2027 Best Lawyers® in Japan and Singapore Spotlights Top Legal Talent in Asia-Pacific

AUGUSTA, Ga. — April 16, 2026 — Best Lawyers® releases the 2027 editions of The Best Lawyers in Japan™, Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch in Japan™ and The Best Lawyers in Singapore™, highlighting the top legal talent in the Asia-Pacific region.

This year’s Best Lawyers rankings, which provide a benchmark for professional excellence through a rigorous peer reviewed process, honors 1,807 lawyers for their professional excellence, spanning 48 practice areas in Japan; and 700 lawyers spanning 49 practice areas in Singapore. 

Highlighting the Top 4% of Legal Talent in Japan 

Corporate and Mergers and Acquisitions Law lead in practice area representation among honorees, followed by Intellectual Property Law, Corporate Governance and Compliance Practice, Litigation and Banking and Finance Law. 

“Recognitions remain concentrated in Tokyo followed by Osaka underscoring the importance of these cities in Japan’s legal sector for our 17th edition,” Best Lawyers CEO Phillip Greer said. “With 364,751 total historical evaluations calculated to determine this year’s results, it is clear lawyers value recognizing excellence, upholding integrity and elevating peers who meet the highest standards.”

Forty-four recipients earned the distinguished “Lawyer of the Year” distinction awarded to the individual with the highest overall peer feedback in each practice and metro area, with recognitions based on 52,288 evaluations submitted in this cycle. 

Highlighting emerging talent in the region Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch in Japan™ includes 466 lawyers across 28 practice areas. Corporate and M&A leads among emerging lawyers, followed by Intellectual Property Law, Labor and Employment Law, Capital Markets Law and Litigation. 

“Corporate and M&A work continues to stand out as a leading area of practice, driven in part by a surge in shareholder activism following high-profile board seat victories by investors,” Greer said. 

Highlighting the Top 11.7% of Legal Talent in Singapore 

All recognitions are drawn from a single metropolitan area, reflecting Singapore’s position as a centralized legal hub. 

Litigation stands out as the most prominent area of practice, followed by Arbitration and Mediation, Corporate Law, Shipping and Maritime Law and Construction Law. 

Gender distribution varies across key areas of practice in the awards. Real Estate Law stands out with strong female representation, where women account for roughly 69% of selected lawyers. In contrast, Litigation and Arbitration and Mediation remain predominantly male, with women representing about 20% and 14%, respectively. 

The 18th Edition of The Best Lawyers in Singapore™ saw 25 lawyers receive the “Lawyer of the Year” honor, with a total of 11,765 evaluations informing this year’s results.

Discover all the honored lawyers by visiting Best Lawyers® Find a Lawyer in Japan and Find a Lawyer in Singapore for the respective 2027 country awards.