U.S. News & World Report’s Best Law Firms list is out, and with the way it took shape, it got me wondering: Is it better to make the list but land in the third tier, or not make it at all?

The much-anticipated rankings break down the top firms by 81 practice areas, but instead of numerically ranking them, U.S. News tiered firms nationally and in metropolitan areas. Potential clients can search for a firm based on location and practice area.

The tiered structure makes the list much more inclusive than a typical top 100 list ever could, and it allows firms that land in the top tier to call themselves just that — tops at what they do, rather than, say, a quarter of the way down the list.

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