The 2025 Baltic Kantar Prospera survey of top tier law firms highlights the continued strength and competitiveness of the legal market across Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. With feedback from 375 organisations and private clients, the survey offers a valuable snapshot of the client perceptions and priorities shaping the region’s legal landscape. Sorainen is recognised among the top performers in the key categories and ranks first in the “Best legal competence” category, for the fifth consecutive year. In Estonia, Sorainen was also ranked as the #1 law firm overall.

In a market known for its high professional standards and close competition, legal competence remains the most critical differentiator. This year’s survey results show a tight race among the leading firms, with Sorainen ranked first in overall legal competence for the fifth consecutive year. The firm is also ranked first in 11 out of the 14 competence scoreboards for legal practice areas (compared to five of 14 last year), including in Banking & Finance, Competition & EU, Tax, Corporate Advisory, Employment, Energy and Intellectual Property.

“Client feedback is the most valuable measure of our success,” said Eva Berlaus, managing partner at Sorainen. “Being recognised for legal competence across key fields shows that our efforts to improve and adapt are paying off – and it inspires us to keep on building a firm that earns trust through substance, not just reputation.”

Source: 2025 Prospera Tier 1 Law Firm Review Baltics

Client trust and willingness to recommend

The survey reveals a notable shift in client sentiment, with three firms – including Sorainen – receiving top scores in the “willingness to recommend” category. Now among this trio, Sorainen had been in third place last year. This level of parity underscores the closeness of the race between the leaders and the high expectations clients place on their legal advisors.

Across the Baltics, organisations are looking for more than just legal accuracy – they value firms that understand their business, offer strategic insight, and adapt to changing needs. As Eva Berlaus puts it:

“You will find hardly any industry or market with such close competition between the leaders. This is, of course, a great advantage for the clients in our region – having a range of great choices when selecting top-quality legal advice and services. For us this is fuel for our motivation to improve: to adapt to the changing needs of clients, utilise advanced technologies – like AiVar, our in-house AI tool – always develop our competences, and streamline internal processes”.

This growing parity among top firms highlights a broader trend: by itself, legal excellence is no longer enough – clients are rewarding those firms which combine it with agility, innovation and a deep understanding of their world.

Source: 2025 Prospera Tier 1 Law Firm Review Baltics

International competence on the rise

As Baltic companies expand their international footprint, demand for cross-border legal expertise remains strong. Firms that can support clients in navigating complex international projects are gaining recognition. Sorainen’s solid experience with international projects and the strength of its partnership network has clearly been recognised by clients, lifting the firm to the top ranking in this category.

“Being a top law firm in such a strongly competitive market gives us confidence to explore new horizons – helping our clients succeed in international projects. This has been our focus in recent years, and I am happy this effort has been recognised by clients,” said Eva Berlaus.

Source: 2025 Prospera Tier 1 Law Firm Review Baltics

Sorainen placed first in 11 out of 14 legal competence categories, including:

  • Banking & Finance
  • Competition & EU
  • Public Procurement
  • Employment
  • Intellectual Property
  • Tax
  • Real Estate
  • Private Equity
  • Energy
  • Corporate Advisory
  • Government Relations

Survey based on feedback from 375 Baltic-based organisations

The Prospera Law Firm Review is an independent annual survey conducted by Swedish analytics firm Kantar SIFO. In 2025, interviews were conducted with 375 organisations across the Baltics, all of which had spent at least EUR 15,000 on outsourced legal services in the past year. Notably, 42% of respondents had spent over EUR 50,000. In total, 69% of the respondent group were made up of top executives, with the remainder being corporate lawyers and heads of legal departments.