From Submission to Ranking: Chambers Explained – AMECO 2024 – Q&A

There are no major changes to this year’s submission forms. One of the most recent amendments however is that in section B6 (‘information regarding ranked and unranked lawyers’) there is now a box where you can detail whether the individual has any childcare responsibilities or flexible working arrangements. This information is not directly used towards any ranking but is very helpful in building up a broader picture of diversity and inclusion across the global legal sector. 

This means that the client company named in the work highlight is represented by one of the individuals on the referee spreadsheet. 

Researchers will ask referees about every department for which they have been nominated as a referee. This includes multiple departments within the same law firm as well as multiple law firms within the same practice area. In cases where the work in question is applicable to multiple sections (e.g. a section at the country level and one at the regional level) the responses will be taken down and ‘tagged’ on our system for all the sections where they are relevant

That’s right. There are some exceptions to this rule, but these should be made clear on the research schedule. If in any doubt, please contact a member of the editorial team. 

Initial contact is always by email. In most cases we would then offer a time to speak in person over the phone. However, we are aware of the time pressures faced by potential referees – if individuals would rather respond by email, we are happy to accommodate those requests. 

Our IT team are continually analysing and making improvements to our products and research platforms. The referee management tool is no exception.  

The new Israel Corporate/M&A: Technology subtable essentially covers all areas of work we already include under Corporate/M&A, such as acquisitions, investments and more general corporate and commercial matters. Within the Technology table, the work handled should specifically relate to the technology sector. This table is aiming to make our coverage of the existing Corporate/M&A table more granular.  

We are no longer inviting submissions for Middle East-Wide Corporate/M&A, Middle East-Wide Capital Markets or Middle East-Wide Dispute Resolution. We have noted over the past few years that submissions for this category contain a large amount of information duplicated from the UAE submissions. However, it is important to emphasise that these sections are still covered within the guide. 

Yes, this is fine, provided that the referee has recent experience of working with your team. 

All the boxes on the submission are important. However, do not feel you have to write an extensive amount in each box. The least valuable content is that which is already available to us on your website – there is no need to repeat this on the submission.  

If there truly are client relationships or areas of expertise which set your team apart from others, this information is perhaps the most valuable thing we ask for (aside from the work highlights themselves). But, as mentioned in the presentation, try to resist the urge to put down marketing jargon, or vague declarations about superior client service. We appreciate that substantive differentiators will be rare; firms won’t be ‘marked down’ if they can’t provide one. 

When we make initial contact with referees, the email should highlight all of the law firms which have nominated them as a referee. At the interview stage, the researcher will then ask questions about each of the law firms in turn. 

The review period should typically be the 12 months preceding the submission deadline. We do appreciate that some significant matters may have closed just outside this period – that is no problem. Work highlights can go back as far as 18 months before the submission deadline in these instances. It should be noted however that a submission made up entirely of work which closed 18 months ago may not be viewed favourably; we do want to get an accurate and up-to-date view of the department’s capabilities.  

We ask that you provide us with a single submission for each jurisdiction and practice area you wish to be ranked in. 

The short answer is “yes”. Lead roles are given the greatest credit in our analysis, unless you can provide a good justification why this should not be the case. It is still very valuable to hear about the work of supporting team members, as this is often where we first see younger partners and associates appearing on submissions. 

Currently the Arbitration & Mediation subtable of Israel: Dispute Resolution is not open for separate submissions. We recommend that firms include matters within this area in their Dispute Resolution submission.