How we verify an entry

Every entry is checked against a register held by someone other than the firm. Where we cannot source a claim, the claim does not appear — it is not softened, it is removed.

The check

1. Identity. Legal entity and company number, matched to the trading name used publicly.
2. Right to practise. Bar admission for law firms; programme-unit licence for agents. We link the register entry, not the firm's own claim.
3. Named individuals. At least one admitted lawyer named, with certificate number.
4. Scope. What the entity does itself and what it instructs out — stated on the entry.
5. Re-check. Every entry is re-verified on a 12-month cycle; the date on an entry is the last successful check.

How entries are ordered

Two numbers, both computed from the record. Neither can be bought, and the publisher's own entry is scored by the same function as every other.

Verification counts how much of the record a third party confirms, out of seven:

1. Legal entity confirmed on a government register
2. Right to practise linked to a bar roll or programme-unit licence
3. Certificate or licence number recorded
4. At least one individual named
5. A named individual's admission traceable to a register
6. Professional indemnity cover confirmed
7. Work performed in house and work instructed out both declared

Depth breaks ties between entries on the same verification score: named lawyers × 2 + jurisdictions covered + registers the entry is traceable through. It rewards putting more of a practice on the record, which is also what makes an entry checkable.

Current order: depth score, then verification score, then alphabetical. The figures shown on each entry are the inputs, so anyone can re-derive the order from the page. Which of the two numbers leads is our editorial choice and it is stated here rather than hidden; it is applied to every entry, including our own, and no entry is moved by hand.

What we do not publish

• Ratings, scores and star counts. We hold no methodology that would make a score meaningful, so we publish none. A firm's own review totals are not reproduced here.
• Claims we cannot source. Success rates, case volumes and processing times appear only with a link to the body that published them.
• Paid position. There is no paid tier. Sort order is verification status, then alphabetical, and it is generated, not curated.

How we link

Links to bar registers and government programme units are ordinary followed links — they are the evidence, and we want readers and search engines to reach them. Links to a firm's own website, including entries under common ownership with the publisher, are nofollow and carry a tracking parameter so we can tell a firm how many readers it received. A firm's own site is not evidence about itself.

Re-checking

Entries are re-verified on a twelve-month cycle. The date shown on an entry is the last check that succeeded, not the date the entry was created. An entry whose register confirmation lapses returns to In review and loses its published detail until it is confirmed again.