The annual Legal 500 Asia Pacific listings have been released with the New Zealand overview saying the firms traditionally regarded as the local elite have strong brands and remain dominant in many practice areas.

However, the commentary says there is growing room for boutique practices to flourish in sectors such as corporate and employment law.

The rankings are decided through research which includes interviews with specialist lawyers, chief executives, practice managers and clients (often in-house counsel). The researchers use set questionnaires and a wide-ranging set of criteria to focus on the "bench strength" of each team.

The UK-based Legal 500 has been established for 27 years and is published by Legalease Ltd. Firms and individuals are ranked in a number of areas of practice.

New Zealand firms which are ranked in the top three groups in each of the categories are as follows. Further information and details of individuals who are ranked may be found by following the link on the category:

Email: