HM
Harlan & Mercer LLP
Certified 2026Trial-first plaintiffs' firm with $2.1B+ recovered, including a $110M construction-fall verdict in Kings County in 2024.
City guide
Top Law Firms in New York, NY
New York City is home to more than 80,000 practicing attorneys — and to some of the most complex courts in the country. We've certified 612 firms across the five boroughs, from white-shoe Midtown practices to neighborhood immigration offices in Jackson Heights. Browse by what you need, compare verified results and book a free consultation.
612Certified firms in NYC
28Practice areas covered
4.7Avg. verified rating
$450–$1,200Typical hourly rate
89%Offer free consultation
41%Multilingual staff
Browse by legal need
All 28 practice areas in NYCLaw firms in New York by practice area
Personal Injury148 certified firms · Avg 4.8Family & Divorce86 certified firms · Avg 4.7Criminal Defense72 certified firms · Avg 4.8Immigration94 certified firms · Avg 4.7Real Estate58 certified firms · Avg 4.6Employment47 certified firms · Avg 4.7Business & Corporate63 certified firms · Avg 4.6Estate Planning44 certified firms · Avg 4.8
Highest-ranked law firms in New York City
Across all practice areas · Sept 2026GB
Goldstein Bhatt Family Law
Certified 2026High-net-worth divorce and custody boutique; fellows of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, with a dedicated forensic accounting team.
RO
Reyes Okonkwo Defense Group
Certified 2026Former Manhattan ADAs and a federal defender handling state felonies, SDNY/EDNY federal cases and white-collar investigations. Available 24/7 for arraignments.
PA
Park & Adeyemi Immigration
Certified 2026Employment-based visas, family petitions and removal defense in seven languages. Among the highest asylum approval rates in the New York immigration court.
Know before you hire
Hiring a lawyer in New York City: what's different
New York's court system is unusually layered. Most civil cases over $50,000 are heard in the Supreme Court of the county (Manhattan is New York County; Brooklyn is Kings), while criminal matters move through Criminal Court before indictment and Supreme Court after. Federal cases fall in the Southern District (Manhattan, the Bronx, Westchester) or Eastern District (Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island, Long Island). Firms that practice regularly in your specific courthouse know the judges, the clerks and the calendars — and that matters.
What lawyers cost in NYC
Hourly rates for experienced attorneys in Manhattan run from roughly $450 for a solo practitioner to $1,200 or more at large firms. Personal injury firms work on contingency (typically 33⅓%). Uncontested divorces are often flat-fee ($3,500–$7,500), and immigration matters are almost always flat-fee by petition type.
Deadlines that catch New Yorkers out
- Personal injury: 3 years from the accident — but only 90 days to file a Notice of Claim against the City, MTA or NYCHA.
- Medical malpractice: 2 years and 6 months from the malpractice (with a discovery rule for foreign objects and missed cancer diagnoses).
- Wrongful termination / discrimination: 3 years under the NYC Human Rights Law; 300 days to file with the EEOC.
Verify before you hire. Every attorney at a certified firm has been checked against the New York State Unified Court System's attorney registration database. You can run the same check yourself at iapps.courts.state.ny.us.
By borough & neighborhood
Certified firms near you
Frequently asked
Hiring a law firm in New York — FAQ
How do I check if a New York lawyer is licensed?
Search the New York State Unified Court System attorney registration database. It shows registration status, year admitted and any public discipline. Every attorney at a LFL Certified firm has already passed this check.
Do New York law firms offer free consultations?
89% of certified firms in NYC do. Personal injury, criminal defense and immigration firms almost always offer a free initial call; some family-law and business firms charge a reduced flat fee for a first strategy session.
Should I hire a firm in my borough?
Not necessarily — many Manhattan firms appear regularly in Brooklyn and Queens courts. What matters more is regular practice in the specific courthouse handling your case. Firm profiles list the counties where each firm most often appears.
Can I get legal help in a language other than English?
41% of certified NYC firms have multilingual staff. Filter any list by language — Spanish, Mandarin, Cantonese, Russian, Bengali, Haitian Creole and Korean are the most common.