How successful is Lawfront?
Reading through The Legal 500 UK 2026 rankings, I found myself asking: what impact have we had on the market for regional legal services in England?
The answer surprised me.
The Data
Across our six member firms—Brachers, Farleys, Fisher Jones Greenwood, Nelsons, Slater Heelis, and Trethowans—we've secured 81 Legal 500 rankings in regional England (excluding London). Based on my reading, that's greater breadth than any legal services business in England for regional law!
For context:
- 14 Tier 1 rankings
- 29 Tier 2 rankings
- 53% of all rankings in the top two tiers
Coverage spans South East (35 rankings), North West (20), East Midlands (19), and South West (14)
What Legal 500 Rankings Don't Tell You
Here's what matters as much as the numbers: these rankings reflect six firms that still operate as Brachers, Farleys, Fisher Jones Greenwood, Nelsons, Slater Heelis, and Trethowans. Local partnerships intact. Regional identities preserved. Client relationships maintained.
What changed: shared technology infrastructure (Project Drive, Katchr, ShareDo), operational standards, knowledge management, and the ability to recruit at platform scale rather than as individual 150-200 lawyer regional firms.
Rankings measure recognition. They don't measure client satisfaction, profitability, lawyer retention, or operational efficiency. They're one signal among many.
A Challenge to the Market
I'm genuinely curious: has anyone achieved higher combined Legal 500 recognition in regional England outside London? If you're operating a similar model and you've scored higher, I'd like to know about it.
What Constitutes Success?
This is the real question. Is success measured by:
- Total rankings breadth?
- Tier 1 concentration?
- Revenue growth?
- Lawyer satisfaction scores?
- Client retention rates?
- Something else entirely?
I'd argue it's all of these. For Lawfront, success means proving that regional firms can perform at national level without sacrificing local identity or client relationships.
The Legal 500 results suggest we're moving in the right direction.
Your Perspective?
If you're operating in regional legal services—as a firm leader, managing partner, or platform operator—what metrics matter most to you? And if you've achieved stronger Legal 500 performance than our 81 combined rankings in regional England, I'm genuinely interested in hearing about it.
The market needs more transparency on what works, not just who ranks where.
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