FAQs
About our research
What is the IFLR1000?
The IFLR1000 is the guide to the world's leading financial law firms. Based on extensive independent research, we provide rankings and analysis of the best financial law firms operating in more than 100 markets worldwide.
What makes the IFLR1000 special?
The IFLR1000 is different from other legal directories for the following reasons:
- We specialize only in corporate finance and transactional law. This allows us to offer much deeper analysis in these areas. It also means our researchers have specific expertise in the field.
- We have dedicated, full-time research teams in three offices – New York, London and Hong Kong.
- Our researchers are trained in journalism rather than traditional research methods. This means they ask probing questions and write critical, penetrating analysis.
- The IFLR1000 shares resources with other Legal Media Group titles, including International Financial Law Review and the Expert Guides series.
What does each chapter contain?
In each jurisdiction, we provide at least one of the following:
- A sponsored guide to the country's corporate finance legislation, contributed by a leading local lawyer.
- Rankings by practice area of the leading international and local firms offering advice on corporate finance. In countries where specialization is not common, the guide recommends firms on the basis of their ability to advise on general financial and corporate law.
- An editorial overview for each practice area under consideration (or a general overview where practice areas are not covered separately). In these overviews, our in-house journalists highlight the trends, deals and developments affecting the local legal markets, giving a deeper context for the firm-by-firm analysis.
- Analysis of each highly ranked law firm, including detailed information on its deals, its clients and its leading lawyers. Overall, we seek to give a flavour of each firm's practice and strengths.
Can law firms pay to be considered/ranked?
No. We only include law firms that are consistently recommended by clients and competitors. The IFLR1000 does include paid advertising, providing contact details for the firm, but this is clearly indicated.
We practise a very strict policy of editorial independence.
What is your research method?
We send a set of research questionnaires to each of the featured firms (and some that are not featured) asking them to supply details of their deals over the past 12 months in each of the practice areas we cover, as well as client referees and details of changes in personnel.
We then interview leading private practitioners and their clients. In each case, we discuss the leading firms and individuals in the jurisdiction they operate in, as well as recent legal market trends.
In addition, we take into account press releases and other third-party resources, including our associated publications: Legal Media Group's flagship magazine International Financial Law Review, which has been covering the law of the financial markets for more than 25 years, and the Expert Guides series.
For more details of our method, including our research schedule, please refer to our research pack.
How do you rank the firms?
The rankings reflect the opinions of clients and competitors of the featured firms, gathered during an extensive interview process. They can therefore be considered to represent a cross-section of market opinion. More weight is given to client feedback than competitor feedback; however, the latter is still an essential part of our method.
We do not use the questionnaires in the ranking process, except to provide client referees, verify facts, and reach a decision on rankings where there is no clear consensus among interviewees (this is rare).
Why not use the questionnaires to rank the firms?
We feel our approach is more objective – the rankings do not give an unfair advantage to those with more marketing resources. It also allows us accurately to rank any firms that do not provide us with much information.
So what are the questionnaires for?
Besides providing client details and being helpful in verifying interviewees' comments, the questionnaires are the building blocks of our editorial. Without a submission, it is unlikely we would be able to write an overview of a firm.
Which criteria do you use?
We ask interviewees to comment on firms according to the following criteria:
- Complexity of deals
- Innovation
- Quality of service
- Cross-border capability
A firm I work with has a higher deal value/volume and more lawyers than its competitors. Why isn't it ranked higher?
The IFLR1000 is a purely qualitative survey. While we do keep track of statistics for research purposes, they are only reflected in the rankings insofar as they affect the market's perception of the firm, according to the criteria listed above.
A firm I work with has had an exceptional year, but this is not reflected in your rankings. Have your researchers failed to notice?
No. We have a timescale of three years – we do not just seek to reflect the fortunes of the previous 12 months. If the success is sustained, it is likely to be reflected in a higher ranking in forthcoming editions. Likewise, a poor year does not necessarily mean a lower ranking immediately. A firm's prospects for forthcoming editions are often indicated in the editorial.
This approach is intended to give a fairer and more accurate picture of each market we cover.
Why don't you cover real estate, energy, TMT, etc.?
We do. All of the above – and other industry sectors – are included in our existing categories. That is, we consider sectors within practice areas, not vice versa.
While we acknowledge that particular expertise is usually required in sector-specific work, we do not treat sectors separately since we only focus on financing and transactions.
Also, one of the outstanding features of the IFLR1000 is its simplicity – this would be lost if we covered every sector separately.
What are the "leading lawyers"?
These are the lawyers most frequently named by interviewees as the leaders in their field. We do not accept firms' own recommendations of leading lawyers.
Where can I obtain a hard copy?
The IFLR1000's print edition is distributed for free at selected events, including a dedicated launch party and the IBA annual conference. We also send a large number of complimentary copies to selected in-house counsel at financial institutions and corporates.
If you would like to purchase a copy directly, please click here.
How is the IFLR1000 different from IFLR?
International Financial Law Review (IFLR) is the monthly magazine for in-house counsel and practitioners in the financial markets, and the sister publication of the IFLR1000, an annual directory of financial law firms.
I represent a financial law firm. How can my firm enter the IFLR Awards?
These are organized by International Financial Law Review, and not by the IFLR1000.
How can my firm be included in your rankings?
Firms are added to the rankings on the basis of independent recommendation only. However, we welcome submissions from all firms that wish to receive full consideration. Please refer to the research pack for further details and editorial contacts.
To include your firm's contact details in our next edition, please contact our business development team.