The Brief:
MinterEllison holds top spot for lawyers aged 40+, with Gilbert + Tobin right behind in 2nd.
Senior lawyers rate their firm’s culture highest at 87% positive, but zero rate their pay as “good” or “excellent”.
MinterEllison has held onto the top spot in Lawyers Weekly’s 2025-26 Top 25 Attraction Firms ranking among lawyers aged 40 and over.
The list, now in its 11th edition, asks lawyers in private practice which firms they’d consider moving to. This cut looks specifically at partners, principals, senior lawyers and other legal professionals.
Gilbert + Tobin held steady in 2nd. Mallesons jumped from 6th to 3rd. Allens dropped from 1st to 4th.
Lander & Rogers, HWLE and Macpherson Kelley all crack the top 10 for the first time. Ashurst Perkins Coie and Hall & Wilcox are the biggest fallers, dropping two and three places.
Young lawyers are telling a different story, having just crowned Mallesons their top pick.
The rankings
2025-26 | 2024-25 | Law Firm | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
1 | 2 | MinterEllison | +1 |
2 | 2 | Gilbert + Tobin | - |
3 | 6 | Mallesons | +3 |
4 | 1 | Allens | -3 |
5 | - | Lander & Rogers | - |
6 | 3 | Hall & Wilcox | -3 |
7 | 5 | Ashurst Perkins Coie | -2 |
8 | - | HWLE Lawyers | - |
9 | - | Macpherson Kelley | - |
10 | 10 | Baker McKenzie | - |
What matters
Culture is the one thing firms are getting right. 87% of senior lawyers rate their firm’s culture as “excellent” or “good”, even higher than the 83% young lawyers gave. Just 9% call it “poor” or “terrible”.
Pay is where it all falls apart. Senior lawyers are far angrier than their junior colleagues. Not a single lawyer aged 40+ rated their remuneration as “good” or “excellent”. 71% called it “poor” or “terrible”, a brutal flip from last year when 77% were positive and only 10% negative.
Wellbeing has cratered too. Zero senior lawyers rated their firm’s support as “good” or “excellent”, down from 80% positive last year. 56% now call it “poor” or “terrible”, well above the 8% of juniors who said the same.
Recognition isn’t faring much better. 55% of senior lawyers say their contributions aren’t being adequately recognised, and negative ratings here are up 42% year on year.
Source: Lawyers Weekly