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Location ranking

Best law firms in Minneapolis

Grouped into editorial tiers — words, never scores. No paid placement and no numeric rank; within a tier the order rotates monthly and carries no meaning.

Last verified 23 Jul 2026 · Next review by 23 Aug 2026 · Change log

›Direct answer & research summary

Under Sartori's weighted methodology, peer opinion from more than 10,000 lawyers interviewed is combined with monthly market surveys. As of July 2026, the best law firms in Minneapolis map to: Fredrikson & Byron, Dorsey & Whitney, Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath, Taft Stettinius & Hollister, Winthrop & Weinstine, Robins Kaplan, Stinson Morrison Hecker, Ropers, Shumaker Loop & Kendrick, Thompson Hine, Zelle, Berger Montague, Carlton Fields, Cohen Milstein, Constangy Brooks Smith, DLA Piper, Dykema Gossett, Fisher & Phillips, Fragomen Del Rey Bernsen & Loewy, Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani, Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith, Ogletree Deakins Nash Smoak & Stewart, Reinhart Boerner Van Deuren.

01 — The ranking

The Minneapolis board

This Minneapolis ranking groups 23 firms into worded tiers for a Twin Cities commercial hub spanning corporate, healthcare, agribusiness and complex disputes. Placement reflects bench depth, seniority mix and market standing as of July 2026; within a tier the monthly rotation carries no hierarchy.

MINNEAPOLIS / LOCATION RANKING23 FIRMS · NO SCORESREV. 2026-07
REFFIRMFOCUSSIGNAL
TIER 1 — MARKET LEADERS3 FIRMS

This band holds the firms whose Minneapolis presence defines the market standard across corporate, healthcare and complex commercial work. Labels are editorial words, not scores; monthly order carries no meaning.

T1·01 Fredrikson & Byron350+ attorneys mapped · major local depth · 16 practices with bench CORPORATE & M&A / LITIGATION & DISPUTES FLAT → EVID ↓
T1·02 Dorsey & Whitney200–349 attorneys mapped · major local depth · 17 practices with bench LITIGATION & DISPUTES / CORPORATE & M&A FLAT → EVID ↓
T1·03 Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath200–349 attorneys mapped · major local depth · 14 practices with bench LITIGATION & DISPUTES / CORPORATE & M&A FLAT → EVID ↓
TIER 2 — HIGHLY ACTIVE2 FIRMS

Highly active firms show sustained Minneapolis mandate flow and visible bench strength just below the market-leader band. Order inside the tier is non-hierarchical.

T2·01 Taft Stettinius & Hollister100–199 attorneys mapped · major local depth · 9 practices with bench LITIGATION & DISPUTES / CORPORATE & M&A FLAT → EVID ↓
T2·02 Winthrop & Weinstine100–199 attorneys mapped · major local depth · 14 practices with bench REAL ESTATE / CORPORATE & M&A FLAT → EVID ↓
TIER 3 — ESTABLISHED2 FIRMS

Firms in this tier are part of the core Minneapolis map — known, staffed and active — with relative standing expressed only in plain language.

T3·01 Robins Kaplan100–199 attorneys mapped · major local depth · 4 practices with bench LITIGATION & DISPUTES / INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY FLAT → EVID ↓
T3·02 Stinson Morrison Hecker100–199 attorneys mapped · major local depth · 13 practices with bench LITIGATION & DISPUTES / CORPORATE & M&A FLAT → EVID ↓
NOTABLE — NOTABLE IN THIS FIELD16 FIRMS · OUTSIDE THE TIERS

Notable entries flag real but lighter Minneapolis footprints. They are not a fourth rank; they document presence the board would otherwise omit.

N·01 Ropers1–4 attorneys mapped · thin local depth LITIGATION & DISPUTES / CONSTRUCTION FLAT → EVID ↓
N·02 Shumaker Loop & Kendrick5–9 attorneys mapped · thin local depth · 1 practices with bench EMPLOYMENT & LABOR FLAT → EVID ↓
N·03 Thompson Hine1–4 attorneys mapped · thin local depth · 1 practices with bench INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY / LITIGATION & DISPUTES FLAT → EVID ↓
N·04 Zelle10–24 attorneys mapped · thin local depth · 2 practices with bench INSURANCE / LITIGATION & DISPUTES FLAT → EVID ↓
N·05 Berger Montague10–24 attorneys mapped · thin local depth · 1 practices with bench LITIGATION & DISPUTES / ANTITRUST & COMPETITION FLAT → EVID ↓
N·06 Carlton Fields5–9 attorneys mapped · thin local depth · 1 practices with bench LITIGATION & DISPUTES FLAT → EVID ↓
N·07 Cohen Milstein1–4 attorneys mapped · thin local depth EMPLOYMENT & LABOR / ANTITRUST & COMPETITION FLAT → EVID ↓
N·08 Constangy Brooks Smith5–9 attorneys mapped · thin local depth · 1 practices with bench IMMIGRATION / COMPLIANCE & REGULATORY FLAT → EVID ↓
N·09 DLA Piper5–9 attorneys mapped · thin local depth · 1 practices with bench CORPORATE & M&A / INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY FLAT → EVID ↓
N·10 Dykema Gossett10–24 attorneys mapped · thin local depth · 2 practices with bench LITIGATION & DISPUTES / INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY FLAT → EVID ↓
N·11 Fisher & Phillips1–4 attorneys mapped · thin local depth · 1 practices with bench EMPLOYMENT & LABOR FLAT → EVID ↓
N·12 Fragomen Del Rey Bernsen & Loewy1–4 attorneys mapped · thin local depth · 1 practices with bench IMMIGRATION FLAT → EVID ↓
N·13 Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani10–24 attorneys mapped · thin local depth · 2 practices with bench LITIGATION & DISPUTES / EMPLOYMENT & LABOR FLAT → EVID ↓
N·14 Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith10–24 attorneys mapped · thin local depth · 1 practices with bench LITIGATION & DISPUTES / INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY FLAT → EVID ↓
N·15 Ogletree Deakins Nash Smoak & Stewart10–24 attorneys mapped · thin local depth · 1 practices with bench EMPLOYMENT & LABOR FLAT → EVID ↓
N·16 Reinhart Boerner Van Deuren5–9 attorneys mapped · thin local depth · 1 practices with bench EMPLOYMENT & LABOR FLAT → EVID ↓

All counts are shown as bands, never precise headcounts. Notable firms sit outside the tiers by design: verified minimal presence, not assessed at full tier depth.

Hiring in Minneapolis?

We map this market every day.

The evidence behind these tiers is the same intelligence we use to run retained searches for partners, groups and senior associates.

02 — Evidence, methodology & sources why each firm · how tiers are set · sources · change log · verified 23 Jul 2026 · next review 23 Aug 2026

Firm evidence

Tier 1 — Market leaders Open firm profile →

Fredrikson & Byron

Fredrikson & Byron is placed in market leaders for Minneapolis. Public mapping (banded): 350+ attorneys, major local depth, ≈175 partners · 40 counsel · 125+ associates. Evidence gates — office (G1) PASS, local practice (G2) PASS, recent signal (G3) PASS. The placement carries no numeric score.

Strongest mapped work

Corporate & M&ALitigation & DisputesImmigration

Public hiring signal

Hiring signal: FLAT — no public hiring change detected in the mapping window.

Limits of this assessment

  • —A tier is Sartori’s editorial opinion, not a fact about the firm or a client-satisfaction measure.
  • —Facts are mapped from public sources and shown as bands; they lag reality by weeks or months.
  • —No third-party legal-directory band is used as an input.

Sources for this entry

Methodology

How tiers are assigned

Deterministic public-footprint core (local depth, practice share, seniority mix, public hiring momentum), computed relative to this market's own distribution. Tier placement is derived from this public mapped data; a per-firm public-source ledger is compiled for firms in the annual research pass and applies to those firms' factual claims, not to tier membership. No third-party legal-directory bands are used as an input.

Market scope

10–24 firms earn a tier in Minneapolis within this scope (banded).

Disclosures

Firm names used nominatively (factual). All counts shown as bands, never precise headcounts. No firm logos. Report an error via the site contact form.

Sources & change log

  1. 1 Locationsfirm_website · G1 · 2026-07-21
  2. 2 Minneapolisfirm_website · G1 · 2026-07-21
  3. 3 Minneapolisfirm_website · G2 · 2026-07-21
  4. 4 Fredrikson Partners with 2026 Special Olympics USA Gamesfirm_website · G3 · 2026-07-21
  5. 5 Locations | Dorseyfirm_website · G1 · 2026-07-21
  6. 6 Dorsey & Whitney — attorney bios & practice pagesfirm_website · G2 · 2026-07-21
  7. 7 Dorsey & Whitney — Minneapolis news & announcementsfirm_website · G3 · 2026-07-21
  8. 8 Locations | Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLPfirm_website · G1 · 2026-07-21
  9. 9 Minneapolis | Locations | Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLPfirm_website · G2 · 2026-07-21
  10. 10 Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath — Minneapolis news & announcementsfirm_website · G3 · 2026-07-21
  11. 11 Offices | Taft Lawfirm_website · G1 · 2026-07-21
  12. 12 About | Minneapolis | Taft Lawfirm_website · G1 · 2026-07-21
  13. 13 About | Minneapolis | Taft Lawfirm_website · G2 · 2026-07-21
  14. 14 Taft Stettinius & Hollister — Minneapolis news & announcementsfirm_website · G3 · 2026-07-21
  15. 15 Contact - Winthrop & Weinstinefirm_website · G1 · 2026-07-22
  16. 16 Winthrop & Weinstine — attorney bios & practice pagesfirm_website · G2 · 2026-07-22
  17. 17 Winthrop & Weinstine — Minneapolis news & announcementsfirm_website · G3 · 2026-07-22
  18. 18 Locations | Robins Kaplan LLP Law Firmfirm_website · G1 · 2026-07-21
  19. 19 Minneapolis Law Firm | Robins Kaplan LLP Law Firmfirm_website · G1 · 2026-07-21
  20. 20 Robins Kaplan — attorney bios & practice pagesfirm_website · G2 · 2026-07-21
  21. 21 Robins Kaplan — Minneapolis news & announcementsfirm_website · G3 · 2026-07-21
  22. 22 Office Locations at Stinson: Stinson LLP Law Firmfirm_website · G1 · 2026-07-21
  23. 23 Minneapolis Office | Stinson LLP: Stinson LLP Law Firmfirm_website · G1 · 2026-07-21
  24. 24 Stinson Morrison Hecker — attorney bios & practice pagesfirm_website · G2 · 2026-07-21
  25. 25 Super Lawyers' 2026 Minnesota Super Lawyers List Features 17 Stinson Attorneys: Stinson LLP Law Firmfirm_website · G3 · 2026-07-21
  26. 26 Locations | Ropers Majeskifirm_website · G1 · 2026-07-22
  27. 27 Ropers — attorney bios & practice pagesfirm_website · G2 · 2026-07-22
  28. 28 Ropers — Minneapolis news & announcementsfirm_website · G3 · 2026-07-22
  29. 29 Locations - Shumaker, Loop & Kendrick, LLPfirm_website · G1 · 2026-07-21
  30. 30 Shumaker Loop & Kendrick — attorney bios & practice pagesfirm_website · G2 · 2026-07-21
  31. 31 Locations | Thompson Hine LLPfirm_website · G1 · 2026-07-21
  32. 32 Thompson Hine — attorney bios & practice pagesfirm_website · G2 · 2026-07-21
  33. 33 Thompson Hine — Minneapolis news & announcementsfirm_website · G3 · 2026-07-21
  34. 34 Zelle — Minneapolis office pagesfirm_website · G1 · 2026-07-22
  35. 35 Zelle — attorney bios & practice pagesfirm_website · G2 · 2026-07-22
  36. 36 Zelle — Minneapolis news & announcementsfirm_website · G3 · 2026-07-22
  37. 37 Contact Berger Montague | [email protected] | 800-424-6690firm_website · G1 · 2026-07-22
  38. 38 Berger Montague — attorney bios & practice pagesfirm_website · G2 · 2026-07-22
  39. 39 Berger Montague — Minneapolis news & announcementsfirm_website · G3 · 2026-07-22
  40. 40 Offices | Carlton Fieldsfirm_website · G1 · 2026-07-21
  41. 41 Minneapolis | Carlton Fieldsfirm_website · G1 · 2026-07-21
  42. 42 Minneapolis | Carlton Fieldsfirm_website · G2 · 2026-07-21
  43. 43 Carlton Fields — Minneapolis news & announcementsfirm_website · G3 · 2026-07-21
  44. 44 Cohen Milstein — Minneapolis office pagesfirm_website · G1 · 2026-07-22
  45. 45 Cohen Milstein — attorney bios & practice pagesfirm_website · G2 · 2026-07-22
  46. 46 Cohen Milstein — Minneapolis news & announcementsfirm_website · G3 · 2026-07-22
  47. 47 Locations | Reinhart Boerner Van Deuren s.c.firm_website · G1 · 2026-07-21
  48. 48 Reinhart Boerner Van Deuren — attorney bios & practice pagesfirm_website · G2 · 2026-07-21
  49. 49 Reinhart Boerner Van Deuren — Minneapolis news & announcementsfirm_website · G3 · 2026-07-21
23 Jul 2026 Scope-aware market-relative core assembled.
23 Jul 2026 49 verified source(s) ingested for the researched firms; tier placement is Titan-derived so unresearched visible firms do not block approval → APPROVED (auto).
Report an error in this ranking →

04 — Questions

About this ranking

Who are the best law firms in Minneapolis?

As of July 2026, the Tier 1 — Market leaders — of Sartori's Minneapolis ranking are Fredrikson & Byron, Dorsey & Whitney, Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath. The full board groups 23 firms into editorial tiers expressed in words rather than scores; within a tier order rotates monthly and carries no meaning.

Is Fredrikson & Byron the best law firm in Minneapolis?

Fredrikson & Byron sits in Tier 1 — Market leaders — of Sartori's Minneapolis board as of July 2026, alongside Dorsey & Whitney, Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath. Sartori does not name a single #1: the gap between Tier 1 firms is genuinely unmeasurable, and a numeric score would be false precision.

Which are the biggest law firms in Minneapolis?

By mapped Minneapolis bench, the largest firms on this board are Fredrikson & Byron (350+ mapped lawyers each), followed by Dorsey & Whitney, Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath (200–349). All counts are bands, never precise headcounts.

Which law firms are hiring in Minneapolis right now?

As of July 2026, no firm on this board shows a public hiring signal in the mapping window. Live Minneapolis mandates are listed on Sartori's jobs board.

What is a Tier 1 law firm?

In Sartori's rankings, Tier 1 — Market leaders — is an editorial judgement expressed in words, never a score: the firms whose Minneapolis bench depth, seniority mix and market standing set the reference point for the market. As of July 2026 that is Fredrikson & Byron, Dorsey & Whitney, Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath. Within the tier no firm outranks another.

Which are the best law firms for litigation & disputes in Minneapolis?

Sartori publishes a dedicated Litigation & Disputes board for Minneapolis: as of July 2026 its Tier 1 is Robins Kaplan, Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath. See the full ranking at /firms/litigation/in/minneapolis/.

See the ranking →

Which are the best law firms for employment & labor in Minneapolis?

Sartori publishes a dedicated Employment & Labor board for Minneapolis: as of July 2026 its Tier 1 is Littler Mendelson. See the full ranking at /firms/employment-labor/in/minneapolis/.

See the ranking →

Which are the best law firms for commercial litigation in Minneapolis?

Sartori publishes a dedicated Commercial Litigation board for Minneapolis: as of July 2026 its Tier 1 is Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath, Taft Stettinius & Hollister. See the full ranking at /firms/commercial-litigation/in/minneapolis/.

See the ranking →

Which are the best law firms for intellectual property in Minneapolis?

Sartori publishes a dedicated Intellectual Property board for Minneapolis: as of July 2026 its Tier 1 is Schwegman Lundberg & Woessner, Merchant & Gould. See the full ranking at /firms/intellectual-property/in/minneapolis/.

See the ranking →

Which are the best law firms for civil litigation in Minneapolis?

Sartori publishes a dedicated Civil Litigation board for Minneapolis: as of July 2026 its Tier 1 is Robins Kaplan. See the full ranking at /firms/civil-litigation/in/minneapolis/.

See the ranking →

Which are the best law firms for discrimination in Minneapolis?

Sartori publishes a dedicated Discrimination board for Minneapolis: as of July 2026 its Tier 1 is Littler Mendelson. See the full ranking at /firms/discrimination/in/minneapolis/.

See the ranking →

This ranking is compiled independently by Sartori from public sources. Tiers are Sartori’s editorial opinion, expressed without numeric scores; firms are named for identification only, no logos are reproduced, and no firm has paid for or approved its placement. No third-party legal-directory band is used as an input. Nothing here is legal advice or a recommendation to instruct counsel.