Sales Speak: Maximize Your Chambers (and other) Rankings

Senior Statesperson: Martindale Hubbell. Martindale's AV rating was once the gold standard in the United States, and it still counts for something among the general population. Peer reviews may be requested (by attorneys) as frequently as once a year. Although it is not particularly difficult to achieve an AV Preeminent rating, the process can be cumbersome.

Improving Your Odds of Being Ranked

Curate (Choose Wisely)

Since The Legal 500, Benchmark Litigation and IP Stars mirror Chambers' process, at least in part, I will discuss Chambers as a proxy for the group. Begin by studying the current rankings carefully. How do you stack up to the competition? Just because you can submit materials doesn't mean that you should. Putting ego aside, are you widely considered to be in the same league as the firms already listed? If you are, then carefully craft a submission (more about submission drafting below) and understand that it is not likely that you will enter the rankings the first year you submit materials. It may take a year or two for Chambers to judge that they have enough information on you and your practice. During each review season, Chambers considers material provided and information gathered during the prior two seasons as well as that gleaned in the current exercise. Thus, even though you may not be ranked immediately, your time in creating a submission has not been wasted. You have been building the foundation for your case.

Review the practice area definitions to see what is and is not subsumed within a ranked category. For example, Chambers covers “Environment” in some states and “Natural Resources and Environment” in others. If your firm's particular focus is Natural Resources, but you live in a state where Environment is the category, you may not be well positioned to be listed in the ranking table. If you believe that Chambers should expand its coverage to include a subset of the current area or add an entirely new category, you should present a clear, evidence-based argument, in writing, to the editor. Better still, team up with other firms to make a case for adding a new category.

When choosing which attorneys from your firm or practice group should be put forward, do your best to be sensible and not political. (Individuals who are not part of a practice group making a submission can and should, where appropriate, submit materials). Not every member of a practice should be listed as “to be ranked.” If this is the first year your group is submitting information, list the top two or three attorneys (and probably no more) that you believe are truly rank-worthy. Listing all the partners in a practice area is disingenuous and defies the mathematics involved. Chambers limits the number of work highlights (mini case descriptions) to 20. The same is true for the number of permitted references. If you list eight attorneys as “to be ranked,” each would be entitled (pro rata) to two or three work highlight slots and two or three reference slots. Obviously, some work highlights will feature more than one of your attorneys being put forward, and some references can speak to the capabilities of several attorneys. The typical reference response rate is low, so if an attorney has two references, the odds of even one of them responding is not high. (Another section covers the care and feeding of references in detail, below).

State rankings are determined by where the attorney resides and not where the work is done. And it is very difficult to break into the national ranking tables without first being ranked in a state. Manage your expectations accordingly.

Color Within the Lines

Use the templates provided by Chambers. Make it easy for the researchers and editors to like you. You are not required to answer every question, but you should answer most of them. Don't include information that isn't requested. Follow their rules. Submit your information on time, or better still, ahead of time. Strive to offer the full complement of permitted references and work highlights, but don't devalue your most important matters by including ones that are far less significant.

Mind Your Manners

Before bombarding the researchers and editors with questions, read the FAQ section on the website. When you have a question that isn't covered there, or a suggestion or criticism to offer, do so with friendliness and respect for their time.

What's the Story?

As you draft the overview description of your practice and prepare the work highlights, make sure that you are telling a story that's worth hearing and that is accessible. Why was this matter important? Keep in mind that Chambers' researchers are bright and well educated, though few, if any, have previously worked in the legal industry. Even if they have legal experience, the odds are against its having been in the area under consideration. Avoid legal jargon and acronyms where possible.

Care and Feeding of References

While it's nice to be able to offer references from companies or organizations that are well known, it isn't a requirement. The same is true with regard to position or title of the reference. Chambers would rather speak to the person who is most familiar with your work or service, regardless of whether the individual is a paralegal or the general counsel.

When choosing references, consider their personality. If they are chary with praise, or generally less than fully responsive, look elsewhere. Ideally, the references will match up with your work highlights, at least in some cases. It isn't a requirement, but it helps. Make sure you have the references' permission before listing them. Some companies prohibit their employees from speaking on behalf of service providers. Chambers typically reaches out to references three weeks to one month after written materials are due. Once you know the name of the assigned researcher, it's a best practice to notify (remind) each of your references that the researcher may contact them by phone or email.

Try not to go to the well too frequently. Even your raving fans may tire of speaking up for you. Take heart in knowing that Chambers tracks the references in a database and is committed to contacting them only once during a research season. That is, if a reference is listed for Corporate work and that research takes place in June, the same reference (individual) will not be contacted again in September if they are listed for Environmental work. Chambers does, however, send one email reminder to an individual who has not yet responded. Even though Chambers has a database of references, it is still a best practice to fill out the referee (reference) spreadsheet field asking for which other submissions a referee is listed.

During the research period, you may ask the researcher whether your references are responding. They will let you know how many have responded but will not divulge who has or hasn't done so. This is not a question you should ask every day, but asking once, about two weeks after the initial outreach from Chambers has occurred, is smart.

Even the Best Laid Plans Sometimes Go Astray

Don't give up if you aren't selected for ranking the first time out of the gate. It is reasonable to politely inquire how you might improve your submission in subsequent years. You may be told that there was insufficient feedback from references or that market commentary was scarce. (Market commentary comes from the practice area spokespeople from competitor firms.) You may learn that the area is just exceptionally competitive. You haven't failed; you have learned something. Next year may offer a completely different result.

Capitalizing on Good News

If you are ranked, don't hide your light under a bush. In addition to adding the news to your website and your bio, consider contacting alumni publications. If your firm has paid to have a profile in Chambers, each ranked attorney is entitled to a 100-word profile for free (longer profiles incur an extra cost). Ranked attorney profiles will also include Chambers editorial commentary and/or a quote from a source (sources are never identified by name or organization). I recommend linking directly to the individual profile on Chambers to make that information widely available. Some firms prefer not to use outbound links and instead quote Chambers on their own (firm) web pages.

Firms that purchase a profile are also given space for a 1500-character department description for each ranked area. In addition to the 1500-character overview, you may list clients, industries, areas of focus, and other (non-ranked) partners. Firms with department profiles may also upload news releases during the course of the year.

The Last Word

Submissions can be repurposed for pitches and proposals and used to update bios and practice area information. Collecting information throughout the year makes the preparation less burdensome and work highlights deserve to be a line item on every practice group or firm meeting agenda. Asking potential references whether they would be willing to serve at the conclusion of a transaction or litigation may yield positive results while the glow of success is still bright. Preparing an effective and inspiring submission takes a substantial commitment of time and energy and the dividends may not pay off immediately, but the results can easily merit the investment.

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Linda Hazelton, CEO of Hazelton Marketing & Management, is a Dallas-based consultant with many years of in-house experience as a Director of Administration and CMO. She works with firms to help improve their organizations and develop business that is more profitable. Linda is frequently called on to assist with improving firm rankings. Connect with her via [email protected] and 214-684-4264.