Legal 500: Yorkshire firms celebrate as more than 100 named in top rankings guide
More than 100 Yorkshire legal firms have secured coveted spots in the Legal 500 UK Solicitors 2025 rankings guide.
Across the country, nearly 1,200 law firms have secured spots in the new guide, which ranks the best law firms and lawyers across the nation.
Legal 500 is a publication which provides market-leading analysis and rankings of global legal markets through a research programme which assesses law firms across a variety of metrics.
The guide is also the first to launch on the new Legal 500 website following a comprehensive rebrand in mid-2024.
A spokesperson for Legal 500 said: “The Yorkshire legal market continues to thrive as a melting pot of international, national and regional law firms, with the longstanding presence of global players in Leeds and Sheffield continuing to underline the importance of the region.
"The market has seen a relatively stable year, although moves, mergers and office openings continue to have an impact on the competition.
“After opening in Leeds in 2022, Manchester-headquartered firm Brabners is building its presence in the market, while family boutique Silk Family Law – with offices in Leeds, Richmond and Newcastle - was acquired by national firm Irwin Mitchell in February 2024.
"More recently, Walker Morris sold its banking and finance recoveries division to Flint Bishop in September 2024.
“The 2025 Legal 500 UK guide ranks more than 100 law firms across 45 practice areas in Yorkshire and the Humber, with over 550 rankings in total, particularly focusing on Leeds, Sheffield and Hull as key legal centres.
"Leading the pack, DLA Piper, Walker Morris and Addleshaw Goddard are the only three firms in the market with over 20 rankings each; the trio also lead on individual rankings, with each firm having over 40 lawyer rankings across the Hall of fame, Leading partners, Next generation partners and Leading associates tables.
“Pinsent Masons and Irwin Mitchell round out the top five both in terms of total rankings and total number of individuals ranked. In Hull, which remains a very distinct market comprised of local firms, Andrew Jackson and Gosschalks remain the key names.”
Among those to be included in the rankings is the dispute resolution team from BRM, a full-service regional law firm with offices in Sheffield and Chesterfield.
Testimonials collected independently by the Legal 500 research team noted that work by the firm was undertaken “to an outstanding quality, with all the team professional and reassuring”.
Rob Cooke, Head of Dispute Resolution and Executive Director at BRM, said: “I’m delighted the Dispute Management Team here at BRM has been ranked in the latest Legal 500 with special mention to Simon Lockley, Kirsty Coggin and Kate Fowler for being individually recognised for their excellent work for clients.
Many congratulations also to Samantha Goold who has qualified as a Solicitor with the team joining one of the largest Dispute Resolution practices in the Sheffield City Region.”
A Legal 500 spokesperson added: “The rankings are based on a series of criteria, but simply put, we highlight the practice area teams who are providing the most cutting edge and innovative advice to corporate counsel.
"Our research is based on feedback from 300,000 clients worldwide, submissions from law firms and interviews with leading private practice lawyers, and a team of researchers who have unrivalled experience in the legal market.”