In light of the recent Legal 500 submission deadline, we wanted to share with you our key Legal 500 2024 findings and insights pertaining to the Polish market. The Legal 500 EMEA 2024 rankings for Poland present a comprehensive overview of the state of the current legal market, highlighting key changes and trends among law firms and individual practitioners across various practice areas. This analysis delves into the most significant movements, identifies top-performing firms and individuals, and explores the competitive landscape in Poland’s legal sector.
Key Findings
In 2024, Polish law firms and individual practitioners saw a total of 261 movements in the rankings, with 169 changes in the firm rankings and 92 in the individuals. Notably, Dispute Resolution was the most active practice area, accounting for 14% of all firm-related movements. This year also saw 9 firms promoted to Tier 1, while 31 lawyers entered the Leading Individuals category, and 2 new lawyers joined the Hall of Fame.
Overall, 68% of the movements concerning practice areas were positive (Up or New), while only 32% were negative (Out or Down). For individual rankings, a remarkable 80% of all moves were positive, underlining strong performances by legal professionals across Poland.
Firm Rankings Overview
The Dispute Resolution sector stood out with 23 moves, making it the most active practice area. Among these, 9 firms improved in the rankings, and 6 new firms were added, reflecting increased participation and competition in this area. Conversely, the practice areas of Tax, Investment Funds, Insurance, and Private Equity experienced minimal movement, with only 2 changes each, indicating a more stable environment in these fields.
Several practice areas saw significant changes:
- Employment saw a notable increase in firms entering Tier 4, demonstrating the competitive nature of this always changing field of work.
- Construction introduced a “Firms to Watch” category, signaling emerging firms’ potential in this sector, while Data Privacy and Data Protection removed such a category, hinting at possibly greater market consolidation, among other reasons.
Individual Rankings Overview
In the individual rankings, Real Estate led with 14 moves, followed by Dispute Resolution with 9 moves. This indicates the importance of these sectors in Poland’s legal market. In contrast, sectors like Energy & Natural Resources, Investment Funds, and Tax saw minimal or no changes, underscoring a stable pool of experts in these areas.
Other noteworthy developments included:
- New additions to the Hall of Fame in Commercial Corporate and M&A and Real Estate.
- The Rising Star category expanded across most practice areas, highlighting the continued emergence of new talent and the robust health of the legal market at the more junior end of the spectrum.
- In Intellectual Property (IP), two new individuals were added to the Next Generation Partner category, while one was removed.
Top Performing Firms and Individuals
Several law firms and individual practitioners excelled in the 2024 rankings:
- Dentons, Baker McKenzie, and CMS were among the best-performing firms, particularly in sectors like Banking & Finance, Real Estate, and Dispute Resolution.
- DLA Piper and Clifford Chance also showed strong performances, with significant improvements across various practice areas.
On an individual level, lawyers from firms like Rymarz Zdort Maruta, Greenberg Traurig, and Wardynski & Partners received considerable recognition, with multiple professionals climbing to the Hall of Fame and Leading Individuals categories.
Conclusion
The Legal 500 EMEA 2024 rankings for Poland illustrate a dynamic legal market with significant improvements in key practice areas such as Dispute Resolution and Real Estate. The positive trends in individual rankings reflect the high caliber of legal expertise available in Poland. As international firms continue to strengthen their positions in the Polish market, the competition remains intense, highlighting the importance of strategic focus and specialization for law firms aiming to excel in this environment.
