Baker McKenzie, Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer and Singapore’s Rajah & Tann are among the firms with the most ranked partners in the latest Legal 500 APAC research, which went live yesterday.
The new guide, which ranks firms for 291 practice areas across 22 APAC jurisdictions, are the result of more than six months of research, and include 4,770 practice rankings and 3,635 individual rankings.
More than 150 Baker McKenzie partners are ranked in the new guide, including 23 Hall of Famers across Australia, Japan, the Philippines, South Korea and Thailand – more than any other firm.
Two of Singapore’s top firms are second and third for total ranked partners – Rajah & Tann and Allen & Gledhill, with 99 and 73 respectively, followed by HSF Kramer on 72.
Looking at practice rankings, the top three firms are Dentons, with a total of 80 rankings, just ahead of Bakers on 77 and DLA Piper on 63.
Bakers has more top-tier APAC rankings than any other firm with 43, followed by HSF Kramer with 31 and A&O Shearman on 26.
The total number of practice rankings increased by 17% this year, while the research was informed by more than 4,000 additional referee responses on the previous year.
The APAC coverage also includes the Australia Bar, which features a total of 133 barrister rankings across five practice areas.
New rankings for 2026 include the Maldives, where five firms are newly recognised.
The APAC rankings are separate from Legal 500’s Greater China research, which covers China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macau, and which was released late last year.
Legal 500 also this week announced the 2026 Asia Pacific Green Ambassadors, coming on the back of the UK Green Ambassadors identified last year, including lawyers from firms such as Linklaters, Hogan Lovells and Ashurst.
The selection of the new APAC names was based on research into how private practice lawyers of various specialisms are leading the way on decarbonisation and the green transition across Australia, Hong Kong and Singapore.
You can learn more about the 2026 Asia Pacific rankings guide here. If you have any queries about the new rankings, please visit our helpdesk or email us at [email protected], and for more information on our subscription options, please contact Chris Cooke at [email protected].
