Second annual Credible Voices rankings, sponsored by Williams Lea, an RRD company, assess 442,150 articles and identify 123,333 unique authors.
LONDON, 5 August 2026 — Farrer & Co has achieved the highest score across all 150 firms in the second annual Credible Voices legal rankings, while Skadden leads the Top 50 US Law Firms operating in the UK.
Farrer & Co scores 67.0%, followed in the UK ranking by Linklaters on 65.4%. Skadden scores 66.4%, followed by Sidley Austin on 65.1%. Williams Lea, an RRD company, announced the winners at a ceremony on 31 July 2026.
The results are based on data extracted on 24 July 2026 and cover 442,150 publicly available articles across 150 firms. The dataset identifies 123,333 unique authors, with an average of 1.6 attributed articles per author; 56.3% of assessed articles had no named author. The average firm score is 60.6%, with results ranging from 49.6% to 67.0%. A firm’s percentage is the simple mean of the scores awarded to its assessed public content under the 16-point framework; it is not a measure of publication volume.
View the full rankings at no cost: all 150 firms.
“We are delighted that Farrer & Co has achieved the highest score across both Credible Voices firm rankings. Our lawyers invest considerable time in producing content that is technically rigorous, accessible and genuinely useful to clients and the wider market.
“This recognition is particularly meaningful because it is based on the systematic assessment of our publicly available work, rather than an award entry or a selection of material chosen by the firm. It recognises the collective contribution of our authors and the teams that help turn their expertise into clear and valuable content.”
Anna Gregory, Partner and Marketing & BD Director, Farrer & Co
An evidence-based approach
Credible Voices assesses the identified public content of all 150 firms in the defined ranking populations rather than relying on entries, nominations or material selected by firms themselves. Firms and authors do not choose the work assessed or prepare claims explaining why they should be recognised.
The proprietary 16-point framework evaluates depth and accuracy, structure and readability, engagement and usefulness, and presentation and visuals. Different forms of content are assessed according to their purpose. AI is used within a deterministic process governed by predefined criteria, scoring boundaries and reference examples. Firm rankings are calculated from the resulting article scores.
Rankings designed to raise standards
The 2026 results provide the fixed annual snapshot and the baseline for continuous measurement. The open rankings are now updated every 14 days and previous positions are retained, enabling firms to track progress over time and against competitors.
During the six-month monitoring period ending in March 2026, the 150 firms added approximately 30 articles for every one removed. Some firms still host articles published 25 years ago, potentially weakening the picture of expertise they present today. The ‘Audit own website’ service lets firms move from a website-level assessment to individual articles, filter by publication date, score and author, and benchmark their article addition-to-removal ratios.
As the rankings measure the public evidence available to the market, their value increases when firms strengthen useful material and remove content that no longer represents their expertise. The sandbox within the ‘Marketplace Management’ service rescores edited articles before publication.
“Rankings matter when they change behaviour. We want firms to understand the evidence they are putting into the market, strengthen what is useful and remove what no longer represents them. People buy people, yet 56.3% of assessed articles have no named author. Better attribution alone would make expertise considerably easier for clients to find.”
Richard Chaplin, Founder of Credible Voices and Chief Executive of the Managing Partners’ Forum
Notes to editors
Top 100 UK Law Firms
|
Position |
Firm |
Score |
Articles assessed |
|
1 |
Farrer & Co |
67.0% |
1,892 |
|
2 |
Linklaters |
65.4% |
1,519 |
|
3 |
Macfarlanes |
64.5% |
2,445 |
|
4 |
Ashurst Perkins Coe |
64.3% |
1,543 |
|
5 |
Freshfields |
63.5% |
250 |
Top 50 US Law Firms operating in the UK
|
Position |
Firm |
Score |
Articles assessed |
|
1 |
Skadden |
66.4% |
1,667 |
|
2 |
Sidley Austin |
65.1% |
1,962 |
|
3 |
Arnold & Porter |
63.6% |
2,289 |
|
4 |
Morgan Lewis |
63.3% |
4,485 |
|
5 |
Reed Smith |
62.6% |
3,508 |
A firm’s percentage is the simple mean of the scores awarded to its assessed public content under the 16-point framework; it is not a pass rate or a measure of publication volume. Article totals show the evidence base supporting each result. Source: Credible Voices Expertise Intelligence Platform; data extracted 24 July 2026.
Website change ratio: during the six-month monitoring period ending in March 2026, approximately 30 articles were added across all 150 firms for every one removed. Firms can track and benchmark their own article addition-to-removal ratios through the ‘Audit own website’ service.
Awards ceremony: Williams Lea, an RRD company, announced the winners during episode 115 of Retuning Your Firm on 31 July 2026. Six firms were shortlisted in each ranking and notified in advance; representatives of shortlisted firms attended. The additional shortlisted firms outside the top-five tables were Fladgate (UK) and Ropes & Gray (US). Recording: Watch on YouTube.
Leading firms by points from the Top 100 authors
The associated Top 100 authors ranking uses fractional article-equivalents: 1.0 for a sole-authored article, 0.5 for each author of a two-author article, and so on. At least 5.0 article-equivalents are required to qualify.
|
Band |
Positions |
Firm points per author |
|
Platinum |
1–20 |
5 |
|
Diamond |
21–40 |
4 |
|
Gold |
41–60 |
3 |
|
Silver |
61–80 |
2 |
|
Bronze |
81–100 |
1 |
Firm points total 300 and reflect fractional shared-bylines credit. Five of 150 firms account for 45 of the Top 100 authors. Source: Credible Voices Expertise Intelligence Platform, 24 July 2026.
|
Position |
Firm |
Country |
Points / 300 |
Platinum authors |
Authors in |
|
1 |
Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer LLP |
United Kingdom |
37 |
1 |
13 |
|
2 |
Macfarlanes |
United Kingdom |
36 |
4 |
10 |
|
3 |
Dentons |
United States |
22 |
2 |
6 |
|
4 |
DLA Piper |
United Kingdom |
21 |
1 |
7 |
|
5 |
Farrer & Co |
United Kingdom |
18 |
1 |
9 |
Independence and interpretation
Williams Lea, an RRD company, sponsors both open firm rankings but does not influence the population assessed, the methodology, scores or outcomes. Firms are not charged for inclusion and cannot buy a higher score or ranking position.
Credible Voices assesses demonstrated expertise in published content. It does not claim to measure every aspect of professional competence, client service, compliance, culture or commercial performance.
About Credible Voices
Credible Voices is the evidence infrastructure for expertise in knowledge-intensive sectors. Its proprietary 16-point framework originated in an approach volunteered to the Centre for Professional Services Research by a Cranfield University professor. The approach was adapted with RubikLab for professional and commercial content.
Methodology and white paper: Read the white paper.
Media contact: Richard Chaplin | richard.chaplin@pmint.co.uk | +44 (0)20 7786 9786
