The International Financial Law Review has released its 2019 rankings. The IFLR 1000 rankings have been published since 1990 and cover over 120 jurisdictions. Research ranks law firms based on three key criteria: transactional evidence from the previous 12 months, provided by firms, peer feedback from a survey of law firm partners, and client feedback from a survey of corporate and in-house clients.
The firm rankings are also produced alongside rankings of individual lawyers. There are 108 New Zealand individuals who are ranked in the IFLR 1000 for 2019. The rankings are graded as Expert Consultant (1 lawyer), Highly Regarded (57), Market Leader (4), Notable Practitioner (42) and Rising Star (4).
New Zealand law firm rankings
Banking and Finance
| Tier 1 | Tier 2 | Tier 3 | Other Notable |
| Bell Gully | MinterEllisonRuddWatts | Anderson Lloyd | Anthony Harper |
| Buddle Findlay | Simpson Grierson | DLA Piper NZ | |
| Chapman Tripp | Kensington Swan | ||
| Mayne Wetherell | Lowndes | ||
| Russell McVeagh |
Capital Markets
| Tier 1 | Tier 2 | Tier 3 |
| Bell Gully | Buddle Findlay | Harmos Horton Lusk |
| Chapman Tripp | MinterEllisonRuddWatts | Kensington Swan |
| Russell McVeagh | Simpson Grierson | Mayne Wetherell |
Mergers & Acquisitions
| Tier 1 | Tier 2 | Tier 3 | Other Notables |
| Bell Gully | Buddle Findlay | Anderson Lloyd | Anthony Harper |
| Chapman Tripp | Harmos Horton Lusk | DLA Piper NZ | Lowndes |
| Russell McVeagh | MinterEllisonRuddWatts | Kensington Swan | Webb Henderson |
| Simpson Grierson | Mayne Wetherell |
Project Development
| Tier 1 | Tier 2 | Tier 3 |
| Bell Gully | Buddle Findlay | Anderson Lloyd |
| Chapman Tripp | MinterEllisonRuddWatts | ChanceryGreen |
| Russell McVeagh | Simpson Grierson | DLA Piper NZ |
| Greenwood Roche | ||
| Kensington Swan |
Restructuring and Insolvency
| Tier 1 | Tier 2 | Tier 3 |
| Bell Gully | Russell McVeagh | Anthony Harper |
| Buddle Findlay | Simpson Grierson | Kensington Swan |
| Chapman Tripp | Lowndes | |
| MinterEllisonRuddWatts | Mayne Wetherell | |