Legal Business’ Euro Elite comprises independent law firms based in more than 40 European jurisdictions, rather than the local offices of international firms.
To compile the 100 firms featured in this report Legal Business analysed more than 150 of the largest law firms in Europe by the number of lawyers, as well as more than 150 of the top-ranking firms in the current edition of The Legal 500 EMEA. A combined score was given for the size of the firm and its Legal 500 rankings, providing a qualitative as well as a quantitative analysis. The 100 firms with the highest combined score make The Euro Elite.
The 100 firms that appear in the main table are listed in order of lawyer numbers within 12 regions: Baltics; Benelux; CEE; France; Germany; Iberia; Ireland; Italy; Nordics; Russia and CIS; Southern Europe; and Switzerland.
The firms in the top 25 (see table) are ranked according to their combined score for size and Legal 500 rankings.
Scoring for The Legal 500 EMEA rankings
Points were allocated for firms ranked in tiers 1-3 in tables featured in the 2018 edition of The Legal 500 EMEA. Top-tier rankings earned three points, second tier two and third one point.
Points were given for rankings in key strategic practice areas only: corporate/commercial; banking/finance; disputes; real estate; and tax. Corporate/M&A was given extra weighting, so rankings in this category earned a +50% points score. Therefore a top-tier ranking in M&A would score 4.5 points.
Jurisdiction weighting
Points scored for The Legal 500 EMEA rankings were adjusted depending on the size of the jurisdiction, according to the banding below. Jurisdictions in Band 3 received no mark-up on points, while rankings for countries in Band 1 scored a +75% mark-up. Scores in countries in Band 2 received a +50% mark-up. Those in Band 4 received a -25% mark down.
Band 1
Germany
Band 2
France, Italy, Spain
Band 3
Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Ireland, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey
Band 4
Albania, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Estonia, Hungary, Iceland, Kosovo, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Malta, Moldova, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Ukraine
Therefore, for example, a tier-one ranking in Germany for M&A, real estate and banking would score a total of 18 points, while the same rankings in those practice areas in the Ukraine would receive seven points.