR World Tax covers the Americas, Asia-Pacific and EMEA and ranks firms in Tiers, with Tier 1 being the highest. Lawyers, or Practitioners, are ranked from Highly Regarded to Promoted with a specific ranking for Women in Tax.
Highly Regarded: Practitioners who are highly regarded by their peers and the wider market and who possess a strong track record in dealing with significant matters.
Women in Tax: Female practitioners recognised as leading practitioners in their field, who are also invited to participate in the Women in Tax Survey.
Notable Practitioner: Practitioners who have a track record advising on significant deals in the context of their market and practice area, recognised for their work in that space.
Rising Star: Ones to watch, these are practitioners at the early stages of their career whose work has already stood out to peers and clients and who are recognised as potential market leaders of the future.
Promoted: These individuals are not yet ranked but have been promoted by their firms as those they believe should be recognised by the market.
WTR 1000 ranks firms and individuals in Bands with Gold as the top ranking. If there isn’t enough feedback to support a band ranking but enough that a firm or lawyer should be recognized, they can be ranked as ‘highly recommended’ or ‘recommended’.
WTR 300 highlights individual corporate trademark professionals, often outside of law firms. Lawyers are listed alphabetically rather than ranked.
WTR 1000 bands explained:
Gold Band: Firms and individuals who attract the most positive comments from sources and undertake the most sophisticated work. Their success often hinges on reputations established over lengthy periods of time, something which enables them to secure the most high-profile, big-ticket work from the most prestigious of clients.
Silver Band: practice groups and individuals who also attract extensive feedback and showcase high-end work in their submissions. For whatever reason (less specialised, newer to the marketplace, smaller client base, less bandwidth and so on) their prominence in the trademark sphere does not quite match those in Gold.
Bronze Band: those designated bronze are praised by sources and undertake extensive trademark work. However, while those included in the bronze band are uniformly strong, their profiles are typically somewhat lower for trademark work than those of their competitors in the gold and silver bands.
Highly Recommended or Recommended: when market commentary is more limited, firms or individuals are presented as “Highly recommended” or “Recommended”.
IAM Patent 1000 ranks firms and lawyers in bands from Gold to Bronze. If there isn’t enough information to support a band ranking but enough that a firm or lawyer should be recognized, they can be ranked as ‘highly recommended’ or ‘recommended’.
Gold Band: Firms and individuals who attract the most positive comments from sources and undertake the most sophisticated work. Their success often hinges on reputations established over lengthy periods of time, something which enables them to secure the most high-profile, big-ticket work from the most prestigious of clients.
Silver Band: practice groups and individuals who also attract extensive feedback and showcase high-end work in their submissions. For whatever reason (less specialised, newer to the marketplace, smaller client base, less bandwidth and so on) their prominence in the trademark sphere does not quite match those in Gold.
Bronze Band: those designated bronze are praised by sources and undertake extensive trademark work. However, while those included in the bronze band are uniformly strong, their profiles are typically somewhat lower for trademark work than those of their competitors in the gold and silver bands.
Luminaries: Lawyers who have scaled back the extent of their day-to-day work, yet remain important figures in the marketplace.
Best Lawyers ranks ‘Best Law Firms’, ‘Best Lawyers’ and ‘Ones to Watch’.
Best Lawyers tend to have at least 10 years in private practice and are often Partners.
Ones to Watch typically have been in private practice for 5-9 years and are usually Associates or Senior Associates.
Lawyer of the Year which highlights one individual in a particular practice area and location. This is based on overall peer-feedback.
Law Firm of the Year recognizes expertise in specific practice areas and regions. This is based on feedback, recognition and recent significant cases.
-> Best Lawyers methodology, deadlines and eligibility
Leader’s League has a wider scope than many other legal directories. It includes Legal, Private Equity & Financial Services, Human Capital, Innovation & Marketing and Wealth Management. For example, Kidd Aitken are ranked as an Excellent at Marketing and Business Development for Lawyers.
Firms and individuals are ranked by location and expertise in the below categories from most to least prestigious:
Leading
Excellent
Highly Recommended
Recommended
Valuable Practice
-> Leader’s League methodology
Juve and Juve Patent rankings are focused on Europe, in particular Germany and Austria. Juve Patent only publishes rankings for Austria, France, the UK and the Netherlands every two years.
Firms are ranked from 5 stars (the highest tier) to 1 star by location and practice area expertise. Individuals are listed alphabetically. The ‘One to watch’ ranking is for junior lawyers developing their practice.
-> JUVE Patent ranking criteria and rankings explained.
Kidd Aitken is one of the largest legal directory consultancies with over a decade of experience building legal rankings for top tier law firms around the world. Our consultants are former directory Editors, Deputy Editors, researchers, in-house marketing executives and solicitors. Each year we handle 3,500 – 4000 submissions per year for Chambers, IFLR1000, Legal 500 and other prestigious directories for our clients, which truly gives us a unique insight into best practice for strong submissions. Uniquely, we have a dedicated co-ordination team to monitor and assist law firms in the research process, from start to finish, to ensure the best possible service for our clients.
Get in touch to find out how we can grow your rankings and follow us on LinkedIn for more updates.
Subscribe to our quarterly newsletter below to receive our news and insights.
