Edwards regularly receives high rankings in independent legal directories such as "The Legal 500" and "Chambers Directory UK". He was described in 2007, for instance, in the former as 'one of the leading employment lawyers in the country', and in the latter as 'Mr. Employment'. In 2011, "Chambers and Partners]]" stated that he is "admired for his legendary technical ability", and added in 2012 that he has been "roundly praise" for his "undoubted expertise, wealth of experience, interpersonal skills and calm approach at difficult times." The 2013 editions of the directories rated him as "highly recommended" and a "top drawer" employment lawyer respectively. In 2014, "Chambers" noted that he "is renowned for his expertise in the field and technical proficiency" and ranked him as Liverpool's only Band I specialist employment lawyer, a ranking he retained in 2015, when he was again recommended by Chambers In 2016, "The Legal 500" described him as “first class”. He was again recognised as one of the leading lawyers in his field in the 2017 and 2018 directories of "Chambers"; the former described him as "a fantastic employment lawyer".