Every list on Top 10 Lawyers covers one area of law in one city. Here's how firms get on a list, what we check, and how we keep the lists honest.
What we look at
- Does the firm actually do this work here?
- We want firms with an office in or near the city that regularly handle this type of matter, not a firm based elsewhere or a generalist that lists every area of law on its website.
- Is it regulated?
- Firms on our solicitor lists should be regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority, which we check on the SRA's Solicitors Register. On immigration lists we also include firms of advisers regulated by the Immigration Advice Authority, and we say which is which.
- Accreditation
- Whether the firm or its lawyers hold recognised accreditation in that area, such as the Law Society's accreditation schemes or membership of a specialist body. It isn't required, but it's a good sign of depth. We only mention it where the firm or the accrediting body says so.
- What clients say
- We look at Google reviews for patterns rather than the star average alone: how the firm communicates, whether costs matched expectations, how matters turned out. Where we show a Google rating, it's checked against the firm's own Google listing.
- How easy the firm is to reach
- Clear contact details, whether it offers a free or fixed fee first appointment, and out of hours help for urgent matters like a police station interview.
Who pays
No firm pays for its place on our UK lists at the moment, and the order is our own. If a firm ever pays for a featured listing, we will say so on every list where it applies, links to that firm will be marked as sponsored in our code, and it won't buy the write-up.
We don't take referral fees for personal injury claims, and we don't pass on personal injury enquiries to firms. On our injury lists you contact the firms directly.
Reviewed lists and older lists
We're working through every UK list in 2026 and 2027. A reviewed list is marked with the date we reviewed it and has our own write-up of each firm. On lists we haven't reviewed yet, firm descriptions are based on each firm's own materials, and we say so on the page.
Keeping lists accurate
Firm details and write-ups are checked when we review a list. If you find something out of date, or a firm has closed or moved, please let us know and we'll fix it.
Nothing on this site is legal advice. Always speak to a solicitor about your own situation.