The NFL and Directories – The Stretch

They say don’t combine business with pleasure. Sage advice. I’m going to ignore it.

You see, The Legal 500 EMEA deadline is here and so is the NFL Preseason. And there are only three more Sundays until the next Chambers USA and Europe deadlines. Yup, you guessed it: only three more Sundays until the NFL Regular Season.

Anyone who’s spent enough time in my company will know I’ve spent a long time working in directories and even longer loving American football. There are more links between these things than you can possibly imagine.

So, in a sequence of tenuous segues and comparators, I mash up some powerful lessons for legal directories out of the magic of the NFL. If you feel the need to look away, do so now! Law firms can end up saying the same things as other law firms, much in the way that NFL teams copy what works and often run the same offense (US spelling for this as it seems wrong to use UK spelling in this context!). So be the Ravens, not the Lions. But be Juju, not Antonio.

Bonus points if you figured out who Philip Rivers thinks is wide open in the picture above.

Lesson 1) The Longest Yard. No, not the film. I mean Kevin Dyson catching a pass from the late, lamented Steve McNair (RIP) and straining every sinew to get the ball across the line on the final play of Super Bowl XXXIV but being held one yard short by the iron grip of Mike Jones. One of the best Super Bowls ever played. And simultaneously the worst, if you’re a Titans fan. It was also the last and only time the Titans made the Big Dance. But there’s always next year. Or this year!

Translation: Don’t let last year’s ranking disappointment, erm, disappoint you. Just like an NFL team with $177 million for player salaries this year, keep trucking for the next cycle. Persistence pays off because the directories want to see consistent performance over time. Learn from the errors of last year with honest self-analysis: what’s new? What’s different? What did the directories tell us? What didn’t the directories tell us? What does the writeup reveal? Modify the messages for this year to show what you do outstandingly well, not just an everyone-says-it list of what you can do. If your client referees didn’t respond, change the list for this year and communicate to them how quick and painless it is for them but how important it is to you. Promise them a year off from being a referee if they reply!

Lesson 2) Moving on. You might be Mike McCarthy but, now that you’ve moved on, you’re still Mike McCarthy and you still need a job. When you get a job, you still won’t have Aaron Rodgers; even worse, you’ve been replaced by a young offensive mind who was such an offensive genius that it took him nigh on half a season to work out THAT DERRICK HENRY IS A BEAST and you could, you know, hand him the ball once in a while and things might go better. Life isn’t fair, Mike McCarthy. When you’re Andy Reid, meanwhile, you have a big name and an emerging superstar. But you didn’t win a Super Bowl at your last place of employment (the one which won a Super Bowl without you just after you left) and now your current team just looked like world beaters until being ground into the dust just short of the aforementioned Big Dance. So, what does this season hold for you?

Translation: It’s common for big-name lawyers and teams of lawyers to expect the directories to transpose a prior ranking of the person or practice from one law firm to another. But it doesn’t always work out that way and the benefit of the move needs to be outlined and evidenced. Here are steps you can take to improve the chances that it does: (1) make sure the move is brought to the attention of the researcher prominently, and update the researcher if the move happens during the research period; (2) substantiate the person’s move by showcasing which clients or pieces of work have moved over to the new practice – the directories want to see that the lawyer/team is still in demand and clients following is a sure sign. If the move occurred in a tricky period – just before the submission deadline or after research ended – then update the researcher as you go along. A deadline that is in September, for example, might not finish research until 1-3 months later, so use that period to gather some new work highlights for the new arrival and provide them to the researcher during the research period. (3) Make sure to provide client referees to support the lawyer or team. Lastly, (4) be patient. If the move happened soon before research, then it might take a year for enough clients to move across for you to be able to make the convincing argument for the team or lawyer to be ranked higher. If, like Andy Reid, you have a rising star in your team (of counsel, senior associate, young partner), make sure to flag it up to the directories and substantiate their case for recognition. This is going to help the individual but it’s also going to help show the team’s depth of talent. Let’s assume you can’t put them on an NFL field for a critical no-look pass, so let’s just settle for evidencing the work they’ve been involved in and making sure some of the client referees can speak about them.

Lesson 3) The Stretch. Stretching is important. Keeps those hamstrings loose. Winning down the stretch is important, otherwise your 6-2 start turns into a 9-7 limp backwards into the Playoffs and a first-round loss. Jeff Fisher is Bill Belichick is a stretch. Tom Brady* is the most successful quarterback in NFL history. Blake Bortles is not. To take the decision to pay Blake Bortles vast sums in an effort to persuade yourselves and the public that he will lead the path to greatness would be a stretch. Oh. Wait. You did what?

Translation: Don’t pad the unpaddable. I’m talking arguments in favour of a law firm’s practice here, not shoulder pads. It is an unadorned truth that most good to excellent law firm practices in any area of the law could (and usually do) say in their directory submissions that they can do everything. The issue is that any researcher will be presented with anything from high dozens to 150 submissions saying much the same during one reporting period (across one jurisdiction or multiple practice areas), thus said similar messages from many sources blur into one. So, dial in on what the practice has done exceptionally well (a) traditionally and (b) recently and make those the focus. Aside from a brief acknowledgement of the practice’s comprehensive scope, focus opening arguments on the points of difference. When set against a field of a dozen or so law firms with similar scope and presenting high-calibre work, it’s the sophisticated, difficult, innovative and/or just downright biggest ever which make the difference. Placement of the most impactful (precedent-setting or first of a kind / largest) deals and cases high up the running order is a crucial part of that because researchers wade through thousands of examples of work. State the difference-making nature of the matter explicitly, rather than leaving it implicit on the assumption that it speaks for itself. Often, it doesn’t.

*Note to Pats fans: I said most successful. Note to 49ers fans: I said most successful.

Lesson 4) Ringing the Bell. The NFL has come a long way in terms of health safeguards since the issue of concussion arose. Many other sports have now followed suit with concussion protocol tests for players suspected of being injured in this way. Helmets are more loose-fitting. Team-mates and opponents no longer “ring the bell”. Certain types of tackles and techniques have been outlawed from the game or become obsolete. The demise of the XFL rather proved that spear tackles are gone for good. After one of the biggest crises the game has endured, the NFL has been upfront about how it is working to make things better.

Translation: In the same forward-looking spirit, it is worth considering your law firm’s statistics and initiatives for diversity, inclusion and wellbeing. These are subjects which have come up regularly in questions over the past year or so as both Chambers and The Legal 500 begin to explore these issues more fully, and to champion mental health and wellbeing in the law. It’s pretty likely that in the foreseeably near future one or other of the major directories will request D&I and wellbeing information in its submission processes; some processes for certain awards and national directories already request it. If one major directory does so, the other is sure to follow suit. Your law firm might be hesitant to release such information, for fear of looking bad. But the law firms which accept they have work to do and show the improvements and efforts they are making will earn some measure of credit for doing so. I would expect a minority of law firms to provide such information in the first year it is requested, but then more to follow the next year as many law firms realise their situation is comparable with or better than some of their peer law firms. So, why not be forward-thinking to collate and voluntarily supply information on these statistics and initiatives in your next round of submissions before you’re requested to provide it? You can only affect the conversation by being in it.

Lesson 5) Trust the process. Do. Your. Job. You might not like the Pats, but you have to acknowledge (genuine) greatness when you see it. A dominant franchise and the sport’s best coach combined with its most successful quarterback* and a rolling cast of important contributors from great to small. Imitations abound. Famously working to the maxim: Do Your Job. Trusting the process – that if you do yours, your teammates will do theirs.

Translation: Directories season is a grind for each practice but it’s essential to do it right if you want results. Claims need to be substantiated and you must have fresh examples of relevant work and client referees to push the case for a practice or its lawyers. If one aspect of information or another is missing, little by little it diminishes the chances of the whole submission. Be clear and explicit about every positive, difference-making point. Advance the arguments you made last year to show progress since. If you show the researcher strong arguments and supporting evidence, then follow best practice guidelines on selecting client referees and encouraging them to reply, you can trust the directories process to achieve results for you with consistent participation.

*Note to Pats fans: I said most successful. Note to 49ers fans: I said most successful.

To put my money where my mouth is, the first US law firm wanting help drafting or editing a Chambers or Legal 500 sports law submission will get that help for free. Unless they work for the Colts.

Pretty sure peeps stopped reading a while back but, in case you’re still with me, this is the end of the article. You’ve done well. Here are some random wishes for the upcoming NFL season: Marcus Mariota plays every game. Derrick Henry plays every game. Kevin Byard plays every game. Taylor Lewan plays every game (after his suspension!). Titans win a game against the Colts (yay!). Titans go deep in the Playoffs. Browns make the Playoffs. The NFL ditches the pass interference review.

#TitanUp

About the author: my name is Mike Nash and I’m one of three specialist directories consultants at SavageNash Legal Communications, all of whom are senior former directories editors and collectively have 40 years’ experience of legal directories; two of us worked in-house in marketing & communications at international law firms. If you’d like to know more about how we could help your law firm with your directories needs, then please look around our website, use it to contact us directly or contact me via LinkedIn.

About the article: This is a SavageNash website version of an identical article uploaded simultaneously on LinkedIn.

The Legal 500 US 2019 Launch – Changes to the feedback process and what to do if your firm isn’t ranked

The latest edition of The Legal 500 US is due to launch in May – the 29th, to be precise. For many of you, the release of the 2019 rankings will mark the culmination of an intensive process involving pulling together all the information necessary to make the best possible case for your firm’s ranking, and ensuring you put forward the right referees to maximise the feedback they provide on the relevant practice and its key lawyers. Seeing your firm appropriately ranked can make all the hard work and time invested in the process worthwhile; conversely, the disappointment of failing to achieve a ranking can lead to questions over whether it was all worth the effort.

Many firms will review the rankings, digest the results, and put them to one side until the research cycle rolls back around and the next submission deadlines loom. However, doing so means you are missing out on the possibility of obtaining some useful feedback direct from the editor’s mouth which can often provide some useful insight into which areas should be addressed when pulling together the next submission.

How to ask for feedback on the rankings

So, you’ve decided you want to reach out to The Legal 500 to ask for feedback on your rankings – how do you go about doing this? The Legal 500 has changed the process by which firms request feedback – instead of emailing editorial@legal500.com (which was the previous method), firms must now fill out a form which can be found at http://www.legal500.com/assets/pages/faqs. Clicking on the Rankings tab on the page will bring up a second set of options – clicking the tab titled “We are not happy with our rankings /lack of ranking, and would like information on how the rankings were calculated” will bring up a form to fill out.

Fill out the form and click the Submit Query button. Your query will then be stored in The Legal 500’s database to be addressed by the relevant editor. It’s worth bearing in mind that The Legal 500 receives a large volume of queries immediately following launch of the guide – typically queries are answered in chronological order of receipt, so it’s unlikely that you’ll hear back from the editor immediately. Don’t despair – The Legal 500 does make a point of answering all queries received. Bearing in mind the following tips will help to speed up the process and improve the quality of the feedback you receive.

Optimising your feedback request for maximum impact

As noted above, The Legal 500 receives a large volume of queries from firms. As with the submission process, being as focused as possible and clearly specifying what you are asking for feedback on and why will mean that the editor will be able to quickly ascertain why this request is being made and provide feedback that addresses that specific point. A generic email asking for feedback on all the firm’s rankings/submissions will most likely result in a perfunctory response from the editor. Here are some things to focus on when putting together your query:

1) Focus on specific practice areas– Make sure to request feedback on practice areas where you feel there is a genuine question as to the reason for the ranking/lack of inclusion. Look at the accompanying editorial for the relevant section and consider the following:

  • How does your work stack up to the work described by ranked firms? If you are working on the same matters as those listed in the editorials of firms in Tier 1, but you are in a lower Tier/haven’t been ranked, then it’s worth querying the result and asking for feedback on where your submission fell down compared to those firms.
  • Are there any quotes cited in your editorial? If the answer is no, then it’s likely that the researchers failed to receive feedback from your referees. Although referee feedback is secondary to the work evidence and track record in The Legal 500’s ranking methodology, referee feedback can tip the balance in making the case for a firm’s promotion or not, particularly where the work evidence and track records of firms are comparable.
  • How does the size of your team compare to that of ranked firms? While this is a secondary factor, this may be taken into consideration when a researcher is considering including a firm for the first time. The editorial can often provide insight into the team size of ranked firms.

2) Provide fact-based evidence to support your query– If you feel that the firm’s submission provided a strong argument for a new ranking/promotion in the rankings, then providing a fact-based analysis of the areas in the submission that support that assertion will enable the editor to review those facts and respond accordingly. Be as constructive as possible when making your case – assertions that cannot be backed up by evidence will make the case less compelling in the editor’s eyes.

3) Ask for feedback on how the firm can improve their participation in the research process– The editor will be able to provide feedback on the referee feedback response rate, as well as raise any issues as to gaps in information that could be addressed in subsequent research cycles either by honing the messaging in your submission or by ensuring you have an interview with the researcher.

Best of luck to all of you, and remember – make sure to reach out to The Legal 500 post launch to make sure you’re getting the most out of the process.

My name is Alex Boyes and I am one of the directors at SavageNash Legal Communications. I’m a former editor at The Legal 500 and also worked at a large international law firm. Together, SavageNash Legal Communications has over 30 years’ directories-related experience, from both sides of the directories process. If you’d like more guidance on making submissions to Chambers or The Legal 500 in the next cycle, please do get in touch via our website.

The Legal 500’s Conversion Tool – What You Need To Know

The Legal 500 has relaunched its ConvertNow service, which was originally launched in 2018 with the aim of streamlining the submission process by enabling law firms to transfer data from a Chambers and Partners submission template into The Legal 500′s submission template. According to David Burgess, Publishing Director for The Legal 500 Series, the tool has been updated to take into account feedback in relation to the previous iteration of the tool, addressing the issues that arose for some firms when using the tool and taking into account revisions made to The Legal 500‘s submission template. Here is what we learnt from The Legal 500‘s announcement concerning ConvertNow 2.0:

ConvertNow 2.0 will transfer the bulk of data from a Chambers submission template into The Legal 500 template 

While there are some key pieces of content that is asked for in the Chambers template which The Legal 500 does not ask for (and vice versa), both templates request the same or similar information concerning the team, individuals and work highlights. According to The Legal 500‘s beta testing results, ConvertNow 2.0 will transfer 80-90% of that common information across from the Chambers template. This should result in less BD/marketing resource spent copying and pasting information between templates, meaning more time to fine-tune key messaging.

ConvertNow 2.0 will not transfer all information from a Chambers submission template 

The conversion tool will not transfer information regarding ranked or unranked lawyers across to The Legal 500‘s submission template. Both Chambers and The Legal 500 ask for information regarding lawyers that firms consider eligible for an individual ranking. The parameters of how each directory structures those rankings are quite different: Chambers features tiered rankings for lawyers, as well as rankings for up-and-coming individuals and star associates, whereas The Legal 500 breaks down its individual rankings into Leading, Next Generation and Rising Stars categories. This will mean that information regarding leading lawyers will have to be manually transferred to the relevant template.

The submission will require amendments to optimise information for Legal 500 ranking purposes 

While the tool will transfer information across, that information will still have to be amended and updated so that it covers The Legal 500‘s research requirements. This means ensuring that the information in the submission is tailored, any gaps in information are identified and addressed, and that the document is formatted to conform to the directory’s terminology. The Legal 500 produces a set of guidelines to assist firms with putting together a submission, which can be found at their website.

ConvertNow 2.0 will transfer information from The Legal 500‘s submission template to a Chambers template 

According to The Legal 500, the transfer system should work both ways, enabling firms to move information across from either directories template with minimal hassle.

Things to look out for 

Law firms looking to make use of the ConvertNow tool should beware of formatting issues which could create issues with the transfer process. The Legal 500 has identified problems with images or attachments, which will not transfer across and could hamper the conversion process. In addition, embedded hyperlinks will not transfer across. While this is a revised version of the software, you may still encounter issues with the process, so save early and save often.

Who is eligible to use ConvertNow 2.0?

The Legal 500 has made the ConvertNow tool available to law firms that have taken out a commercial profile with the company. For those firms that have a commercial profile, use of the tool will be limited to the jurisdiction for which the law firm has a profile, meaning it won’t be transferrable across all jurisdictions unless the firm’s profile covers all jurisdictions.

My name is Alex Boyes and I am one of the directors at SavageNash Legal Communications. I’m a former editor at The Legal 500 and also worked at a large international law firm. Together, SavageNash Legal Communications has over 30 years’ directories-related experience, from both sides of the directories process. If you’d like more guidance on making submissions to Chambers or The Legal 500 in the next cycle, please do get in touch via our website.

New Practice Area – Foggy Thinking?

Alternative title: “It’s New! Should I Be Excited?!”

Look carefully through new directory guidelines and you will often see that there’s been a change to the coverage – something changed in some way or something is being looked at for the first time, whether that’s a new jurisdiction or a new practice area.

What do you do when you see one (and after you’ve checked if your firm has such a practice)? Here’s some brief advice:
1) Ask the directory in question for a practice area definition (if none has been provided)
2) Correlate your firm’s own practice area definition to the directory’s description
3) Don’t be constrained – assume that a new practice area will be open to some modification, dependent on the research information accrued. That means you have a chance to shape the new practice area coverage – maybe there is something your firm does that is clearly relevant to the area but which is not covered by the directory’s definition
4) Check with the lawyers – ask them for an honest view of whether the practice is deep or expansive enough to compete with leading practices in the area
5) Check the other directory – if one major directory launches a new practice area, check if the other major directory already covers it, or vice versa. The directories tend to obtain similar information and while the minutiae of results may vary, typically the nature of the practices and the bulk of contenders will be similar. If there is existing coverage by one directory, it will give you a sense of the level of opposition
6) If it’s entirely new – if the practice area has not been previously covered by either major directory, it is worth making a submission in the first year because nobody knows the level of the opposition. If you can substantiate your arguments, you have a fair to good chance of a ranking and the chance to establish your track record from the very beginning of the coverage
7) Outline prior track record – consistency of practice is a key judgement, so outline your firm’s prior track record in the area, whether that’s from decades back or examples of work from the year prior to the main time period under review
8) Get an interview early – in a new practice area, the researcher will be feeling their way through the subject. Obtain an interview and get in early, so that your lawyers can help the researcher to understand the subject and to help shape their view. That allows you to help them and, in doing so, to help them see what’s good about your firm’s proposition.

Legal 500 EMEA 2018: Deadlines, Guidelines Now Available + Editor Insights

Attention all European, Middle East and Africa law firms: The Legal 500 has just published its 2018 edition submission deadlines, which can be accessed here. The key dates for your diary are as follows:

  • Referee spreadsheet deadline: 4 August 2017
  • Editorial submission deadline: 14 August 2017
  • Law firm interview period begins: 4 September 2017
  • Contacting referees: during September (precise date to be determined by number of referees received to contact – law firms will be informed one week before we contact referees)

There are big changes afoot editorially at The Legal 500, which we reported earlier today (please see here). We caught up with EMEA Editor Ella Marshall to discuss changes affecting the upcoming EMEA edition.

Are the changes to the editorial coverage of the UK guide being replicated in EMEA also?

We’re expanding content in the same way as the UK. Increases will be dictated by the availability of data, but we expect to deliver around three times the content for the largest and/or more sophisticated markets and will provide editorial content for every single firm that is ranked.

ella_marshallThe content will be online only, so the EMEA 2017 edition is, in fact, a collector’s edition!

In terms of new practice areas etc, what should firms look out for this year?

We are continuing our ongoing expansion of our Africa coverage to reflect demand from website users: this year, we’re adding Botswana, Senegal and Uganda to our coverage.

There are no Regional Summary sections this year (i.e. none for CEE, Africa or Middle East) because we’re now covering more markets and more practice areas in those markets than we were 3 years ago when we introduced the summaries as a catch-all.

We have also added English Bar: DIFC (Dubai International Finance Center) to the coverage this year as part of the UAE coverage to reflect the growing trend of work arising in the free zone.

The expansion of the word count has also enabled us to add practice areas to cover gaps in other markets, particularly with the introduction of more coverage of competition law, employment law and corporate/white-collar criminal law and compliance.

Law firms are strongly advised to check the list of practice areas carefully and not assume that the practice areas are the same as last year – there may have been additions or other amendments. We change the coverage every year to cater to market demand. New practice areas are marked as “NEW” or “RENAMED” or other appropriate indicators.

Legal 500 London research – editor insights

The Legal 500’s UK research process is now underway in London. We caught up with Legal 500 UK editor Alex Boyes for a quick run-down of what’s new for this year in London. Most notable among these being significantly expanded editorial coverage of all ranked firms. Alex also provides a reminder of key things firms should be doing to ensure their references respond to Legal 500’s researchers.

The Legal 500 London research is about to begin, with the regional research having concluded. Is the London content also being expanded this year, and what is the rationale behind the change?

Yes, that’s correct. This year, we’re undertaking a large-scale expansion of our UK Solicitors editorial content. The aim of this expansion is to enable researchers to utilise the significant amount of information obtained through the submission/interview process more effectively, conveying more of the key strengths of a practice and highlighting the success stories of that year.

In previous years, researchers have had to boil down sizeable chunks of data into very small editorial descriptions of firms and their practices, primarily due to the constraints of producing hard copies. In many instances, firms in the bottom tiers of our tables received no editorial at all. This will no longer be the case – all ranked firms will now receive editorial. We will still be publishing a print version this year, however our website will feature significantly expanded content, which in turn should enable our readers to make more informed buying decisions.

alexander_boyes

Are there any other significant changes to be aware of?

We’ve introduced some new sections this year, under our Risk Advisory category. Our Brexit section will highlight firms that are devising solutions to the myriad issues arising from our impending exit from the EU, whether working at a public policy level to shape the government’s strategy for Brexit, or assisting private clients with managing operational risk as a result of Brexit. Our Corporate Governance section will cover work carried out by firms that relates to the system of rules, practices and process by which a company is directed and controlled, and by which are balanced the interests of a company’s stakeholders, including its shareholders, management, consumers, suppliers, financiers, government. The section will also cover advisory work relating to UK and international governance regulations. Lastly, this area will also cover advisory work on the operations of executive boards, D&O responsibilities and shareholder relations, as well as internal investigations of wrongdoing.

We are also introducing a new TMT section for Fintech, which will cover work for start-up firms in this space, as well as advice to investors into the firms, whether through VC funds or financial institutions themselves through their incubator programmes. Work covered includes advice on corporate structuring/contractual agreements with procurers of these services, to related IP, financial services regulatory and disputes.

We know submissions are in already, but what are some of the key things law firms could and should be doing at this stage of the process, that they tend to forget?

Firstly, don’t be afraid to reach out to the researchers with updates to the submission. Keeping us up to speed on new pieces of work or noteworthy additions to the team is always helpful.

Secondly, make sure your referees are looking out for our feedback requests and responding to them. Here’s a breakdown of when we will be reaching out to your referees:

  • Referees received on or by 3rd March will be contacted via email during the week commencing 15th May 2017
  • Referees received between 4th and 17th March will be contacted via email during the week commencing 22nd May 2017

And finally, feel free to reach out to researchers to make sure they have everything they need, or if you would like to arrange an interview. The list of researchers for London can be found here.