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Clifford Chance, HSF and A&O score most individual lawyer rankings in London as Legal 500 2023 Solicitors Guide launches

More than 1,100 law firms have secured spots in the latest UK Legal 500 rankings, which rank the best law firms and lawyers across the nation.

The Legal 500 UK Solicitors 2023 rankings, which launched yesterday (28 September) after months of extensive analysis of the UK legal market involving thousands of interviews, show 1,119 firms have achieved rankings, 550 of which are ranked in London.

In total, there are 9,419 practice rankings this year, nearly half (4,291) of which are in the capital.

On top of the practice rankings, there are almost 11,000 rankings for individual lawyers, with some 2,000 rising star associate rankings identified, with the remaining lawyer rankings spread across partners of all levels of seniority.

Pinsent Masons, DLA Piper, Eversheds Sutherland and CMS have the most practice rankings in the UK guide, with more than 200 apiece.

Herbert Smith Freehills tops the table of firms with most practice rankings in London, closely followed by DLA, Pinsents, Hogan Lovells and Norton Rose Fulbright.

Clifford Chance has the most individual lawyer rankings in London, with HSF and Allen & Overy also achieving more than 160 each.

The 2023 research includes more than 600 promotions in the practice rankings, with DWF, Shoosmiths and Addleshaw Goddard achieving the highest number of promotions.

Almost 300 up-and-coming firms to watch rankings have also been identified as part of the latest research, which is used by GCs and in-house counsel to inform decisions on external lawyers as well as by law firms to benchmark their performance against peers.

More than 300,000 clients are surveyed and interviewed globally every year as part of the Legal 500 Series research, with more than 40,000 clients taking part in the UK research alone.

Georgina.Stanley@legal500.com