Methodology
Frequently Asked Questions
Thank you for your interest in finding out more about Best Lawyers. Below are the most commonly asked questions that we receive.
METHODOLOGY & OUR HISTORY
How the Recognition Works
The first step is for a lawyer to be nominated. For the full research process, please visit our Methodology page.
The first edition of The Best Lawyers in America® was published in 1983 and has become universally regarded as the definitive guide to legal excellence.
Steven Naifeh and Gregory White Smith founded Best Lawyers in 1981.
Best Lawyers has conducted research in more than 76 countries — spotlighting excellence in law on the local and global scale. See the full directory of country publications below.
For more than four decades, Best Lawyers has continuously recognized top legal talent. The 31st edition of The Best Lawyers in America® was announced on August 15, 2024. Additional country publications began in 2007 and research schedules vary based on country.
Research Across More Than 74 Countries
For legal help and advice worldwide, Best Lawyers maintains a directory of Purely Peer Review® attorneys, barristers, solicitors and other legal professionals across more than 74 countries.
Africa
Kenya
South Africa
Asia
Armenia
Azerbaijan
Bahrain
China: Global Firms
Georgia
Israel
Japan
Kazakhstan
Kuwait
Kyrgyzstan
Oman
Qatar
Saudi Arabia
Singapore
South Korea
Tajikistan
Turkey
Turkmenistan
United Arab Emirates
Uzbekistan
Central America
Costa Rica
Guatemala
Honduras
Nicaragua
Panama
Europe
Austria
Belgium
Bulgaria
Croatia / Hrvatska
Cyprus
Czech Republic
Denmark
Estonia
Finland
France
Germany
Greece
Hungary
Iceland
Ireland
Italy
Latvia
Liechtenstein
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Moldova
Netherlands
Norway
Poland
Portugal
Republic of North Macedonia
Romania
Serbia and Montenegro
Slovakia
Slovenia
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
Ukraine
United Kingdom
North America
Canada
Mexico
Puerto Rico
United States
Oceania
Australia
New Zealand
South America
Argentina
Brazil
Chile
Colombia
Peru
Venezuela
PUBLICATIONS HISTORY
33 Editions, 1983 — 2027
For more than four decades, Best Lawyers has continuously recognized top legal talent. The Best Lawyers in America® debuted in 1983. While originally published at intervals, it is now released annually every August, continuously recognizing the nation’s top legal talent.
The Best Lawyers in America®
33 Editions, 1983 - 2027
32ⁿᵈ edition · Aug 18, 2025
Edition
Year
Edition
Year
Edition
Year
1
1983
2
1987
3
1989-90
4
1991-92
5
1993-94
6
1995-96
7
1997-98
8
1999-00
9
2001-02
10
2003-04
11
2005-06
12
2006
13
2007
14
2008
15
2009
16
2010
17
2011
18
2012
19
2013
20
2014
21
2015
22
2016
23
2017
24
2018
25
2019
26
2020
27
2021
28
2022
29
2023
30
2024
31
2025
32 
2026
33
2027
Additional country publications began in 2007 and research schedules vary by country.
NOMINATIONS
How Lawyers Are Put Forward
Nominations can be submitted through our public website or by contacting nominations@bestlawyers.com.
We recommend that nominees for Best Lawyers have been in practice for at least 10 years to give them time to build a legal presence in their community and practice areas. Nominees for Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch should have been in practice for 3 to 9 years (depending on jurisdiction). Candidates must also be in private practice. Best Lawyers does not accept nominations for in-house lawyers at this time.
There is no limit.
No. However, we highly recommend only nominating candidates in their areas of expertise.
No. Lawyers who are currently recognized by Best Lawyers are automatically nominated for the following edition.
We automatically keep all nominees on the ballots for three editions. If a lawyer is not recognized after three editions, their nomination will be archived, and they will need to be re-nominated for future consideration.
You are welcome to resubmit the nomination once a candidate is archived.
Please log in to your account to view your firm reports or contact us for assistance.
No. A lawyer can only be a candidate for one award type at a given time.
VOTING
The Ballot & Voting Scale
THE BEST LAWYERS BALLOT ASKS
"If you were unable to take a case yourself, how likely would you be to refer it to this lawyer?"
5
Would absolutely recommend
4
Would likely recommend
3
Would probably recommend
2
Would most likely not recommend
1
Would not recommend
—
Do not know / cannot comment
Voters can add a .5 to make their votes more specific, and may use "Don’t Know" for lawyers whose work they are unfamiliar with. Ballots also allow voters to leave additional comments on nominees.
Lawyers recognized in the current edition of Best Lawyers are eligible to vote for the upcoming edition.
No, lawyers are not allowed to vote on themselves. Thus, a voter's name will not appear on their own ballot.
Yes. If there is a candidate from the voter's firm who is nominated in the same practice area that the voter is recognized for in Best Lawyers, they will have the opportunity to vote on internal candidates. (Example: if you are recognized for your work in Family Law and others from your firm are nominated in Family Law, you will be able to give feedback on their work.)
No. Ballots are custom built based on the voter's regional location and practice areas. Voting lawyers are not able to add names of lawyers to their ballots.
Balloting periods vary by country. For further details, please see the research timeline for your country.
BEST LAWYERS: ONES TO WATCH
Rising Talent Recognition
Like traditional Best Lawyers rankings, the first step in the methodology is for a lawyer to be nominated.
Anyone can nominate a lawyer (clients, peers, marketing teams, etc.) just like nominations for Best Lawyers awards.
Yes. We maintain our benchmark peer-review process for this award.
Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch uses a Purely Peer Review® voting process. Voting is currently open to all candidates in their practice area and location.
No, lawyers are not allowed to vote on themselves.
Yes, just like the traditional Best Lawyers voting process, voters can provide feedback on candidates at their own firm if they are nominated in the same practice areas.
INCLUSIONS & ANNOUNCEMENTS
How Recognition is Communicated
Lawyers highlighted for their top legal talent will be contacted via email and in select markets, also with a mailed inclusion letter. If we have a designated contact for a law firm, those contacts will first receive a complete list of the lawyers from their firm who will be recognized in the upcoming edition.
Release dates vary by country. Please check your country's research timeline.
If you are a firm representative in our system, you will receive an automatic email notification from us detailing this information. You also can find this information by logging in to your account. If you are not already in our system, please contact us and we will send you this report.
New editions are under embargo to allow lawyers and firms time to review before the public announcement. Visit your country's research timeline to learn when the embargo period occurs for your region.
"Lawyer of the Year" awards are presented annually to a single outstanding lawyer in each practice area and designated metropolitan area.
The "Top-Listed" award is given to the firm that has the most recognized lawyers in a particular location and practice area. This award is based exclusively on number of recognized lawyers and is in no way related to the "Best Law Firms" rankings. You can find this information by logging in to your account.
PUBLICIZING GUIDELINES, MARKETING & PR
Promoting Your Recognition
Yes, results are released to firms first and then the public shortly after.
Best Lawyers has strict publicizing guidelines to adhere to bar association standards. Our full Publicizing Guidelines are available online.
High-resolution, customized lawyer and firm logos are available for purchase. These logos may be used in print materials and online.
Our annual publications appear online at bestlawyers.com, in regional magazines distributed to targeted areas and in various third-party publications around the globe. Additionally, all lawyers recognized in 2021 and earlier Best Lawyers lists appeared in The Best Lawyers in America© books.
Best Lawyers offers a full suite of marketing opportunities designed to amplify awarded lawyers, including custom publications, online profiles and more. For details, please contact sales@bestlawyers.com.
Best Lawyers offers plaques, crystals, logos, badges and more to help awarded lawyers promote their recognitions. Please see our full product line available online or contact sales@bestlawyers.com.
LOGOS IN EMAIL SIGNATURES
Add Your Recognition to Email Signatures
Step-by-step instructions for adding the Best Lawyers logo to your email signature.
STEP 01
Creating the signature
1
Click on the cog in the upper right-hand corner and select "See all settings".
2
Under the "General" tab, scroll down to the signature option and select the "+Create New" button.
3
Add an identifying name for the new signature.
STEP 02
Inserting the image
1
Click on the "Insert Image" icon.
2
After clicking "Insert Image", select "Web Address (URL)" and enter the "src" value from the customized code, then click "Select".
3
The "src" value is the code you received for the logo from Best Lawyers.
Example
src="https://www.bestlawyers.com/logos/listedfirm/****/us/s/basic.png"
STEP 03
Inserting the hyperlink
1
After inserting the image, highlight it and click on the "Link" icon, then click "Change".
2
In the "Edit Link" window, make sure the "Web Address" radio button is selected. Replace the URL text with the "href" value from the custom code.
Example
href="https://www.bestlawyers.com/firms/firm-name/*****/**"
href="https://www.bestlawyers.com/lawyers/lawyer-name/*****"
href="https://www.bestlawyers.com/lawyers/lawyer-name/*****"
STEP 04
Saving and applying
1
After clicking "OK" in the "Edit Link" window, scroll to the bottom of Gmail settings and click "Save Changes". This will save the newly created signature and apply it immediately.
STEP 01
Saving the image and customized code
1
Right-click on the Best Lawyers image and click “Save picture as..” (Internet Explorer) or “Save image as..” (Chrome) on the context menu.
2
Name and save the image to your computer. Then copy the customized code and paste it into any text editor (Notepad, Word, etc.).
STEP 02
Creating a new signature
1
Create a new email.
2
Click on the “Signature” icon and click “+ Add signature”
3
Enter name for the new signature
STEP 03
Inserting the image and hyperlink
1
Click on the "insert" tab, then click into the entry space. The image button should become clickable.
2
Click the image button and add the image saved in Step 1.
3
After inserting the image, select the image and click the "Link" tab. Input the "href:" value from the customized code saved in Step 1 into the Web Address field.
Example
href="https://www.bestlawyers.com/firms/firm-name/*****/**"
href="https://www.bestlawyers.com/lawyers/lawyer-name/*****"
href="https://www.bestlawyers.com/lawyers/lawyer-name/*****"
STEP 04
Applying the signature
1
After Steps 1-3 have been completed, to add the signature to an email, check "Set default for new messages" and "Set default for replies and forwards".
2
Click Save.