Ranked Lawyer
Ranked Lawyer
Ranked Lawyer

Jun 21, 2024

How to Obtain an Individual Lawyer Ranking with Chambers/Legal 500

The Key Tips to Obtaining Leading Individual, Eminent Practicioner, Up and Coming, Next Generation, Rising Star and Star Associate Recognition

Nick Voyatzis

Founder

Securing an individual ranking with Chambers and Legal 500 can catapult a lawyer’s legal career, as well as the fortunes of their wider team, to new heights.

Let’s look at some essentials, and a wealth of pro-tips, to ensure that your firm optimises its potential for individual rankings:

1.     Avoid Creating Choice Paralysis

Pushing for too many names to be ranked can create choice paralysis for the researcher. Have you ever been caught deciding between 5 decent looking shows to watch on Netflix and, after exhaustive deliberation, ended up watching none of them? The concept is similar here.

Let’s say you have 7 partners who want to be ranked, and all of them are leading on c.3 matters each, it will be very difficult for the researcher to deem any of them as an obvious forerunner. They will also be looking to peer/referees for feedback, meaning that an abundance of names can cast the net too wide and result in fewer endorsements for each.

As such, the best approach is a curated one. You should profile all of your key names, as to showcase team depth, but explicitly point out the 2-3 names you would like the researcher to focus on. Once these names are added, advocate other names in the following years.

2.     Ensure Your Key Candidates Feature in the Work

While at Legal 500, I would often see firms pushing names who were not feature in any of the exhibited work highlights. This scenario is a non-starter, a lawyer cannot be considered if they have no involvement in your annual standout matters.

I would generally advise that senior partners (i.e. Legal 500 Leading Individual or Chambers Band 1-5 candidates) will need to be leading at least 4 standout matters, and ideally even more, if they are to be considered.

For junior partners (i.e. Legal 500 Next Generation and Chambers Up and Coming), you should try and aim for the lawyer to be leading (or at least co-leading) on 3 matters.

For associates and senior associates, they are not necessarily expected to be leading their own caseload, though this varies across practice areas, i.e. it is fairly common for non-partners to take lead on Private Client work though this is basically unheard of in Corporate/M&A.

Nevertheless, you should again aim for involvement in at least 3 matters, and in a scenario where they are playing a supporting role to a partner, it will be a huge bonus if you can use the matter description to detail their specific involvement.

It is important to remember that, once a lawyer is ranked, it is very rare to see them removed. Be sure to include a few matters from your already ranked lawyers, especially the real standouts which will help the wider practice ranking, though rest assured that you can dial down their involvement in the submission to free up space for currently unranked names to feature.

3.     Demonstrate ‘Thought Leadership’

Aside from the quality of their work, a fairly objective indication of your lawyers’ repute within the market is any thought leadership work they undertake. This can include conferences, article features, publications and seminars etc. It is also worth referring to any distinguishing experience, e.g. let’s say a competition lawyer who previously had an in-house role at the regulator, and any individual awards they have garnered from other publications.

4.     Briefly Focus on Their Track Record

Naturally, the work highlights in your submission will focus on matters from the past 12 months though I would use the lawyer bio section to briefly refer to historical standouts. For example, something as simple as the (completely fictional) examples below will help create the idea that, not only has your lawyer showcased a wealth of recent standouts, but they have also operated at a high level of for numerous years:

‘John’s track record includes:

·       In 2022. representing Blackstone in a $250m public to private acquisition of X company’

·       In 2021, acting for Google in the $2bn cross-border sale of its Y subsidiary’

·       In 2020, overseeing Microsoft’s $30bn purchase of Z company, a matter which faced intensive competition scrutiny in the US, UK and EU.

5.     Select and Prepare Your Referees Accordingly

Once you have decided which names you will most strongly advocate, you want to commensurately tailor your referee list. Ensure that you have a sufficient number of names who have worked with your prime candidates and will therefore be able to provide them with ringing endorsements.

In an instance where one of your referees has experience working with various lawyers within the team, perhaps it is best to hone their focus and inform them that it would be especially helpful if they could comment on the particular lawyer(s) you are most strongly pushing this year.

Feel free to email me with any questions you may have in relation to this topic.

Browse Our Resources

Ranking Legal 500 Chambers
Why Your Firm Isn't Ranked with Legal 500 and Chambers

Let's Explore the Most Common Reasons Why Firms Fail to Achieve a Ranking

Ranking Legal 500 Chambers
Why Your Firm Isn't Ranked with Legal 500 and Chambers

Let's Explore the Most Common Reasons Why Firms Fail to Achieve a Ranking

Ranking Legal 500 Chambers
Why Your Firm Isn't Ranked with Legal 500 and Chambers

Let's Explore the Most Common Reasons Why Firms Fail to Achieve a Ranking

Legal 500 Chambers Successful Submission
How to Write a Legal 500/Chambers Work Highlight

Work Highlights Are the Most Important Section of a Submission. Here's How to Write Them Effectively.

Legal 500 Chambers Successful Submission
How to Write a Legal 500/Chambers Work Highlight

Work Highlights Are the Most Important Section of a Submission. Here's How to Write Them Effectively.

Legal 500 Chambers Successful Submission
How to Write a Legal 500/Chambers Work Highlight

Work Highlights Are the Most Important Section of a Submission. Here's How to Write Them Effectively.

Legal 500 Chambers Impact Law Firms
How Do Legal 500/Chambers Rankings Impact Law Firms

Why Bother Submitting in the First Place? Let's Look at Some Tangible Benefits.

Legal 500 Chambers Impact Law Firms
How Do Legal 500/Chambers Rankings Impact Law Firms

Why Bother Submitting in the First Place? Let's Look at Some Tangible Benefits.

Legal 500 Chambers Impact Law Firms
How Do Legal 500/Chambers Rankings Impact Law Firms

Why Bother Submitting in the First Place? Let's Look at Some Tangible Benefits.

Submit World-Class Submissions

We support every stage of your law firm's growth. Our legal directories expertise helps ambitious firms improve their rankings and reputation.

Registered Address: 56 Holland Road, London, NW10 5AU

Registered Address: 56 Holland Road, London, NW10 5AU

Registered Address: 56 Holland Road, London, NW10 5AU