FAQs

Find the answers to our most frequently asked questions
Overview How quickly after uploading referees should I expect to see their names appear in the Referee Management Tool? When and how often does the Referee Management Tool update? What does the Research Status in the Referee Management Tool mean? Are Research Start & End Dates indicated on the the Referee Management Tool subject to change? What happens in the Referee Management Tool after the Research End Date? Why are some of my sections in the Historic Tab of the Referee Management Tool? How accurate / recent are the Contact Statuses I see in the Referee Management Tool? What does Pending Status on the Referee Management Tool mean? What does In Progress status on the Referee Management Tool mean? What does Contacted Status on Referee Management Tool mean? How do the Action Required statuses work in the Referee Management Tool? What does Action Required: Unsubscribed in the Referee Management Tool mean? What does Action Required: Invalid Email in the Referee Management Tool mean? What does Action Required: No Reply in the Referee Management Tool mean? Where can I find the recommended action column in the Referee Management Tool? What does the Referee Contact Rate on the Referee Management Tool tell me? Can I replace or substitute referees if I want to do so? In the Referee Management Tool research on my section appears to have started and some referees are In Progress, but some still show as Pending – why is this and should I be concerned? When during research should I check again referees that are In Progress in the Referee Management Tool? What is the 3-month rule and how is it displayed in the Referee Management Tool? Can I download the Referee Management Tool data? In the Referee Management Tool my referee is on Action Required: No Reply but they are saying they didn’t receive your email In the Referee Management Tool my referee was on Action Required: Unsubscribed, they agreed to be contacted again and their status is now Action Required: No Response. Why?

What is the 3-month rule and how is it displayed in the Referee Management Tool?

Sometimes the same person is put forward to Chambers as a referee for multiple firms, or for multiple different practice areas and departments within the same firm. If that is the case, the referee will appear on RMT as either Contacted: 3-month ruling or In Progress: 3-month ruling.
This rule prevents us from contacting referees in the following three months when we have already attempted or made contact with them for a different practice area. This rule has been in place at Chambers for many years and aims to avoid “referee fatigue”, where a referee gets request after request and eventually stops responding.
In Progress: 3-month ruling
In this case the referee has been emailed in the previous three months but hasn’t provided feedback yet. Please note that where a referee has a lot of referrals, the first researcher to get to them will give the referee the chance to discuss as many firms and practice areas as they wish. The spreadsheets you send u​​​​s are data-scraped into a centralised interview management system, so all researchers can see all referrals and will know they need to ask beyond their own assignment when a referee has been put forward for several different practice areas, firms and jurisdictions.
Contacted: 3-month ruling
In this case the referee has been in touch with us in the previous three months and we won’t attempt to contact them again. This referee has received and considered our request for feedback and this person should now be left in peace.

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