AUGUSTA, Ga., 20 April 2023 — Fewer than 5,000 Australian lawyers have been recognized by Best Lawyers® in the newly released 16th edition of The Best Lawyers in Australia™ and the second edition of Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch in Australia™. These lawyers were nominated by their peers, were voted on by their colleagues, were identified as the most elite and respected lawyers in the country and were then presented with recognition by Best Lawyers.  

“Best Lawyers recognitions are highly respected and are viewed as the most reputable guide to the legal profession, in large part due to the rigorous and time-tested methodology of being awarded purely on the peer feedback of fellow acclaimed lawyers,” said CEO of Best Lawyers Phillip Greer. “With honors for lawyers at every stage of their career, individualized ‘Lawyer of the Year’ recognitions and firm awards, Best Lawyers provides a reputable resource for clients of legal services to determine which lawyers hold the highest regard in their regional and practice areas. It is always an honor to elevate the work of these gifted and worthy lawyers.”  

For more than 40 years, the Best Lawyers Purely Peer Review™ methodology has captured the consensus opinion of leading lawyers about the professional abilities of their colleagues within the same geographical area and legal practice area. This preeminent research philosophy is applied to both “Ones to Watch” honors and the traditional lists. Best Lawyers believes that lawyers are the best resource to provide feedback on the caliber of work performed by their peers. 

Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch in Australia awards are presented to lawyers who are earlier in their careers for outstanding professional excellence in private practice. These recipients typically have been in practice for 3-8 years, whereas the honorees recognized in The Best Lawyers in Australia have on average been in practice for more than nine years. Those who receive high peer reviews undergo a thorough verification process to make sure they are currently still in private practice. Only then will Best Lawyers recognize these top lawyers. 

The 2024 edition of The Best Lawyers in Australia recognizes the professional excellence of 4,472 lawyers in 95 practice areas and the second edition of the Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch in Australia recognizes 525 honorees across 48 practice areas. 

In addition to historic individual lawyer recognitions, 305 lawyers were recognized as “Lawyer of the Year” honorees and 18 firms received a “Law Firm of the Year” award in 22 practice areas.  

“Lawyer of the Year” awards are bestowed to only lawyers with the highest overall peer-feedback for a specific practice area and geographic region. “Law Firm of the Year” awards are country and practice area specific. They are determined based on a handful of factors, including feedback from lawyers recognized by Best Lawyers on individual lawyer and firm-wide work, the size and coverage of the firm in a specific practice area, historical analysis of the firm’s “Lawyer of the Year” awards in this area and research surrounding the firm’s overall scope and areas of expertise.

 

“Law Firm of the Year” Honorees:

Allen & Overy for Energy Law

Allens for Litigation

Arnold Bloch Leibler for Alternative Dispute Resolution

Ashurst for Tax Law

Barry.Nilsson. for Insurance Law

Carter Newell for Oil and Gas Law

Clayton Utz for Construction / Infrastructure Law

Clayton Utz for Insolvency and Reorganization Law

Corrs Chambers Westgarth for Competition Law

Davies Collison Cave for Intellectual Property Law

Gilbert + Tobin for Information Technology Law

Gilbert + Tobin for Private Equity Law

Herbert Smith Freehills for Banking and Finance Law

Herbert Smith Freehills for Corporate Law

King & Wood Mallesons for Mergers and Acquisitions Law

King & Wood Mallesons for Regulatory Practice

Maddocks for Planning and Environmental Law

MinterEllison for Real Property Law

Seyfarth Shaw for Labour and Employment Law

Sparke Helmore Lawyers for Occupational Health and Safety Law

Thomson Geer for Retirement Villages and Senior Living Law

White & Case for Project Finance and Development Practice

For research purposes, smaller and more rural cities located within a reasonable distance to larger cities are combined into single geographical regions called “metro areas” to help collect as much feedback and data as possible. Sydney is the metro area with the largest number of listed lawyers.

Search The Best Lawyers in Australia and Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch in Australia results by lawyer name, firm, region and/or practice area by visiting www.bestlawyers.com.