The energy industry is a massive, heavily-regulated sector involved in some of the largest, most complex and most drawn-out legal issues of our time. It would be hard to find a law firm that did not count energy firms as major clients, and many of the top firms pride themselves on the excellent work they do for firms both in the US and around the world.

The list below is not an attempt to quantify the number of hours spent by attorneys, or even rate the overall profile of the firm within the golden circle of law firms themselves, much less quantify the value of the deals each firm has worked. Based on conversations with energy industry sources, these are the firms getting the most attention from insiders, and this list lays out how they are perceived.

Throughout this week, Breaking Energy will feature the top fives in various categories important for the energy industry. Find the posts through the “Top5” tag and look for the “Top Fives” image, above.