Answers to the questions firms ask most about Doyle’s Guide rankings submissions. For a section-by-section walk-through of the form, see How to complete your submission.
About the rankings and submissions
Do we have to submit to be ranked?
No. Doyle’s Guide rankings are compiled from online peer surveys and interviews with practitioners, clients and industry bodies, and are ranked by the volume and quality of positive feedback. A submission is welcome but not required. What it does is help our researchers understand your practice and identify the peers and clients to consult.
Is there a fee?
No. Rankings cannot be purchased: no fee, advertising arrangement or commercial relationship influences whether a firm or individual is ranked, or where they sit.
Does a submission guarantee a ranking?
No. It informs the research; the research determines the result.
Who can submit?
Law firms (on behalf of a practice group), individual practitioners and barristers or chambers. Select “Law firm” or “Individual practitioner / barrister” at the top of the form.
Which practice areas does the form cover?
Every area in the current Doyle’s Guide programme except Family Law, which has its own Family Law submission form. If your area is not listed, choose “Other” and name it.
We practise in several areas and jurisdictions. How many submissions do we make?
One per practice area per jurisdiction. Each submission is researched separately, so keep the matters, individuals and referees specific to that area and place. After sending one, click “Start another submission”.
Access and the form
How do we get to the form?
From the Make a submission page, or from the “Submit for this ranking” link beside each practice area in the rankings schedule, which fills in the practice area and jurisdiction for you. The form is open to any firm, practitioner or barrister — no invitation is needed.
We were sent a private link earlier. Does it still work?
Yes. Earlier links open the same form.
Can several people in the firm work on submissions?
Yes. Anyone can open the form, and several people can prepare different submissions at the same time.
Can I save and come back later?
Yes, in two ways. Save & Continue Later (at the foot of the form) stores a draft with us and gives you a private resume link that works on any device for 30 days; nothing is sent to the editorial team until you press Submit. Separately, the form saves your progress in the browser as you type, and offers to restore it if you return on the same device.
Can a colleague finish a submission I started?
Yes. Save a draft and send them the resume link. Anyone holding that link can open the draft, so treat it as private.
Is there a time limit once I have the page open?
If a page has been open for more than a day, the submission may be refused with a “session expired” message. Save a draft, reload the page from your resume link and submit again; nothing is lost.
When is the deadline?
Two months before your ranking publishes. Deadlines differ by practice area and jurisdiction, so check the 2027 Rankings Publication Schedule for yours — the form also lists the rankings and deadlines for the practice area and jurisdiction you select. Material received after the deadline month may not be considered in that year’s research.
Matters and confidentiality
Why does the form not accept confidential matters?
Because our researchers verify submissions by discussing the work with peers, clients and referees. A matter that cannot be discussed cannot be verified, so it cannot count towards a ranking. Rather than carry matters that cannot be used, the form asks you to confirm on each one that it may be referenced publicly.
What counts as “may be referenced publicly”?
The matter, and your role in it, can be disclosed without breaching a confidence: it has been announced or reported, it sits on the public record (court lists and judgments, regulatory or exchange announcements, published deal tables), it appears in your own published deal list, or the client has agreed that it may be cited. If you are unsure, ask the client. If you cannot, leave the matter out.
Can we anonymise a matter instead?
No. Anonymised or disguised matters are not accepted on this form. (Family Law, which is researched differently, has its own form.)
What is the 12-month rule?
Only work completed, or substantially progressed, in the 12 months before you submit is considered. Enter the month the matter completed or, if it is ongoing, the month it was most recently active. The form will not accept an older month.
Can we include ongoing matters?
Yes, if they have been active in the last 12 months. Describe your role to date and enter the most recent active month.
How many matters should we list?
Up to 25. Eight to fifteen well-chosen, well-described matters serve you better than twenty-five thin ones. Choose for significance, complexity and relevance to the practice area and jurisdiction you selected.
What if the deal value is undisclosed?
Leave the value blank. The field is optional; a matter can be publicly referenceable without its value being public. Where you can give a value, a currency and a round figure or range are enough.
What makes a good matter description?
Three or four sentences: what the matter was, why it mattered (size, novelty, precedent, jurisdictional reach), exactly what your team did, and who led it. Name the other parties and their advisers where you can — researchers use them to corroborate.
Individuals and the team list
What is the difference between “Key Individuals” and the “Full Practice Team”?
Key Individuals for Ranking (Section 5) are the practitioners you are putting forward for individual recognition. Each entry carries a short summary of the person’s standing and focus; this is what researchers rank on. Full Practice Team & Contact Points (Section 6) is everyone in the group. It is never published and is used to verify the submission and to invite peers to the research survey.
How many key individuals should we put forward?
Up to 30, but put forward only those with a genuine claim in this practice area and jurisdiction. A long list dilutes the case for each person.
Who belongs in the team list?
All partners in the practice area, plus counsel, special counsel, consultants and senior associates — up to 150 people. Partners who are also key individuals appear in both.
We have a large team. Do we have to type everyone in?
No. Copy the rows from a spreadsheet with the columns Name, Role, Email, Phone, Location (one person per line), paste them into the box at the top of Section 6 and click “Add from pasted list”. The form builds a row for each person, skips a header line, and matches roles to its list (anything it does not recognise becomes “Other”). Check the rows before you submit.
I am a barrister. How do I submit?
Choose “Individual practitioner / barrister”, enter your name, and enter your chambers as the firm. List yourself (and your practice focus) in Key Individuals. The team list is optional for individual submissions. A set of chambers can instead submit as a “Law firm” and list several members.
Can we put forward junior practitioners?
Yes. Include senior associates and associates in Key Individuals with their year of admission and a note on their work. Where a Rising Stars list exists for your area, this is how researchers identify candidates.
Will the people on our team list be contacted?
They may receive an invitation to the peer survey for this practice area. It is worth letting them know.
Referees
Who makes a good referee?
Someone who sends you work or sees it from the other side: a general counsel or in-house lawyer who instructs you regularly, a partner at a referring firm (including firms in other jurisdictions), a barrister you brief, an accountant, banker, insolvency practitioner or other adviser who refers matters, or a client who is a source of repeat instructions. Referees must be outside your own firm.
Can a client be a referee?
A repeat client, yes — ideally through its general counsel or the executive who instructs you. A client who has instructed you once, on one matter, is not what we are after; their view of a single engagement tells researchers less than a referrer’s view across many.
How many referees do we need?
At least three, up to ten. Each must have a first name, surname and a valid email address; company and title help researchers place them. The form will not submit with fewer than three complete entries.
Will our referees be contacted?
They may be. Researchers typically send a short email or survey, occasionally followed by a brief call. Tell your referees you have named them — the declaration at the end of the form confirms they have agreed to be contacted — and let them know which practice area it relates to.
Are referees ever published or shown to other firms?
No. Referee details are used for research verification only.
Can we use the same referees for more than one submission?
You can, but referees who can speak to the specific practice area and jurisdiction are more useful, and a referee named on several submissions may be contacted about each. Where you have different referrers for different areas, use them.
After submitting
What happens when we press Submit?
The submission is emailed to the Doyle’s Guide editorial team, and the submission contact receives a confirmation email with a Word copy of everything entered, for your records. The on-screen message confirms receipt; if you do not see it, the submission has not been sent.
We made a mistake. Can we change a submission?
Email [email protected] with the firm, practice area and jurisdiction in the subject line and the correction in the body. For a substantial change, make a fresh submission and tell us it replaces the earlier one.
What is the editorial interview?
An optional conversation with the editorial team, by video, to discuss your practice and the submission. Book it through the link in Section 9 of the form, before or after submitting. It is a chance to add context, not a requirement, and not having one does not count against you.
When will the rankings publish?
In the month shown for your ranking in the rankings schedule — two months after the submission deadline. Rankings publish on the site; there is no separate notification.
We think a ranking is wrong. Can we ask for it to be reviewed?
Yes. Doyle’s Guide runs a Rankings Reconsideration process, available after a ranking publishes. Contact [email protected] for the reconsideration form.
Can we use our ranking in marketing?
Yes. Ranked firms and individuals may refer to their Doyle’s Guide rankings in their own marketing. Rankings logos, featured photo placements and linked lawyer profile pages on the rankings pages are available through doylesguide.com; the editorial team can advise on the options for your market.
Technical questions and contact
Which browsers work?
Any current browser on desktop, tablet or phone. The form is long, so a desktop or laptop is more comfortable, particularly for pasting the team list.
Can we attach our own submission document?
Yes. Section 8 accepts one PDF or Word (.docx) file of up to 10MB — a capability statement, an existing submission or a matter list. The form fields are still required; the attachment supplements them.
The form says a required field is missing, but I cannot see which
The page scrolls to the first problem field and highlights it. The usual culprits are a matter without its public-reference tick, a matter month outside the last 12 months, a referee with a name but no email, and the declaration box at the end.
We submitted but did not receive the confirmation email
Check a spam or quarantine folder for mail from doylesguide.com. If it is not there within an hour, email [email protected] and we will confirm whether the submission arrived.
Who do we contact with questions?
[email protected] for anything about a submission, a deadline or a ranking. Put the firm, practice area and jurisdiction in the subject line.