how clients use chambers

8/6/2019 How Clients Use Chambers

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CHAMBERS & PARTNERS

L E G A L P U B L I S H E R S

The Chambers GuidesHow clients use them

The Chambers Guides to the

Worlds Leading Lawyers

www.ChambersandPartners.com

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In a legal marketing world that is literally awash in gratuitous

and duplicative listings, pay-for-plays, unresearched ratings,

rankings and scams over 900 at last count there are

innumerable ways for lawyers and marketing departments to

waste their time and money. Amid the confusion and noise,

there are only a few islands of sanity and dependability left.

Among those, Chambers & Partners stands out for its

comprehensive view of the marketplace, depth and quality ofresearch, and commitment to reporting integrity. To be sure,

there is time and effort involved in our commitment to

Chambers, but this is work that both our attorneys and

marketers undertake willingly because Chambers commands

clout and credibility with key clients.

Mark P. Messing , Chief Marketing/Business

Development Officer, Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP

Seldom are rating services and surveys of lawyer reputations

taken seriously by current or prospective clients, with one

significant exception Chambers. We have discovered that a

Chambers recognition is valued by both our clients and ourfellow attorneys as a mark of informed distinction that gives us

instant credibility and respect.

Bruce Culpepper, Akerman Senterfitt

1HOW CLIENTS USE CHAMBERS


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Chambers & Partners

Legal 500

Martindale-Hubbell

Practical Law Company

Whos Who Legal

chambers shown to leadin recent survey

An independent journal, International In-House Counsel,

conducted a survey in September 2008 of over 20,000 in-house

counsel from around the world. They were asked: If you use

directories to identify law firms/individuals, which one/s

do you use?

Their answers gave Chambers an astounding lead.

Chambers & Partners ....................................................51%

Legal 500 ......................................................................22%

Martindale-Hubbell ......................................................14%

Practical Law Company ..................................................7%

Whos Who Legal............................................................6%

These figures are reproduced from the International In-houseCounsel Journal. For full results see Table 6 at their website:

www.iicj.net/lawfirmselectionandmanagementsurveyresults.htm


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chambers is a reliable andrespected source

The Chambers brand is well-known amongst clients, many of

whom are familiar with our research. They know how thorough it

is, and therefore trust us as a reliable source. I used Chambers to

find the lawyer for a major transaction, said one UK chief

executive. I consulted Chambers, did a few background calls with

bankers and then cold-called the lawyer in question. Chambers

was how they got the work.The general counsel of a major UK football team remarked to our

researchers: I now rely on Chambers as my primary reference guide.

This is because the guidance matches my own experience of particular

lawyers and firms.

N OTHER CLIENT COMMENTS:

Chambers UK is an invaluable guide for both professional and lay

people alike. It can be used from a local or national perspective.

Peter Camponi, General Counsel, Von Roll Isola

The descriptions are helpful, and I am familiar with the discipline

used in making assessments. This gives me confidence that this

resource is better than others that are less rigorous in theirrankings.

John McCall, Executive Vice President, General Counsel &

Corporate Secretary E.ON

HOW CLIENTS USE CHAMBERS3


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The first place to go when searching out reliable information on a

law firm.

Philip A. Ramsell, Head of Legal EMEA, Mercer

Chambers & Partners is my best reference to firms and lawyers

around the world. They seem to get it right and I trust their

judgment.

John Dickens, Alberto Culver

I find [the Chambers Guides] useful and very much right on point.

Joseph Finn, Founding Partner,

Finn, Warnke & Gayton

I think that lawyers rely on Chambers because of the process

they go through to take the time to speak to people. It gives the

publication real substance. Looking at my area I believe that its

accurate many, many good lawyers get listed in Chambers.

Jill Harrison, Assistant General Counsel

W.L. Gore & Associates, Inc

Its useful because the reviews come from clients and itsanonymous, so theres no benefit to plug anyone. Its very helpful.

William Bonn, Senior Managing Director & General Counsel

Beacon Capital Partners


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how do clients use chambers?

Many clients use the rankings, editorial and profiles of firms to

find lawyers. The head of legal at a global bank in London told us:

I use Chambers all the time as it is a useful guide in identifying

specialists through both the rankings and the profiles.

Solicitors also find Chambers a useful source for finding

barristers. One London lawyer commented: I use Chambers when

looking for barristers dealing with matters outside my usual

geographic or practice area.

N FURTHER COMMENTS

Chambers UK occupies a useful position in my library. I am

especially impressed by the profiles of particular specialists at

each firm. These enable me to pinpoint the individuals I can best

approach for my professional training purposes.

Matthew Hutton, Chartered Tax Advisor

I use Chambers to review what they say about law firms I

already use, or to get suggestions in jurisdictions where we

do not already have contacts.

Matthew Foss, General Counsel,

Moodys Investors Service Limited

I use Chambers in several different ways. If I need a lawyer in a

jurisdiction, I will consult the guide and see what firms and

individual lawyers are recommended. I also use it generally to see



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what people are saying about the firms we use and to get a sense

of whats going on in a particular market.

Peter Schwartz, Senior Executive Vice President & General

Counsel, Westfield Corporation Inc

I would look to Chambers if I wanted to select new firms for

interview for our panel.

Maggie Wood, Group Corporate Services Director,

A2Dominion Group

I use Chambers when looking at an area of practice that I dont

normally hire lawyers for more esoteric or specialist practice

areas mainly.

David Blue, Ospraie Management LLC

I have just used the Global Edition to appoint appropriate counsel

in Brazil but I also use it for other countries. I am very happy with

the content of the rankings and firms profile information

contained in the guide.

Matthias Fenner, Fresenius

I find Chambers useful when identifying practitioners for largematters.

Ken Dreifach Linden Lab Inc


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I use Chambers to find M&A lawyers as part of my role as a deal

originator and have found it very useful.

Takahiro (Tom) Kimura, Global M&A

Osaka Gas Co., Ltd. (Japan)

Chambers is an invaluable resource for finding law firms outside

my area of expertise or for confirming my choice of counsel on a

particular matter.

Augustine V. ChengManaging Director & Chief Legal Officer

Arizona Technology Enterprises

We use Chambers often. We receive two copies our corporate

department receives one and investment banking uses the other.

Investment banking uses it to assist in assessing the quality of

attorneys used by client companies. If a company or prospect comes

to us represented by an attorney, we want to know who this person

is, the quality of their effort and how he/she is generally regarded.

Barry Alpert, Managing Director

Raymond James & Associates

The Chambers Guides are incredibly helpful. When EmmisCommunications is looking to enter a new market, either a new

country or different market in the United States, Chambers is the

first place I go to find top-quality local counsel. I typically identify

three or four individual lawyers from the top three Chambers



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bands and have a conference call with each of them to determine

who will be the best fit. In most instances, weve hired someone

from the Chambers book.

J. Scott Enright

Senior Vice President, Associate General Counsel and

Secretary, Emmis Communications Corporation and

Subsidiaries

The Chambers Guides are a big thing here in the US. I want togive my appraisal because people look at the Chambers rating.

John Southern,

Chief Financial Officer

CareSouth Health System


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global coverage

The guides cover 176 countries around the world and use the same

research methodology to identify the key law firms in every

jurisdiction.

Many clients are not content to rely on the recommendations of

their existing counsel when entering new jurisdictions. One

London solicitor, Andrew Peel of Halliwells, told us recently:

Many clients, despite what others may say, are heavily influenced

by the rankings and profiles. This is even more apparent asoverseas work is increasing and overseas clients almost wholly rely

on these sources of information.

A banker at a leading global bank commented: Chambers is

really helpful in providing an impartial view of which lawyers to

instruct in foreign jurisdictions.

N FURTHER COMMENTS:Usually when finding local lawyers we go through the advice of

our international counsel unless theyve just got no clue! In

which case you get out your Chambers Guide and just try and

work it out.

Ben OBryan, Director of Equity Derivatives Structuring

Merrill Lynch (London)

I use Chambers to find M&A lawyers as part of my role as a deal

originator and have found it very useful.

Takahiro (Tom) Kimura, Global M&A

Osaka Gas Co., Ltd. (Japan)



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Our legal dept definitely uses the guides when we need to find a

foreign law firm, and I think the global finance department uses

them as well. I think they are very useful in guiding us to

individuals we need for specific work.

Myung Hee Suh, Korea Development Bank

In my role as Group Legal Counsel for Ericsson I regularly engage

legal counsel in a large number of jurisdictions all over the world,

including developing countries. When I need to engage counsel onshort notice in a jurisdiction where I have no established firm

contacts or any reliable recommendation to go on, the Chambers

Guides are an invaluable tool and my first port of call to quickly

identify suitable counsel candidates for the deal in question, in

particular in developing countries.

Hans Swolin, Group Legal Counsel Finance, Insurance and

M&A Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson

The Chambers Guides are an invaluable source of up to date

information regarding legal practitioners in the Asia-Pacific

Region. With respect to the selection of local-law legal counsel,

the guide provides good background information with respect to

potential candidate firms and lawyers.Tim Meaney, Head of Project Finance, Asia-Pacific,

Global Structured Finance, DZ Bank


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industry respect

Lawyers as well as clients use Chambers as a valuable resource.

A partner at a leading London firm commented: Everybody at my

firm uses Chambers Directories. I think the key point to make is

that the research is accurate. We think they do a very good job and

are certainly the most accurate publication available.

A barrister recently told us: I use the guides when I am

instructed by a firm of solicitors for the first time, to see what thosewho know them have to say about their abilities and practice. I

also use Chambers to find out about counsel whom I am to appear

against for the first time.

N FURTHER COMMENTS:

Yes, I do use Chambers, both in terms of reviews of other firms of

solicitors, and (mostly) to assist with the selection of appropriate

counsel. It is the foremost legal directory in the UK.

Michael Veal, partner, Lester Aldridge

I use Chambers Guides. I find them an objective and reliable

index to what you need to know and who you need to know in

the legal world.Paul Kilcoyne, Barrister, 1 Temple Gardens



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CHAMBERS & PARTNERS

L E G A L P U B L I S H E R S

www.ChambersandPartners.com

Seldom are rating services and surveys of

lawyer reputations taken seriously by current

or prospective clients, with one significant

exception Chambers. We have discovered that

a Chambers recognition is valued by both our

clients and our fellow attorneys as a mark of

informed distinction that gives us instant

credibility and respect.

Bruce Culpepper, Akerman Senterfitt

how clients use chambers

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