Best Law Firms in Australia
About the 2026 edition
Our awards spotlight 507 firms for professional excellence by practice area and jurisdiction. Search Australia’s best law firms today to find an organization to assist you with specific legal needs.
The Best Law Firms – Australia awards, announced on May 29, 2025, rank only the very best – 2% of firms in the market are awarded for professional excellence. This makes our awards the most exclusive and prestigious in the country.
We have been recognizing top individual lawyers in Australia for almost 20 years. Additionally, we have been awarding firms in the US for 16 years. Through the combination of experience in market with an established research process for firm awards, we are excited to present our second Best Law Firms awards in Australia. Clients use these rankings in their search for firms to meet their specific needs.
Highlights
Our research process begins by analyzing firms by practice area in their geographic locations against local competitors. For Australia, we researched 82 practice areas and 7 geographic jurisdictions: Adelaide, Brisbane, Canberra, Melbourne, Perth, Sydney and Tasmania. Through our localized research, we awarded 4,459 regional rankings.
After determining our regional awards, we evaluated firms with a national presence in 25 national practice areas. Of the eligible firms, 127 in Australia are also highlighted for their national coverage, servicing clients in multiple locations. Additionally, we have chosen the winners for our “Law Firm of the Year” designations. These awards recognize one exceptional firm for their professional excellence amongst all others in a specific practice area. Thirteen firms in 20 national practice areas have received this pinnacle of honors.
Practice Areas
Cities
Research Methodology
Relying on the industry-vetted Best Law Firms research methodology, established in 2009 and refined over 16 years, we analyzed the feedback of clients, lawyers and firm leaders, along with firmographic details supplied by the firms themselves. Firms are eligible for Best Law Firms consideration after receiving individual professional recognition in The Best Lawyers in Australia™. The full details on our research process are available in our Methodology section.
For the second year, we received staggering participation from firms, clients and lawyers in our research process.
Legal News from Australia
A Note from the VP of Research and Development
With the launch of the second edition of Best Law Firms – Australia, we continue building on the strong foundation established in our inaugural year. In 2023, our team set out to identify and celebrate Australia’s top-performing law firms—an ambitious undertaking rooted in our commitment to delivering trusted, data-driven insights to legal professionals, clients and industry stakeholders.
From the outset, we knew we were bringing a well-established methodology into a new regional landscape. What we couldn’t have fully anticipated was the depth of engagement we’d receive from the Australian legal community. The enthusiasm and participation from clients, lawyers, firm leadership and marketing teams in our first year made it clear: this recognition matters.
Our approach remains grounded in a rigorous research process that blends qualitative and quantitative data, peer reviews, client feedback and analysis of firm performance across multiple dimensions — including legal expertise, innovation and service delivery. With the second edition, we’ve deepened our reach and refined our insights, creating a more robust and representative view of legal excellence in Australia.
A sincere thank you goes to our Research, Content and Software Development teams, whose continued dedication and collaboration make this work possible. Their efforts have not only brought this second edition to life but also helped shape a lasting benchmark for law firm excellence across the region.
Upcoming Research
We will begin researching for our third edition Best Law Firms – Australia awards later this year. Our global research timelines are available online. To receive a research submission packet, contact us at bestlawfirms@bestlawyers.com.
