Germany Submissions
Each ranking edition page serves as a dedicated gateway for firms preparing submissions for the upcoming guide research. Firms can explore the practice areas under review, understand the scope of research for that market, and access the templates and guidelines required for participation. Key deadlines for editorial submissions and client referees are clearly outlined, alongside links to the submissions portal and supporting materials.
Whether your firm operates in a single jurisdiction or across multiple markets, these pages set out the practice areas included in the research scope for the markets covered.
The research schedule and guidelines for Legal 500 Germany edition are now below.
Referee form deadline: 29 May 2026
Editorial submission deadline: 29 May 2026
Research schedule info
Firm interviews conducted: June – September 2026
Publication: February 2027
We will soon be starting research for the 2027 edition of
Legal 500 Germany, and invite you to provide us with editorial
submissions according to the attached guidelines.
Editorial submissions and referee spreadsheets must reach us no
later than Friday 29 May 2026. Please note that this year’s research
for Germany will be conducted in English, and we will only be
accepting documents submitted in English.The following guidelines will help you to prepare a submission.
Law firms appear in the editorial sections of Legal 500 free
of charge. Any queries regarding directory listings (i.e. paid-for
advertising entries) should be addressed to James Messeter (email
[email protected]).
If you have any queries, please contact us via legal500.com/
faqs, although you may first wish to check the Frequently Asked
Questions PDF at: legal500.com/the-legal-500-submissioninformation/germany-submissions.
Submissions should be concise and focus on what makes your practice stand out.
Providing referees isn’t required, but client and peer feedback is important to our research because it offers independent, third-party validation of your work.
Referee form
NB: This template is in .xslx format. Do not resave it in any other format as it may not be compatible with our system.
Editorial Submission Template
NB: This template is in .docx format. Do not resave it in any other format as it may not be compatible with our system.
Guidelines and Practical Resources for Submissions
Practice areas
Cities and practice areas we are researching for the Deutschland 2027 edition include:
*NEW: Please note that submissions and referee forms must be submitted in English only.
Changes
This year, we are introducing a new industry focus Automotive section. This section will highlight firms that demonstrate notable expertise and a strong track record in advising clients across the automotive sector, including manufacturers, suppliers, and related technologies.
Please note that we are no longer requesting separate submissions for our spotlight categories. If a firm’s submission for the wider practice area demonstrates expertise in a particular spotlight, it will automatically be considered for inclusion in that category.
Practice areas
Cities and practice areas we are researching for the Deutschland 2027 edition include:
- Antitrust
Antitrust litigation
- Financial services: regulatory
- Fintech
- Investment funds
- Lending and borrowing
- Project finance
- Real estate finance
- Debt capital markets High-Yield
Equity capital markets - Equity capital markets
- Structured finance and securitisation
Derivatives
- Compliance
- Internal Investigations
- Corporat
Corporate and shareholder disputes - M&A: large deals (€500m+)
- M&A: mid-sized deals (€100m-€500m)
- M&A: smaller deals (sub-€100m)
- Arbitration (including international arbitration)
- Commercial litigation
- Financial services: litigation
- Product liability
- Employment
- Food law and consumer goods
- Artificial Intelligence (AI)
- Automotive NEW
- Energy
Regulatory
Transactions - Healthcare and Life Sciences
Drug advertising
law
Regulatory Transactions
Medical law· - Telecoms
Regulatory
Transactions
- Data law
- Information technology and digitalisation
Transactions
- Advice to insurers
- Insurance litigation
- Patent litigation: Solicitors
Transactions - Patent prosecution
- Patent litigation: Patent lawyers
- Trade marks
Design law
Trade mark administration and strategic advice
- Unfair competition
- Entertainment
Copyright disputes
Gaming
Digital content
- Press and publishing
- Private clients and non-profits
- PE transactions: large deals (€500m+)
- PE transactions: mid-sized deals (€100m-€500m)
Fund formation
- Venture capital
- Commercial administrative law
- Planning and environment
Product-related advice
Waste management - Public procurement
- State aid
- Construction (including construction litigation)
Plant construction - Project development
- Real estate
- Insolvency
- Restructuring
- Tax
Criminal tax law
- Foreign trade law
Investment control
Sanctions - Trade, distribution and logistics
Supply chain compliance
- Advice to the transport sector
- Maritime and shipping
Ship financing
- Advice to companies
- Advice to individuals
Commercial law We invite local firms as well as major national and international law firms with offices in the respective cities to submit overviews of their practices, highlighting areas of specialism. Within this section, we place special emphasis on regional clients and instructions.
- Berlin
- Cologne
- Düsseldorf
- Frankfurt
- Hamburg
- Munich
- Stuttgart
We’re excited to launch our new, streamlined Legal 500 submission portal, designed to make the entire process clearer, faster and easier to navigate.
To send your submissions to us, please visit submissions.legal500.com and follow the onscreen prompts to send us new documents.