Lexpert and American Lawyer reveal Canada’s 500 leading lawyers of 2023

This year's directory reflects high survey response rates among the top legal practitioners
Lexpert and American Lawyer reveal Canada’s 500 leading lawyers of 2023

The 2023 online edition of The Lexpert/American Lawyer Guide to the Leading 500 Lawyers in Canada is now available, providing an essential reference for purchasers of Canadian legal services.

The 25th edition of this comprehensive directory profiles the most highly regarded names in the Canadian legal profession across more than 30 practice areas, such as banking and financial institutions, commercial arbitration, commodity tax/customs, computer and IT law, data protection and privacy, environmental law, intellectual property, and international trade regulation, among many others.  

The legal professionals and firms in this directory were identified based on a nationwide annual survey launched in 1994. Each year’s ranking considers the evolution of the legal marketplace, including the lateral movement and retirement of practitioners. Determining the levels among the Most Frequently, Consistently, and Repeatedly Recommended lawyers and firms is consistently done with discretion.  

In preparation for this edition, Lexpert® made 20,094 completed survey requests to lawyers at law firms and 5,682 additional requests to corporate counsel. The response rate from law firm practitioners is 76.28 percent, while that for corporate counsel is 2.39 percent. 

“We attribute this success to one principal factor: we do not conduct the survey work by a random, unsolicited mailing of questionnaires. We sent the questionnaire to leading lawyers selected from the previous year’s survey. If we do not receive it back within a set time, we do follow-up calls,” says Tim Wilbur, global managing editor – law at Lexpert®.

“The approach we have pursued has required a very significant investment of time but has resulted in important contributions from most leading members of the profession and, we believe, provides an accurate guide as to who the legal community regards as the leading lawyers in Canada.”

View the Guide here to find out the practice areas and the 500 most prominent names in the legal profession.