How AI chooses UK law firms · Benchmark, first edition
UK Law Firms in AI Search 2026
We asked 90 high intent buyer questions and reviewed 1,485 AI answers to build a map of how ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity recommend firms across 15 areas of UK law.
Find out which firms AI recommends, which sources shape those answers and how that compares with established legal rankings. The benchmark will be rerun to track how AI visibility changes over time.
What we found
Three findings
24 top-ranked firms were invisible in their own practice area.
24 of the 85 firms with a Legal 500 tier-1 ranking got no AI recommendation at all in a practice area they are ranked top for. Clifford Chance, Slaughter and May, Norton Rose Fulbright and Mayer Brown, all tier 1 for commercial property, were not named on a single property question.
31 of 75 high intent buyer questions were won by a firm outside tier 1.
Landau Law over BDBF on a discriminatory bonus cut; Higgs over Farrer & Co on a contested will; Clarke Willmott and Wedlake Bell over Shoosmiths on an unpaid debt.
Mishcon de Reya was the most-recommended firm overall.
Named in 240 of 810 answers and appearing on 66 of the 75 legal problems, ahead of Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer, CMS, Freshfields and A&O Shearman.
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How often it was recommended, where it was cited, the practice areas and client questions where it appeared, who appeared instead, and the Legal 500 tier it holds. Filter by practice area or tier; sort by any column.
Ranked table
521 firms. Recommended = answers naming the firm when asked which firm to instruct. Cited = answers to the problem that linked to the firm’s website. Click a column to sort; click a firm for every question it appeared on.
| Most recommended for | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| mishcon.com | Tier 1 | 243 | 13 | 66of 75 | 15of 15 | Intellectual property | Someone is using my business name. What can I do?Recommended 8/9 |
| herbertsmithfreehills.com | Tier 1 | 159 | 8 | 40of 75 | 12of 15 | Commercial disputes | Best commercial litigation firms in LondonRecommended 9/9 |
| cms.law | Tier 1 | 151 | 23 | 46of 75 | 12of 15 | Corporate and M&A | Best corporate law firms in London for selling a businessRecommended 8/9 |
| freshfields.com | Tier 1 | 145 | 1 | 28of 75 | 9of 15 | Regulatory | We have found a problem internally. Do we have to report it to the regulator?Recommended 9/9 |
| allenovery.com | Tier 1 | 141 | 5 | 33of 75 | 11of 15 | Restructuring and insolvency | Best insolvency solicitors in LondonRecommended 9/9 |
| kingsleynapley.co.uk | Tier 1 | 137 | 31 | 36of 75 | 14of 15 | White-collar crime | Best fraud solicitors in LondonRecommended 7/9 |
| linklaters.com | Tier 1 | 134 | 2 | 29of 75 | 10of 15 | Regulatory | Best insolvency solicitors in LondonRecommended 9/9 |
| cliffordchance.com | Tier 1 | 131 | 2 | 26of 75 | 10of 15 | Restructuring and insolvency | My company cannot pay its debts. What are the options?Recommended 8/9 |
| farrer.co.uk | Tier 1 | 116 | 9 | 40of 75 | 14of 15 | Private client and probate | Are family trusts protected from divorce?Recommended 8/9 |
| slaughterandmay.com | Tier 1 | 115 | 10 | 25of 75 | 8of 15 | Regulatory | Best commercial litigation firms in LondonRecommended 8/9 |
| hoganlovells.com | Tier 1 | 105 | 0 | 33of 75 | 9of 15 | Commercial disputes | Best commercial litigation firms in LondonRecommended 7/9 |
| stewartslaw.com | Tier 1 | 103 | 4 | 36of 75 | 11of 15 | Family and divorce | Best commercial litigation firms in LondonRecommended 6/9 |
| pinsentmasons.com | Tier 1 | 98 | 18 | 39of 75 | 11of 15 | Commercial disputes | We need to stop a former director using our confidential information. How quickly can we get an injunction?Recommended 8/9 |
| addleshawgoddard.com | Tier 1 | 88 | 1 | 31of 75 | 10of 15 | Commercial disputes | What should we sort out before we take the business to market?Recommended 5/9 |
| twobirds.com | Tier 1 | 86 | 1 | 17of 75 | 7of 15 | Intellectual property | Best IP lawyers in LondonRecommended 9/9 |
| irwinmitchell.com | Tier 2 | 85 | 9 | 31of 75 | 12of 15 | Private client and probate | A tackle ended my career. Can I bring a claim?Recommended 8/9 |
| bristows.com | Tier 1 | 80 | 4 | 18of 75 | 7of 15 | Intellectual property | Best IP lawyers in LondonRecommended 7/9 |
| withersworldwide.com | Tier 1 | 78 | 11 | 24of 75 | 10of 15 | Family and divorce | Best private client solicitors in LondonRecommended 8/9 |
| dlapiper.com | Tier 1 | 78 | 5 | 31of 75 | 11of 15 | Data protection | Does data protection law apply to my business?Recommended 6/9 |
| charlesrussellspeechlys.com | Tier 1 | 77 | 4 | 30of 75 | 13of 15 | Private client and probate | What happens when a trustee does not follow the trust?Recommended 5/9 |
| lw.com | Tier 1 | 75 | 11 | 18of 75 | 8of 15 | Restructuring and insolvency | Best regulatory lawyers in LondonRecommended 9/9 |
| rpc.co.uk | Tier 1 | 69 | 4 | 27of 75 | 11of 15 | Media and reputation | What happens when we report a breach to the ICO?Recommended 5/9 |
| fieldfisher.com | Tier 2 | 65 | 1 | 27of 75 | 11of 15 | Data protection | Does data protection law apply to my business?Recommended 6/9 |
| russell-cooke.co.uk | Tier 2 | 63 | 13 | 29of 75 | 12of 15 | Private client and probate | Best private client solicitors in LondonRecommended 4/9 |
| eversheds-sutherland.com | Tier 1 | 63 | 6 | 32of 75 | 11of 15 | Corporate and M&A | Best corporate law firms in London for selling a businessRecommended 5/9 |
| ashurst.com | Tier 1 | 62 | 9 | 21of 75 | 8of 15 | Regulatory | How should a company respond to a dawn raid?Recommended 7/9 |
| osborneslaw.com | Tier 2 | 59 | 31 | 13of 75 | 4of 15 | Family and divorce | A tackle ended my career. Can I bring a claim?Recommended 7/9 |
| lewissilkin.com | Tier 1 | 56 | 9 | 22of 75 | 9of 15 | Employment | Is a 12 month non-compete enforceable in the UK?Recommended 7/9 |
| macfarlanes.com | Tier 1 | 55 | 3 | 21of 75 | 8of 15 | Corporate and M&A | Best corporate law firms in London for selling a businessRecommended 5/9 |
| taylorwessing.com | Unranked | 53 | 3 | 22of 75 | 10of 15 | Intellectual property | Best IP lawyers in LondonRecommended 6/9 |
| phb.co.uk | Tier 1 | 52 | 8 | 14of 75 | 6of 15 | Family and divorce | Best divorce lawyers in LondonRecommended 7/9 |
| carter-ruck.com | Tier 1 | 51 | 9 | 7of 75 | 3of 15 | Media and reputation | Someone is posting private photographs of me online. How do I get them removed?Recommended 9/9 |
| shlegal.com | Tier 1 | 47 | 7 | 17of 75 | 11of 15 | Regulatory | We have been hit by payment diversion fraud. Can we recover the money?Recommended 6/9 |
| osborneclarke.com | Tier 1 | 47 | 1 | 18of 75 | 9of 15 | Corporate and M&A | What does an investor's term sheet actually commit us to?Recommended 7/9 |
| Tier 1 | 46 | 0 | 13of 75 | 4of 15 | White-collar crime | We have been hit by payment diversion fraud. Can we recover the money?Recommended 7/9 | |
| traverssmith.com | Tier 2 | 45 | 6 | 14of 75 | 8of 15 | Commercial disputes | How long does a commercial dispute take to get to trial in England?Recommended 6/9 |
| kirkland.com | Tier 1 | 45 | 2 | 9of 75 | 5of 15 | Restructuring and insolvency | Best insolvency solicitors in LondonRecommended 9/9 |
| brettwilson.co.uk | Tier 2 | 45 | 11 | 8of 75 | 4of 15 | Media and reputation | A newspaper has printed something about me that I believe is inaccurate. What can I do?Recommended 9/9 |
| penningtonslaw.com | Tier 1 | 44 | 6 | 25of 75 | 11of 15 | Sport | My football club has not paid a bonus that is in my contract. What can I do?Recommended 5/9 |
| signaturelitigation.com | Tier 4 | 43 | 7 | 15of 75 | 7of 15 | Commercial disputes | What does it cost to bring a commercial claim in the High Court?Recommended 6/9 |
| harperjames.co.uk | Unranked | 42 | 27 | 22of 75 | 8of 15 | Corporate and M&A | What should we sort out before we take the business to market?Recommended 5/9 |
| bclplaw.com | Tier 1 | 42 | 1 | 19of 75 | 9of 15 | Commercial property | Best commercial property solicitors in LondonRecommended 6/9 |
| mills-reeve.com | Tier 2 | 41 | 10 | 23of 75 | 11of 15 | Regulatory | What is the FCA investigation process?Recommended 3/9 |
| clarkewillmott.com | Unranked | 41 | 7 | 19of 75 | 10of 15 | Sport | A supplier owes my company a large sum and will not pay. What are my options?Recommended 5/9 |
| duncanlewis.co.uk | Tier 5 | 40 | 3 | 17of 75 | 8of 15 | Commercial property | My agent put me into a deal I did not agree to. Can I get out of it?Recommended 6/9 |
| bakermckenzie.com | Tier 1 | 40 | 10 | 21of 75 | 10of 15 | Intellectual property | Best IP lawyers in LondonRecommended 4/9 |
| weightmans.com | Tier 2 | 39 | 10 | 27of 75 | 13of 15 | Family and divorce | I am a partner in a firm and I am being asked to leave. What should I be negotiating?Recommended 3/9 |
| Tier 1 | 39 | 0 | 8of 75 | 5of 15 | Media and reputation | A newspaper has printed something about me that I believe is inaccurate. What can I do?Recommended 7/9 | |
| brabners.com | Tier 3 | 39 | 23 | 13of 75 | 9of 15 | Sport | My football club has not paid a bonus that is in my contract. What can I do?Recommended 7/9 |
| shoosmiths.co.uk | Tier 1 | 38 | 1 | 24of 75 | 8of 15 | Corporate and M&A | A development site has a title problem. Who is liable?Recommended 4/9 |
Explore by practice area
All 15 practice areas, every question.
Every legal problem was asked with “Which UK law firms should I consider instructing?” on the end, so each row shows the question exactly as a client would put it. Choose a practice area or search a concern, then open a question to see the firms AI suggested, the law-firm websites it cited and the other sources it used.
Showing 90 questions across 15 practice areas
016 questionsBusiness immigrationView questions
026 questionsCommercial disputesView questions
036 questionsCommercial propertyView questions
046 questionsCorporate and M&AView questions
056 questionsData protectionView questions
066 questionsEmploymentView questions
076 questionsFamily and divorceView questions
086 questionsIntellectual propertyView questions
096 questionsMedia and reputationView questions
106 questionsPrivate client and probateView questions
116 questionsRegulatoryView questions
126 questionsRestructuring and insolvencyView questions
136 questionsShareholder disputesView questions
146 questionsSportView questions
156 questionsWhite-collar crimeView questions
Counts show how many of the nine answers suggested the firm, linked to its website or cited the specific page shown. The same page is counted once per answer.