Australia’s best lawyers crowned with Ashurst leading Clayton Utz and Corrs Chambers Westgarth

The latest legal rankings are out with one law firm named as the best, and Brisbane rivalling Sydney for talent. See the full lists of this year’s top lawyers and rising stars.

Best Lawyers Kellech Smith (top left), Amanda Story (bottom left), Adam Stapledon (bottom middle), Simon Newcomb (bottom right) and James Marshall (top right).

Sydney has been crowned Australia’s legal capital but Brisbane is emerging as a key market for firms with more lawyers flocking to the state, the latest data from global ratings service Best Lawyers has revealed.

According to the latest published results, which are determined by peer review, 4586 lawyers have been recognised on the overall honorees list, with 329 achieving a spot on the “Lawyer of the Year” list.

Litigation was the most popular practice area out of the top five identified, with 889 lawyers. The second most popular area was insurance law (546), followed by alternative dispute resolution (501), commercial law (454) and corporate law (430).

Female lawyers included in the overall honorees list raised their share from 30 per cent to 32 per cent this year, with male lawyers continuing to dominate. 

More than a third, or 1953 lawyers, on the full honorees list are based in the harbour city of Sydney, up from 1612 last year. In second place is Melbourne, where 1514 lawyers included on the list are located, up from 1266 last year.

That is followed by Brisbane with 920 lawyers — up from 744 last year — Perth with 485 lawyers and Adelaide with 351.

Best Lawyers vice president of research Elizabeth Petit told The Australian environmental and climate change disputes are rapidly emerging as a “frontier in the legal landscape, challenging the dominance of class actions and data privacy”.

“These cases increasingly sit at the crossroads of Indigenous land rights and government accountability, pushing the courts to confront urgent questions of cultural preservation and environmental duty,” she said.

Meanwhile, 799 lawyers were identified as rising stars on the “Ones to Watch” list.

The ratings service also noted shifts in where top legal talent was concentrated across Australia, Ms Petit said.

“Brisbane has emerged as a growing hub, attracting a rising number of high-performing legal professionals, likely driven by the city’s population growth, economic development, and expanding legal market,” she said.

“Sydney and Melbourne continue to draw top-tier talent, maintaining their longstanding reputations as legal powerhouses.

“However, their growth has been steady rather than dramatic in recent years.

“In contrast, rural and regional areas have seen minimal change, with limited growth in legal talent pipelines. These areas continue to face challenges in attracting and retaining lawyers, contributing to ongoing disparities in access to legal services.”

Ashurst was named Best Lawyers’s top law firm in Sydney. Its head of region Lea Constantine said the firm had ambitions to be Australia’s leading firm by 2027.

“Australia is one of several jurisdictions globally where we are investing strongly to meet growing demand from our clients in practice areas and industries including mergers and acquisitions, private equity, disputes and investigations, projects, and energy,” Ms Constantine said.

“Our corporate practice has grown in the past few years through internal promotions and senior hires, working on market-leading matters for our clients, while our Employment practice has been a top-tier practice for many years.”

Ashurst partner James Marshall, who works in restructuring, insolvency and special situations practice, is featured on the list.

Partner Kellech Smith, who specialises in intellectual property and media, is also included on the list.

Corrs Chambers Westgarth head of banking and finance Adam Stapledon — featured on the Lawyer of the Year list — said the business was grappling with balancing a wide range of stakeholder interests as well as rapid regulatory and geopolitical change.

“While domestically investors are grappling with increased regulation, uncertainty about interest rates, and some corporate insolvencies, in the broader global context Australia remains a relatively stable and attractive destination for investment,” he said.

“We continue to see strong deal flow, with our clients taking a proactive approach to identifying and capitalising on the opportunities which come with uncertainty and volatility while maintaining a strong focus on managing risk effectively.

“As a firm, we are particularly alert to the nature and scope of regulatory change that clients are facing and we are seeing a high level of demand for support in these areas.”

Brisbane’s top law firm was Clayton-Utz, according to the latest data.

The firm’s chief executive partner told The Australian the list demonstrates the “firm’s diverse expertise including in privacy and data security, technology, infrastructure and insolvency law.“

“It’s great to see so many of our people recognised in this year’s Best Lawyers list across areas that are of increasing importance to our clients,” she said.

Clayton Utz partner Amanda Story was included on the Lawyer of the Year list, recognised in the practice areas of corporate and governance practice.

She specialises in major contracting, procurement and funding programs, as well as governance practice for the Australian Government, the firm said.

As well, partner Simon Newcomb was recognised as a leading technology lawyer on the list with his expertise in technology contracts, telecommunications, intellectual property, privacy and cyber security.

Originally published as Australia’s best lawyers crowned with Ashurst leading Clayton Utz and Corrs Chambers Westgarth