Page 28 - Leaders in Legal Business and The 1000 Leaders and Influencers - Draft 1
P. 28
Legal Directories and Rankings
Lloyd Pearson1
Founder and Principal,
393 Communications
What is a Legal Directory?
The term “legal directories” describes a broad range of products and services that
research, list, rank, analyze, and assess lawyers and law firms.
Depending on whether you are in a large international firm or a small consumer-focused
firm, a directory can be a basic, Yellow Pages-style listing, or synonymous with preparing
detailed written submissions.
Legal directories are a fixture of the legal industry, and most law firms engage to some
extent with them as a way of promoting their practices to the outside world.
The Legal Directory Industry
As a distinct industry in its own right, reports suggest that the legal directories business
(as a subset of the broader legal publishing and media industry) is worth $250 million a year.
Legal directories are not new — the first directory, Martindale-Hubbell, began
publication in the nineteenth century — but the modern form of the industry took shape in the
1980s and 1990s.
Driven by the relaxation of professional rules that limited the ability of law firms to
advertise their services, a raft of new products emerged that sought to rank and recommend
lawyers.
These directories vary considerably from those that employ teams of researchers to assess
the relative qualities of different law firms to those that are more speculative and commercial in
nature.
Over the years, the number of such products has grown to include several thousand
directories, listings, rankings, league tables, and awards.
Why Do Law Firms Work with Legal Directories?
Because Clients Read Them
1 Lloyd Pearson is a legal directories specialist and the founder of 393 Communications. He has held senior editorial positions at the market’s
leading legal directories and in-house directories management roles at top law firms in the U.S. and U.K. In the late 1990s he was part of the
launch and development of Chambers Global, one of the leading international guidebooks, where he later became editor; he worked extensively
on editions of Chambers USA and contributed to Chambers UK. In 2004, he joined the international law firm of Herbert Smith and ran their press
office, working on legal directories, communications, and media relations initiatives. In 2006, he moved to White & Case to manage their global
directories’ program. He then consulted with Best Lawyers, helping to develop the Best Lawyers-US News “Best Law Firms” survey, and in
2008 became a legal directories consultant. Originally known simply as “Lloyd Pearson,” the consultancy officially rebranded as “393
Communications” in 2012.
14
Lloyd Pearson1
Founder and Principal,
393 Communications
What is a Legal Directory?
The term “legal directories” describes a broad range of products and services that
research, list, rank, analyze, and assess lawyers and law firms.
Depending on whether you are in a large international firm or a small consumer-focused
firm, a directory can be a basic, Yellow Pages-style listing, or synonymous with preparing
detailed written submissions.
Legal directories are a fixture of the legal industry, and most law firms engage to some
extent with them as a way of promoting their practices to the outside world.
The Legal Directory Industry
As a distinct industry in its own right, reports suggest that the legal directories business
(as a subset of the broader legal publishing and media industry) is worth $250 million a year.
Legal directories are not new — the first directory, Martindale-Hubbell, began
publication in the nineteenth century — but the modern form of the industry took shape in the
1980s and 1990s.
Driven by the relaxation of professional rules that limited the ability of law firms to
advertise their services, a raft of new products emerged that sought to rank and recommend
lawyers.
These directories vary considerably from those that employ teams of researchers to assess
the relative qualities of different law firms to those that are more speculative and commercial in
nature.
Over the years, the number of such products has grown to include several thousand
directories, listings, rankings, league tables, and awards.
Why Do Law Firms Work with Legal Directories?
Because Clients Read Them
1 Lloyd Pearson is a legal directories specialist and the founder of 393 Communications. He has held senior editorial positions at the market’s
leading legal directories and in-house directories management roles at top law firms in the U.S. and U.K. In the late 1990s he was part of the
launch and development of Chambers Global, one of the leading international guidebooks, where he later became editor; he worked extensively
on editions of Chambers USA and contributed to Chambers UK. In 2004, he joined the international law firm of Herbert Smith and ran their press
office, working on legal directories, communications, and media relations initiatives. In 2006, he moved to White & Case to manage their global
directories’ program. He then consulted with Best Lawyers, helping to develop the Best Lawyers-US News “Best Law Firms” survey, and in
2008 became a legal directories consultant. Originally known simply as “Lloyd Pearson,” the consultancy officially rebranded as “393
Communications” in 2012.
14
