Page 31 - Leaders in Legal Business and The 1000 Leaders and Influencers - Draft 1
P. 31
Peer Review
Martindale-Hubbell established peer review-driven ratings in the 1930s — the idea being
that a lawyer in a U.S. state may want a referral source for a lawyer in another U.S. state — but
the concept of “validation” took off in the 1980s in the legal directory world.
As a lawyer, or a law firm, no longer were you simply listed in a directory, but you were
formally endorsed after picking up recommendations from other lawyers.
The key mover was Best Lawyers.
Formed by two Harvard graduates, Steven Naifeh and Gregory White Smith, Best
Lawyers established a leading lawyer directory around the concept of “peer review.”
Lawyers would only get labeled a “Best Lawyer” and listed in the directory if they
received enough recommendations from other lawyers in private practice.
Other businesses followed their lead, and by the 1990s, the likes of Super Lawyers
(launched in Minneapolis, and now owned by Thomson Reuters), Who’s Who Legal (from the
U.K.-based Law Business Research), Expert Guides (Euromoney), and others produced similar
products.
Research/Submission
Two British legal publishing entrepreneurs, Michael Chambers and John Pritchard,
developed a new style of directory in the mid-1980s in London.
The founders of Chambers & Partners and Legalease (Legal 500), respectively, pioneered
a new concept in legal directory publishing in which law firms were asked to prepare written
submissions highlighting their achievements over the last year.
Teams of researchers and editors would review the materials and supplement them with
interviews with lawyers and clients.
Once the research was finalized, the directories published tiered rankings of firms and
lawyers, broken down by practice, with accompanying editorial commentary.
It was novel idea in the 1980s and 1990s: before the internet, when information about law
firms was scarce, and when law firms were far more private about their dealings.
The Chambers/Legal 500 formula has been successful over the last 20 years, despite
competition from technology-driven rivals, and both organizations have expanded globally to the
point where most commercial law firms of a certain size are now exposed to them and/or engage
with them.
Further directories of this type emerged in the 1990s, such as Practical Law Company’s
Global Counsel 3000 (later, “PLC Which Lawyer?”) and variations limited to a particular
practice or industry — Euromoney’s IFLR1000 and Benchmark Litigation, for example, or the
IAM Patent 1000.
A U.K. concept originally, similar products were established in markets such as Canada
(Lexpert), Germany (Juve), Latin America (Latin Lawyer 250), and Asia (Asialaw Profiles)
Research-led directories such as Chambers & Partners and Legal 500 are considered to be
the most sophisticated type of legal directory and are most favored by large business law firms
because of their more rigorous methodology and selection process.
Because of the expansion of these products, the largest law firms send more than 1,000
submissions a year to various directories and awards organizations, and employ staff to manage
the submission process.
17
Martindale-Hubbell established peer review-driven ratings in the 1930s — the idea being
that a lawyer in a U.S. state may want a referral source for a lawyer in another U.S. state — but
the concept of “validation” took off in the 1980s in the legal directory world.
As a lawyer, or a law firm, no longer were you simply listed in a directory, but you were
formally endorsed after picking up recommendations from other lawyers.
The key mover was Best Lawyers.
Formed by two Harvard graduates, Steven Naifeh and Gregory White Smith, Best
Lawyers established a leading lawyer directory around the concept of “peer review.”
Lawyers would only get labeled a “Best Lawyer” and listed in the directory if they
received enough recommendations from other lawyers in private practice.
Other businesses followed their lead, and by the 1990s, the likes of Super Lawyers
(launched in Minneapolis, and now owned by Thomson Reuters), Who’s Who Legal (from the
U.K.-based Law Business Research), Expert Guides (Euromoney), and others produced similar
products.
Research/Submission
Two British legal publishing entrepreneurs, Michael Chambers and John Pritchard,
developed a new style of directory in the mid-1980s in London.
The founders of Chambers & Partners and Legalease (Legal 500), respectively, pioneered
a new concept in legal directory publishing in which law firms were asked to prepare written
submissions highlighting their achievements over the last year.
Teams of researchers and editors would review the materials and supplement them with
interviews with lawyers and clients.
Once the research was finalized, the directories published tiered rankings of firms and
lawyers, broken down by practice, with accompanying editorial commentary.
It was novel idea in the 1980s and 1990s: before the internet, when information about law
firms was scarce, and when law firms were far more private about their dealings.
The Chambers/Legal 500 formula has been successful over the last 20 years, despite
competition from technology-driven rivals, and both organizations have expanded globally to the
point where most commercial law firms of a certain size are now exposed to them and/or engage
with them.
Further directories of this type emerged in the 1990s, such as Practical Law Company’s
Global Counsel 3000 (later, “PLC Which Lawyer?”) and variations limited to a particular
practice or industry — Euromoney’s IFLR1000 and Benchmark Litigation, for example, or the
IAM Patent 1000.
A U.K. concept originally, similar products were established in markets such as Canada
(Lexpert), Germany (Juve), Latin America (Latin Lawyer 250), and Asia (Asialaw Profiles)
Research-led directories such as Chambers & Partners and Legal 500 are considered to be
the most sophisticated type of legal directory and are most favored by large business law firms
because of their more rigorous methodology and selection process.
Because of the expansion of these products, the largest law firms send more than 1,000
submissions a year to various directories and awards organizations, and employ staff to manage
the submission process.
17
