Best Lawyers® is proud to announce the 2027 Best Law Firms™ – Germany, marking the third edition of the awards and recognizing leading law firms across the country.
Presented in collaboration with Handelsblatt, a prominent source of business and financial news in Germany, this year’s results draw on substantial research across the country’s legal market. Approximately 7,000 lawyers were surveyed and more than 10,000 client perspectives were sought, with over 1,300 firms engaging in the evaluation process.
The launch follows an awards ceremony held in Düsseldorf on October 8, where Handelsblatt and Best Lawyers, represented by CEO Phillip Greer and Vice President of Content Nancy Lippincott, came together with members of Germany’s legal community to celebrate leading lawyers and law firms from across the country.
Beyond this year’s awards, the research offers a broader view of a profession in transition, showing where new approaches are taking hold and where established strengths continue to define the market.
How Firms Are Evaluated for Best Law Firms – Germany
The Best Law Firms – Germany evaluation provides a well-rounded view of performance and standing within individual practice areas.
As Elizabeth Petit, SVP of Research & Product Strategy at Best Lawyers, explains, “Best Law Firms – Germany builds on more than four decades of Best Lawyers peer-review research, but evaluating firms requires a broader lens. We combine peer assessment with client feedback, leadership interviews, direct firm engagement and firmographic data to understand excellence from multiple perspectives. That multidimensional approach allows us to look beyond reputation alone and provide an independent, research-driven view of the firms setting the standard in Germany’s legal market.”
The 2027 edition distinguishes firms through three forms of recognition:
- Regional rankings: 1,312 firms across 60 practice areas, representing the top 1.75%.
- National rankings: 380 firms across 23 practice areas, placing them among the top 0.51%.
- "Law Firm of the Year": 18 firms across 23 practice areas, with recognition limited to the top 0.024%.
Learn more about the evaluation process on the Best Law Firms – Germany methodology page.
Germany’s Top 10 Ranked Law Firms
Among the firms recognized this year, a select group stands out for achieving the highest number of National Tier 1 Rankings across nationally evaluated practice areas. Below are the top 10 positions based on the number of National Tier 1 rankings received. Several firms are tied within these positions.
Gleiss Lutz — 18
Heuking; Noerr Partnerschaftsgesellschaft mbB; Luther Rechtsanwaltsgesellschaft mbH; Freshfields — 16
Baker McKenzie Rechtsanwaltsgesellschaft mbH von Rechtsanwälten und Steuerberatern mbB — 12
Taylor Wessing Partnerschaftsgesellschaft mbB; Hengeler Mueller; Clifford Chance Partnerschaft mbB — 11
DLA Piper — 10
Latham & Watkins LLP; Bird & Bird LLP; McDermott Will & Schulte — 9
White & Case LLP — 8
Görg Partnerschaft von Rechtsanwälten mbB; Linklaters; A&O Shearman — 7
What Germany’s Law Firms Are Telling Us
Beyond the awards, the Best Law Firms survey offers a closer look at how Germany’s law firms are evolving. Conducted across 360 German law firms, ranging from solo practices to firms with more than 2,200 lawyers globally, it revealed three key findings about how respondents are approaching technology, business development and client relationships.
Generative AI Moves into the Mainstream
Generative AI adoption is already widespread within responding firms, with 49% reporting full implementation and another 42% piloting the technology. The focus is now shifting from whether they will use AI to how that use affects day-to-day practice, including billing, client transparency and governance.
Among the AI-using respondents, 27% said the technology has reduced billable hours for certain tasks. They also vary in how they disclose AI use to clients and establish internal safeguards, signaling that adoption is advancing faster than consensus around its use.
As Petit explains, “What stands out in this data is the speed of adoption. Nearly half of responding firms have fully implemented generative AI tools, and another four in ten are piloting. The 'wait and see' window has effectively closed. But the billing data tells us the next chapter is going to be more uncomfortable. When a quarter of firms are already seeing reduced billable hours, the pricing conversation can't be deferred much longer.”
Marketing Investment Is Growing Faster Than Measurement
Thirty-five percent of responding firms increased their marketing budgets in the most recent fiscal year, compared with more than half of those with at least 100 lawyers. That investment is outpacing their ability to evaluate its effectiveness. Thirty-five percent said they do not measure ROI and do not intend to, while another 30% would like to measure it but cannot. Documented marketing strategies also remain relatively uncommon, pointing to a growing professionalization of law firm business development even as formal strategy and measurement remain uneven.
For Petit, the findings raise a larger question about how firms assess the value of their growing marketing investments. “There's a striking disconnect here. Firms are increasing budgets, which signals they understand marketing matters, but two-thirds of them have no way to tell whether those dollars are working. In an increasingly competitive market, that's not just a missed opportunity; it's a strategic vulnerability. The firms that figure out measurement first will have a significant edge.”
Referrals Remain at the Center of Growth
Relationships remain central to how German firms attract and retain clients. Word of mouth was the most frequently identified effective marketing strategy, and 76% of respondents reported that at least half of their new client work comes from returning clients or referrals.
Yet only 9% of firms conduct regular, structured client surveys. Deep specialization also emerged as the most frequently cited approach to differentiation. The results reinforce the continued importance of specialized expertise, reputation and client relationships as firms modernize other areas of their businesses.
Valerie Smith, Senior Research Manager at Best Lawyers, sees the findings as evidence of the close connection between specialization, client experience and referral-driven growth.
“The data paints a picture of a market where deep specialization is the primary way firms differentiate, with 76% citing it as a key factor, but the follow-through on client experience lags well behind. Firms say client feedback matters, but very few have formalized how they gather and act on it. The firms that close that gap, pairing genuine expertise with structured client listening, are the ones best positioned to protect their referral pipeline as competition intensifies.”
Practice Area Dynamics in Germany’s Leading Law Firms
The 2027 Best Law Firms – Germany results highlight several of the country’s most widely represented areas of legal practice. The five national practice areas with the highest number of recognized firms are:
The 2026 Best Law Firms – Germany featured four of the same areas: Corporate Law, Labor and Employment Law, Mergers and Acquisitions Law and Tax Law. For 2027, Real Estate Law enters the group, replacing Arbitration and Mediation.
There is also notable alignment with the 2027 Best Lawyers in Germany™, where Corporate Law, Mergers and Acquisitions Law and Labor and Employment Law are likewise among the most represented practice areas.
The Forces Shaping Germany’s Leading Practice Areas
The prominence of these practice areas reflects a mix of continued transactional activity, regulatory change and renewed investment across Germany’s economy:
Corporate and M&A Dealmaking Holds Steady Despite Cautious Conditions
German M&A activity in industrials and services was relatively stable in the first half of 2026, with deal volume down only 3% year over year. Technology disruption, infrastructure spending and sector transformation continued to support transactions, helping explain the strong representation of both Corporate Law and Mergers and Acquisitions Law.
Employment Regulation Remains a Significant Area of Legal Change
The Bundestariftreuegesetz took effect May 1, 2026, requiring companies performing certain federal public contracts to comply with applicable collectively agreed employment conditions. Broader reforms to employment administration and labor policy have also continued through 2026, sustaining demand for Labor and Employment Law counsel.
Tax Law Continues to Be Shaped by Legislative Reform
Germany’s 2026 tax agenda includes changes affecting business taxation, investment incentives and administrative procedures, while the Annual Tax Act 2026 contains further adjustments linked to EU law, court decisions and anti-abuse measures. That breadth of change helps keep Tax Law central to corporate planning and compliance.
Real Estate Law Enters the Top Five as Investment Activity Recovers
German real estate transaction volume reached €16.2 billion in the first half of 2026, up 13% from the same period a year earlier. Commercial real estate accounted for nearly €13 billion, with activity concentrated in higher-quality assets and core markets, adding a clear transactional backdrop to Real Estate Law’s entry into this year’s top five national practice areas.
The "Law Firm of the Year" Awards
This year, 18 firms earned "Law Firm of the Year" honors across 23 national practice areas. Reserved for the top-performing firm in each nationally evaluated field, the distinction recognizes exceptional overall performance within that area of practice:
- Bardehle Pagenberg — Intellectual Property Law
- Bird & Bird LLP — Information Technology Law
- Clifford Chance Partnerschaft mbB — Banking and Finance Law; Environmental Law
- CMS Hasche Sigle — Energy Law; Labor and Employment Law
- Feigen Graf Rechtsanwälte MbB — Criminal Defense
- Flick Gocke Schaumburg — Tax Law
- Freshfields — Litigation; Real Estate Law
- Gleiss Lutz — Arbitration and Mediation; Competition / Antitrust Law
- GvW Graf von Westphalen — Data Security and Privacy Law
- Hengeler Mueller — Mergers and Acquisitions Law; Private Equity Law
- Heuking — Insurance Law
- Hogan Lovells International LLP — Pharmaceuticals Law
- Kapellmann und Partner Rechtsanwälte MbB — Construction Law
- Latham & Watkins — Capital Markets Law
- Linklaters — Corporate Law
- Redeker Sellner Dahs — Public Law
- SKW Schwarz Rechtsanwälte — Media Law
- White & Case LLP — Restructuring and Insolvency Law
A New View of Germany’s Legal Sector
Taken together, the 2027 results do more than identify firms performing at the highest levels. They also offer a broader view of how Germany’s legal sector is evolving, from the way firms adopt new technologies to how they build client relationships, invest in growth and strengthen their position with clients.
Best Lawyers congratulates every firm recognized in the third edition of Best Law Firms – Germany and celebrates the work represented across this year’s awards.
Explore the complete 2027 Best Law Firms – Germany awards and discover this year's honorees.