Nominations open each Best Lawyers® research cycle. They give peers, clients and other professionals familiar with a lawyer’s work a way to bring that practitioner to the attention of the Research Team for consideration.
Candidate submissions also help keep Best Lawyers research current. As careers develop, practices change and new lawyers earn the confidence of clients and peers, new candidates can enter the research pool for consideration.
- Best Lawyers nominations are now open, giving lawyers, clients and firms a direct way to put qualified attorneys into the research process for specific practice areas and markets.
- Recognition is based on confidential peer review, eligibility screening and market-specific evaluation. Lawyers not selected remain in consideration for up to three editions without needing a new nomination.
- Law firm leaders and legal marketers can use nominations to spotlight attorneys taking on larger matters, entering new markets or advancing beyond Ones to Watch eligibility.
- Deadlines vary by country and research cycle. Early nominations can help firms keep rising attorneys visible as peer evaluations and eligibility reviews begin.
What Is a Best Lawyers Nomination?
A nomination is a submission recommending a lawyer for consideration in a Best Lawyers edition and in a specific area of practice.
Once submitted, that lawyer becomes a candidate in the research process. Nominees may then appear on confidential peer-review ballots alongside other lawyers practicing in the same specialty and geographic market.
Recognition follows a broader process that includes peer evaluation, analysis of feedback and eligibility review. For a fuller explanation, see How Peer Review Works: Best Lawyers Methodology Explained.
Who Can Nominate a Lawyer?
While Best Lawyers recognition remains grounded in peer review, submission for consideration are open to a broader group. Clients, law firm teams, in-house counsel and others who know a lawyer’s work can all help identify candidates for consideration.
There are many reasons someone may decide to submit a nomination.
A fellow lawyer may have worked alongside a peer on a demanding matter, seen the quality of their judgment over time or trusted them with an important referral. A senior lawyer may want to recognize a colleague whose practice has matured and whose work is earning greater respect in the market.
Clients and in-house counsel may have a different perspective. They may have relied on a lawyer during a complex transaction, dispute or high-stakes business matter and seen firsthand how that lawyer handled pressure, communication and legal strategy.
Law firms and legal marketing teams may also identify practitioners whose roles have changed substantially since the last research cycle. A lawyer may have taken on greater responsibility, built a stronger practice, developed expertise in an emerging area or become more established in a new market.
There can also be a generational element. Experienced lawyers who are approaching retirement or stepping back from practice often have a clear sense of which colleagues are earning the trust of clients and peers. Nominating those practitioners can help bring that professional knowledge into the research process and ensure strong candidates are considered as the next generation of legal leaders emerges.
A nomination does not need to follow one specific trigger. The common thread is familiarity with a lawyer’s work and a reason to believe that their professional record merits consideration through the Best Lawyers research process.
How to Nominate a Lawyer for Best Lawyers
Nominations can be submitted through the Best Lawyers nomination page. The form asks for a limited set of details about the lawyer, including their firm, location and relevant practice areas, as well as information about the nominator. As an alternative, candidate recommendations can also be sent by email to nominations@bestlawyers.com
The Best Lawyers Research Team then reviews the submission.
There is no limit to the number of lawyers someone can submit. Nominations should focus on the practice areas that best reflect each lawyer’s work.
Keep in mind, nomination periods vary by market. The current Best Lawyers research timeline provides deadlines and key dates for each country.
What Happens After a Lawyer Is Nominated?
After nominations are reviewed, nominees may be included on confidential ballots for evaluation by eligible lawyers in the relevant practice area and geographic market.
Nominees who are not selected for recognition remain in the research process for up to three editions without needing to be nominated again, giving their peers additional opportunities to evaluate their work. If they are not recognized within that timeframe, the referral is archived and they must be renominated for future consideration.
Peer feedback is then analyzed as part of the Best Lawyers research process, alongside a review of professional eligibility, before recognition decisions are made.
Voting has its own eligibility rules and ballot structure. For more detail on that stage, see How to Vote with Best Lawyers.
How Nominations Shape the Research Pool
Each research cycle gives Best Lawyers a chance to consider lawyers who may not have been part of the previous edition’s research.
That matters because careers change. Lawyers take on bigger matters, move into new markets, build stronger practices and develop expertise in newer areas of law. Some become well known to clients and colleagues before they are widely recognized outside those circles.
Submission for consideration bring those lawyers into the research process.
For lawyers in particular, nominations offer a direct way to contribute to that process by putting forward peers they believe deserve consideration. That participation helps the candidate pool reflect the people earning trust and respect across the legal market.
Fresh nominations may also help prevent the research pool from becoming too dependent on the same group of established names year after year. New nominations give the Research Team additional candidates to evaluate alongside lawyers who are already part of the process.
Over time, that keeps the research pool current and gives Best Lawyers a better view of who is gaining trust, responsibility and standing in the legal market.
When Ones to Watch Lawyers Become Eligible for Best Lawyers
Lawyers recognized in Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch may become eligible for Best Lawyers as they gain experience and move into a more established stage of practice.
The two recognitions correspond to different points in a lawyer’s career. Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch generally recognizes lawyers with 5 to 9 years of experience in private practice, while Best Lawyers is intended for more established lawyers with 10 or more years of experience.
Reaching that point does not move a lawyer automatically from one recognition to the other. Once eligible, the lawyer can be nominated for Best Lawyers and considered through its separate research and peer-review process.
Firms may also look at broader signs of progression, such as greater responsibility, a more established practice and a stronger reputation among clients and peers.
A lawyer cannot be considered for Best Lawyers and Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch at the same time.
For more detail, see When Can Ones to Watch Lawyers Be Nominated for Best Lawyers?
Nominate a Lawyer for Consideration
If a lawyer’s work has earned your confidence, a nomination gives the Best Lawyers Research Team the opportunity to consider that lawyer through its established research process.
