Legal 500 2026: What’s New This Year and How to Strengthen Your Submissions

Pssst. Legal 500 submissions for all practice groups are due on Nov. 14. Haven’t started yet, or still neck-deep in strategizing your submissions? Fear not. This blog post will detail everything you need to know about Legal 500, the submissions process, what’s new for 2026 and how to maximize your chances of being ranked. We’ll also take a quick look at the guide’s paid profile offerings so you can get a sense of the ROI and whether they make sense for your firm. 

Ready? OK. Strap in because we’re off, and there’s a lot of information packed into this post. (You may want to grab a cup of coffee or tea, your favorite pen and a nice notebook to jot down key points you want to remember. Burning a vanilla candle is optional.)

Legal 500: Not Just For BigLaw Anymore

The Legal 500 has long been a trusted global reference tool for in-house counsel and corporate clients looking to hire outside firms. Each year, its team reviews more than 60,000 submissions from around the world, gathers feedback from 300,000 clients, and relies on a team of 450 researchers to assess the evidence.

One of the most important things to know: rankings are evidence-led. A strong brand name or reputation won’t be enough on its own. Legal 500 wants to see concrete examples of high-quality work from the past year. Also, you can’t rest on our laurels. Even if you ranked well last year, sitting out 2026 and not submitting could result in a lower ranking. So, beware. 

The process is also designed with confidentiality in mind. All submission forms and referee spreadsheets must be uploaded through the secure portal (emailed documents aren’t accepted because they are not secure).

And while Legal 500 is often associated with BigLaw, that’s changing. The editors are deliberately broadening their coverage to highlight excellent work at regional firms and boutiques. In other words, this isn’t just a game for the very largest firms anymore.

What’s New for Legal 500 2026

Key Dates

• Submission deadline: November 14, 2025
• Research period: December 2025 – February 2026
• Launch: June 2026

New Practice Areas & Guides

This year brings several updates that law firm marketers should note.

1. New practice areas and guides are rolling out. Among the most notable: a new U.S. Private Clients Guide covering family law, private wealth, and art and cultural property, plus expanded categories in commercial disputes, white collar, media and entertainment (including sports), energy litigation, real estate and M&A.

2. U.S. Elite Rankings. This is a partner-focused, interview-driven guide that spotlights standout lawyers at regional and local powerhouses as well as global firms. Submissions are simple: three publishable or confidential matters that highlight the lawyer’s work and a list of publishable or confidential clients. You can find that form on the Legal 500 US Elite page.  

Legal 500 has been emailing attorneys directly, inviting them to submit, working their way across the country from west to east. For those who respond, they’ll do interviews. If you’d like to submit someone who hasn’t been contacted, use the form above. It’s not clear whether Legal 500 will take these organic submissions, but it can’t hurt. Just know that research has closed in the western U.S. and is well underway for the rest of the country. 

All of this reflects a push to make Legal 500 more inclusive and reflective of the work happening across the full spectrum of the legal market. 

3. Expanded practice group categories, including boutique commercial disputes, boutique white collar, boutique media & entertainment (including sports), energy litigation/transactions, real estate, and M&A.

Tips and Best Practices for Your 2026 Legal 500 Submission

The Legal 500 submission process can feel daunting, but it becomes much more manageable once you know what’s expected. Also, everything you need to know about this year’s U.S. guide submissions is on the Legal 500 website (and we’re going to go through it below).

Register For The Submission Portal (If You Haven’t Already)

First, make sure you’re registered in the Legal 500 portal. If you’re not registered, you can reach out to Legal 500 through this support form and use the “Login details – portal” category. 

(Protip: This is the form to use whenever you need to ask Legal 500 a question. They’ve recently switched to this contact method over email, so maybe bookmark it for easy access.) 

Do this registration NOW. I mean it. Do it right now. Don’t come back here and continue reading until you’ve done that. Trust me, you’ll appreciate this on deadline day when you go to get credentials and find out there can be a turnaround time of a few days.

Determine Your Practice Areas

Each practice area requires its own submission and referee spreadsheet, so double-check the list of practice groups and definitions for Legal 500 in 2026. Categories differ from Chambers, and a few include sub-categories that need separate submission and referee spreadsheets. 

Download Submission Templates

If you’re now scrambling to find the Legal 500 submission templates for 2026, I’ve got you. See these links for the Legal 500 matter submission template and the Legal 500 referees spreadsheet. Remember, you need to submit BOTH for each practice area. 

Legal 500 recommends using these templates to put your best foot forward for ranking. In theory, you can submit other forms, such as a Chambers submission, but they don’t match up exactly, and you may leave out information that Legal 500 values. So, just use their templates to be safe. 

What to Submit For Legal 500

OK. So you’ve registered and are armed with your templates. What do you actually submit? 

1. Twenty matter highlights from Nov. 2024 to Nov. 2025.

You can submit up to 20 matter highlights, split between publishable and confidential. You can have more of one than the other, but don’t exceed 20. Legal 500 won’t read any extras, so you’re better off not even doing it. 

Pay attention to how you draft these matter highlights, especially the description section. Legal 500’s researchers can spot marketing fluff from a mile away, and they are looking for solid evidence about the calibre of your firm’s work. Researchers for Legal 500 weigh matter descriptions more heavily than referees, which is different from Chambers. They want the receipts for why you are awesome. 

Don’t waste this valuable space listing all the dull legal procedures involved in a matter. That’s not what Legal 500 cares about. Researchers want to know how your team tackled the matter and why it’s important. What was the impact of your firm’s amazing lawyering? What was unique? How did you handle challenges or roadblocks? Think of these as mini-case studies, not client invoices detailing every attorney’s time entries. 

For example, instead of “We litigated this case in district court, then appealed successfully in federal court and defended our win before the Fifth Circuit,” write this: “Our client faced potential liability of $50 million in claims in a lawsuit over a commonly used business practice. In addition to securing a take-nothing judgment for our client, which survived several appeals, including before the Fifth Circuit, this case established important judicial precedent for all companies targeted by similar litigation over a standard industry approach to a business problem. Plaintiffs’ lawyers will now think twice before pursuing this cause of action.” See how you’ve told Legal 500 why the matter is noteworthy and the far-reaching impact? It’s also helpful to add anything about creative strategy, obstacles you overcame, etc. 

2. Include three publishable summaries (or more if you have a paid profile) that Legal 500 can use for editorial purposes in your guide listing. 

3. List the attorneys you’d like to be considered for ranking this year. Be sure that they have a realistic chance of being ranked (i.e., they play key roles in submitted matters) and resist the urge to submit every single lawyer in a practice. Strategy is key, here. 

4. Note arrivals and departures so Legal 500 is up-to-date on your team. 

5. Referees are also important. There’s no limit on how many you can provide, but be realistic. Researchers won’t be able to get to 100 referees for one submission; 20-30 is a nice ballpark to aim for. Be sure that your referees know they’ve been submitted, so they expect to hear from Legal 500. Also, ensure that they can speak to the matters you’ve submitted, if possible, and about specific lawyers. Legal 500 contacts referees through one questionnaire, even if they’re listed in multiple practice areas.

Partner Interviews

Legal 500 also conducts interviews each year. It chooses partners from a variety of firms for each practice area. The list rotates every year, so if an attorney isn’t called when they have been in the past, it’s no shade on them. The Legal 500 aims to ensure that it collects information from a broad range of firms and attorneys. If you have a partner you would really like interviewed, you can get in touch with Legal 500 via this contact form. Do this ASAP for the best chance at securing a slot. 

One last note: submissions aren’t static. If a major deal closes or a lateral partner joins after you’ve submitted, you can upload updates during the research period. Once that ends, you can only submit major changes to your team. 

A Word about Confidentiality

“How do I Know Legal 500 Will Keep my Information Confidential?” 

We get this question a lot — and know our legal marketing friends do too. Legal 500 takes confidentiality very seriously. Anything listed in a confidential matter is never disclosed. Researchers just use it to evaluate a firm and its lawyers, but will never reference it in the guide. Using the portal also ensures submissions are handled in a secure way, as opposed to email. 

That said, the ultimate decision on what to submit to Legal 500 rests with a firm and its lawyers. If there are details that you really can’t disclose, leave them out. If naming a client or case in a matter description could cause problems, then anonymize the information. Will the submission be a bit weaker without specifics? Yes.  But it’s not worth risking losing a client or having to face a bar association attorney disciplinary committee just to win an award.  

Paid Profile Options

The Legal 500 offers paid profile options to help firms enhance their visibility and track performance. Whether your firm invests or not depends on how Legal 500 fits within your law firm’s rankings strategy, but it can be helpful. They also provide information on why you ranked (or didn’t), and that can help inform future submissions. 

The Standard subscription includes a full firm profile and editorial, up to six client testimonials, 12 key clients, and three work highlights per ranked practice area. Subscribers also get prioritized listings, website/social links, early access to rankings, historical data for their firm, enhanced lawyer report cards, and the new firm comparison tool.

For firms seeking more, the Premium subscription (new this year) offers expanded capacity — 10 testimonials, 20 key clients, and five work highlights — as well as historical data across all firms. Other premium-only features include real-time referee tracking, Legal 500 Live (which lets you update submissions year-round), submission analysis reports, and web user reports showing which companies are viewing your profiles. Premium subscribers also get more detailed early access, including commentary and testimonials, so you can get a head start on preparing website news items and social media posts touting your success.

Start Now on Legal 500 2026

Legal 500 remains one of the most competitive legal rankings in the industry. With expanded categories and new tools, 2026 is shaping up to be a year of even broader opportunity — especially for firms outside the BigLaw circle.

The key is to build a submission that’s timely, well-structured, and focused on the evidence. 

Now is the time to get moving. The deadline will be here before you know it. A thoughtful submission will position you for success next June when the results come out. 
Mystified by Legal 500 and other rankings? We’ve got you. Download our rankings guide for more on Legal 500, plus Chambers, Best Lawyers and more. And get in touch if you’d like some help!