Chambers, Best Lawyers, Super Lawyers and Legal 500: how each works
Checked against the sources below on 4 October 2026. The California Attorney Registry is not affiliated with any publisher named on this page.
Attorney biographies often list recognitions from several publishers. They are not the same kind of thing. Each publisher chooses lawyers by its own method, and the method is what tells you what a recognition means. This page sets four of them side by side, in each publisher's own description, and gives no verdict on which is better.
The four at a glance
| Publisher | How a lawyer enters | What it says it evaluates | How it is published |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chambers and Partners | Law firms send submissions. Chambers' researchers also draw on their own sources. | Interviews and surveys with clients and peers, the submission and its analysts' assessment. | Bands and other designations, by practice table and location, in yearly guides. |
| Best Lawyers | Nomination. Best Lawyers says anyone can nominate a lawyer, including the lawyer. | Peer review only: lawyers already recognised give confidential feedback on nominees in the same area and practice. | A yearly list by practice area and region, with separate awards for one lawyer per practice area and region. |
| Super Lawyers | Peer nomination, or identification by its research staff. | Peer nominations and peer evaluation combined with independent research, on 12 indicators of peer recognition and professional achievement. | A yearly list, selected state by state. |
| The Legal 500 | Law firms send submissions and name client referees. | The submission and feedback from client referees. | Rankings by practice area. Its 2027 United States coverage adds state rankings and a City Elite list. |
Three questions that separate them
Who speaks: clients, peers or both?
Best Lawyers describes its process as based entirely on peer review. Super Lawyers combines peer input with its own research. Chambers and The Legal 500 both gather feedback from clients whom the firm names as referees, and Chambers also interviews other lawyers. A peer-review list tells you what other lawyers think. A referee-based table tells you what selected clients and peers told a researcher.
What is the unit: a firm, a lawyer or both?
Chambers assesses law firm departments and individual lawyers separately, and The Legal 500 ranks firms by practice area. Best Lawyers and Super Lawyers are lists of individual lawyers. A firm-level recognition does not pass to each lawyer at the firm.
What is paid?
Chambers states that submitting and taking part in its research is free. Best Lawyers says recognised lawyers appear at no cost and that additional marketing opportunities are available to them. Super Lawyers' published description of its process says a place on its list cannot be bought. Publishers commonly sell profiles, badges or advertising to the lawyers and firms they list. So the question to ask of any recognition is not only who issued it, but whether the selection itself, as distinct from its promotion, was free.
How to read any recognition
- Find the publisher, the year and the practice area. A recognition without all three cannot be checked.
- Open the publisher's own page for the lawyer or the list, and confirm the name.
- Read the publisher's description of its method. The links are in the sources below.
- Check the attorney's license status and discipline history on the State Bar record. No directory replaces it.
None of these lists covers every California attorney. Each selects a small share of lawyers, and several concentrate on business law. An attorney with no listing may simply work in a field or a firm these publishers do not research.
What the registry records
The California Attorney Registry publishes the State Bar roll, so every licensed California attorney has a record whether or not any publisher lists them. Today the registry records recognitions from Chambers and Partners in a structured form: issuer, guide, edition year, practice table, location and designation, each with a source link and the attorney's confirmation. Chambers recognition in California attorney records explains how. Other publishers can be added when each has its own sourced review.
The registry does not rank attorneys and does not order its lists by any publisher's designation.
Common questions
What is the difference between Chambers and Best Lawyers?
They use different methods. Chambers describes research by its own analysts, who read law firm submissions and interview or survey clients and peers. Best Lawyers describes its process as based entirely on peer review: lawyers who are already recognised vote on nominated lawyers in the same area and practice.
Which is better, Chambers or Legal 500?
Neither publisher's list is a measure the California Attorney Registry endorses or ranks. Both describe research built on law firm submissions and feedback from client referees, published by practice area and location. Read each recognition with its publisher, year and practice area, and check the attorney's license on the State Bar record.
Is Super Lawyers a paid listing?
Super Lawyers describes selection as a multiphase process that combines peer nominations, independent research and peer evaluation, and its published description says a lawyer cannot buy a place on the list. As with any publisher, read its own selection page for what is and is not paid.
Do these directories cover every California attorney?
No. Each selects a small share of lawyers by its own method, and several focus on business law. The State Bar of California roll is the complete list of people licensed to practise law in California, and it is the record the registry is built on.
Which legal directory should a client rely on?
A directory recognition is one published opinion about a lawyer's standing in a field. It does not replace checking the license status and discipline history on the State Bar record, asking about experience with your kind of matter, and understanding the fee agreement.
Sources
- Chambers and Partners, research methodology, read 4 October 2026.
- Chambers and Partners, the rankings explained, read 4 October 2026.
- Best Lawyers, methodology and process, read 4 October 2026.
- Super Lawyers, selection process, read 4 October 2026.
- The Legal 500, frequently asked questions, read 4 October 2026.
- State Bar of California, attorney search, read 4 October 2026.
More on recognitions
- Chambers recognition in California attorney records. What a Chambers line on a California attorney record states, where it comes from and how to cite it.
- Chambers bands explained: Band 1 to Band 7 and the other designations. What Band 1 means, why a band needs its practice table and year, and the designations that are not numbered.
- Chambers USA 2027 submissions: deadlines and how the research schedule works. How to read Chambers' live research schedule, what a submission contains and the California dates read on 4 October 2026.
- Chambers Spotlight California: the guide for small and mid-size firms. A firm-level guide with an interview and a short survey; California research runs to 23 January 2027.
- Chambers High Net Worth in California: what the guide covers. The private wealth guide: its California tables, who it researches and how to read a recognition from it.
Attorneys: claim your record free to add or correct a recognition. It never requires a paid membership.
The California Attorney Registry does not rank attorney quality, select counsel or guarantee results. A recognition is its issuer's designation and is not a guarantee of any outcome. Legal information, not legal advice.