The research schedule and guidelines for The Legal 500 United States 2025 edition are now below.
Researchers
Researcher details are now available.
To learn more about the team behind our research, please visit Meet The Team.
Client referees deadline: November 20 2024
Editorial submission deadline: November 20 2024
Firms interviews conducted: December 2024 to February 2025
Publication: June 2025
The template documents you will need to send submissions are here:
Submission template NB: This template is in .docx format. Do not resave it in other format as it may not be compatible with our system.
Leading trial lawyers submission template NB: Please use this new template only for submissions to the leading trial lawyers category. Please submit one submission for EACH trial lawyer, even if you are submitting for multiple per firm.
Referee spreadsheet NB: This template is in .xslx format. Do not resave it in other format as it may not be compatible with our system.
To send your submissions to us, please visit submissions.legal500.com and follow the onscreen prompts to send us new documents.
Login details have been sent to all firms – if you have not received your login or have problems accessing submissions.legal500.com, please get in touch via our FAQ page using the ‘Submissions Log In’ tab.
Please ensure you send your submissions in by the deadline. The timetable for the research will be adhered to rigorously.
FAQs and supporting info
Practice areas
Please find below the list of practice areas we are researching for the United States 2025.
Please note that our spotlight sub-sections are now considered as part of the main rankings tables. Please include any relevant information within the main body of your submission.
ANTITRUST
- Cartel (Investigations and criminal litigation) – RENAMED SECTION
- Civil litigation (including class actions) – defense – RENAMED SECTION
- Civil litigation (including class actions) – plaintiff – RENAMED SECTION
- Merger control
DISPUTE RESOLUTION
- Appellate: courts of appeal
- Appellate: supreme courts (state and federal)
- Corporate investigations and white-collar criminal defense: Advice to corporates
- Corporate investigations and white-collar criminal defense: Advice to individuals
- E-discovery
- Financial services litigation
- General commercial disputes
- International arbitration
- International litigation
- Leading trial lawyers
- M&A litigation: defense
- M&A litigation: plaintiff
- Product liability, mass tort, and class actions: auto/transport: defense
- Product liability, mass tort, and class actions: consumer products (including tobacco): defense
- Product liability, mass tort, and class actions: pharmaceuticals and medical devices: defense
- Product liability, mass tort, and class actions: toxic tort: defense
- Product liability, mass tort, and class actions: plaintiff
- Securities litigation: defense
- Securities litigation: plaintiff
ENERGY
- Energy litigation: electric power
- Energy litigation: oil and gas
- Energy regulation: electric power
- Energy regulation: oil and gas
- Energy: renewable/alternative power
- Energy transactions: electric power
- Energy transactions: oil and gas
ENVIRONMENT
- Environment: litigation
- Environment: regulatory
- Environment: transactional
FINANCE
- Capital markets: debt offerings
- Capital markets: equity offerings
- Capital markets: global offerings
- Capital markets: high-yield debt offerings
- Commercial lending: advice to direct lenders/private credit – NEW SECTION
- Commercial Lending: advice to borrowers – NOW A SEPARATE TABLE
- Commercial lending: Advice to bank lenders – RENAMED SECTION
- Financial services regulation: Banking – NOW A SEPARATE TABLE
- Financial services regulation: Consumer finance and broker-dealers – RENAMED SECTION, NOW A SEPARATE TABLE
- Fintech
- Project finance: infrastructure and PPP
- Project finance: energy and power
- Restructuring (including bankruptcy): corporate
- Restructuring (including bankruptcy): municipal
- Structured finance: derivatives and structured products
- Structured finance: securitization
GOVERNMENT
- Government contracts
- Government relations
- State attorneys general
HEALTHCARE
- Healthcare: health insurers
- Healthcare: life sciences
- Healthcare: service providers
INDUSTRY FOCUS
- Cannabis
- Education
- Native American law
- Sport
INSURANCE
- Insurance: advice to insurers
- Insurance: advice to policyholders
- Insurance: non-contentious
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
- Copyright
- Patents: licensing
- Patents: litigation (full coverage)
- Patents: litigation (International Trade Commission)
- Patents: prosecution (including re-examinations and post grant proceedings)
- Trade secrets (litigation and non-contentious matters)
- Trademarks: litigation
- Trademarks: non-contentious (including prosecution, portfolio management, and licensing)
INTERNATIONAL TRADE AND NATIONAL SECURITY – RENAMED SECTION
- CFIUS
- Customs (including export controls)
- Trade remedies and trade policy
- National security – NEW SECTION
INVESTMENT FUNDS
- Alternative/hedge funds
- Mutual/registered/exchange-traded funds
- Private equity funds (including venture capital)
LABOR AND EMPLOYMENT
- Employee benefits, executive compensation, and retirement plans: design
- Employee benefits, executive compensation, and retirement plans: transactional
- ERISA litigation
- Immigration
- Labor and employment disputes (including collective actions)
- Labor-management relations
- Workplace and employment counseling
M&A | CORPORATE AND COMMERCIAL
- Corporate governance
- Delaware counsel
- International business reorganizations/restructurings – NEW SECTION
- M&A: large deals ($1bn+)
- M&A: middle-market ($500m-999m)
- M&A: middle-market (sub-$500m)
- Private equity buyouts: large deals ($500m+)
- Private equity buyouts: middle-market (Up to $500m)
- Shareholder activism
- Venture capital and emerging companies
MEDIA, TECHNOLOGY AND TELECOMS
- Advertising and marketing: litigation
- Advertising and marketing: transactional
- Cyber law (including data privacy and data protection)
- Media and entertainment: litigation
- Media and entertainment: transactional
- Outsourcing
- Technology transactions
- Telecoms and broadcast: regulatory
- Telecoms and broadcast: transactional
REAL ESTATE
- Construction (including construction litigation)
- Land use/zoning
- Real estate
- Real estate finance
- Real estate investment trusts (REITs)
TAX
- Financial products
- International tax
- Not-for-profit (Fortune 1000 private foundations, national trade associations, and charities)
- US taxes: contentious
- US taxes: non-contentious
TRANSPORT
- Transport: aviation and air travel: finance
- Transport: aviation and air travel: litigation and regulatory
- Transport: rail and road: finance
- Transport: rail and road: litigation and regulatory
- Transport: shipping: finance
- Transport: shipping: litigation and regulatory