Our Research Methodology
What is the research process for Who's Who Legal?
The research begins with conversations with private practice lawyers of renown either in the practice area in question or in related fields, as well as with general counsel; the individuals and firms they recommend are then canvassed using questionnaires. The returned data are collated with information gleaned from the legal and financial media and feedback from corporate counsel, and we are then able to compile and distribute a preliminary listing to all the lawyers who have been mentioned to us in our research, requesting their comments. Lawyers are initially invited to submit their opinions in written form, and these are incorporated into our listing. Subsequently telephone and face-to-face interviews are conducted internationally to permit us to refine the listing to a selection of between 200 and 600 lawyers who, by general agreement, are considered the pre-eminent lawyers in the field.
How are the Who's Who Legal awards determined?
All the professionals on this website are leaders in their fields but the exceptional performances of some deserve particular recognition. The editors choose one individual and one firm as outstanding in each of the practice areas we survey. We also select one firm to receive the accolade ‘Law Firm of the Year’. In judging the Who's Who Legal awards we study the nominations made by clients and fellow professionals. Our bespoke database weights each recommendation according to the standing of the nominator: so a vote from the general counsel of a major corporation or one of the practice area's leading lights carries greater weight that that of a less frequently nominated lawyer. The firm awards are determined by the number of its members that feature in the publication as well as by the number of nominations its lawyers received during the course of the research. We also give Who's Who Legal awards to the outstanding firms in major jurisdictions around the globe. These are also determined by the number of nominees a firm has in the publication and by their standing within the research.