U.S. News and Best Lawyers® “Best Law Firms” List
WASHINGTON – Nov. 1, 2018 – U.S. News & World Report and Best Lawyers, for the ninth consecutive year, collaboratively announce the release of the “Best Law Firms” rankings.
Firms included in the 2019 Edition of “Best Law Firms” are recognized for professional excellence with consistently impressive ratings from clients and peers. Achieving a tiered ranking signals a unique combination of quality law practice and breadth of legal expertise.
“U.S. News has more than 30 years of experience evaluating complex institutions and their service to consumers,” said Tim Smart, executive editor at U.S. News. “Law firms perform a vital role in American life, and ranking them is a key extension of our overall mission to help individuals and companies alike make important decisions.”
The 2019 rankings are based on the highest number of participating firms and highest number of client votes received on record. To be eligible for a ranking, a firm must have a lawyer recognized first in The Best Lawyers in America, which recognizes the top five percent of practicing attorneys in the U.S. Over 16,000 lawyers provided more than 1,125,000 law firm assessments, and almost 12,000 clients provided more than 107,000 evaluations.
“For the 2019 ‘Best Law Firms’ publication, the evaluation process has remained just as rigorous and discerning as it did when we first started almost ten years ago.” says Phil Greer, CEO of Best Lawyers. “This year we reviewed 14,643 law firms throughout the United States – across 75 national practice areas – and a total of 2,118 firms received a national law firm ranking. We are proud that the ‘Best Law Firms’ rankings continue to act as an indicator of excellence throughout the legal industry.”
Ranked firms, presented in three tiers, are listed on a national and regional-based scale. Firms that received a tier designation reflect the high level of respect a firm can earn among other leading lawyers and clients in the same communities and practice areas.
Awards were given in 75 national practice areas and 122 metropolitan practice areas. Additionally, one "Law Firm of the Year" is named in 74 nationally ranked practice areas.
The 2019 Tier 1 national and metropolitan rankings will be featured in the “Best Law Firms” General Counsel Publication, which will be distributed in November to more than 30,000 in-house counsel, and in digital format to more than 60,000 private practice lawyers worldwide.
The 2019 “Best Law Firms” rankings can be seen in their entirety by visiting bestlawfirms.usnews.com.