Yes, there is no cost\nassociated with participating in the research process.


"}},{"@type":"Question","name":"How do I know when to submit?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"
\n\n

Submission deadlines for\neach guide are published on the research schedule which can be found here.


"}},{"@type":"Question","name":"Can I have an extension on the submission deadline?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"
\n\n

Any requests for extensions\nshould be discussed with the researcher for that section.


"}},{"@type":"Question","name":"Is an interview essential?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"
No, it’s not essential. The main purpose of an\ninterview is to gather feedback both on your own practice and on that of other\nfirms.
"}},{"@type":"Question","name":"How is referee feedback collected?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"

We collect feedback privately with each individual. All interviews - whether with lawyers, clients, or other independent sources should be conducted one-on-one, with no-one else present. 

Ensuring referees or other interviewees can feel comfortable sharing candid, objective feedback with Chambers is a fundamental principle of our research, therefore the content and matters discussed during feedback is kept private between the Chambers research team and the individual participant. Should any comments or quotes from the feedback we collect be published, all material is anonymised to keep the identity of the participant confidential.   "}},{"@type":"Question","name":"Where can I find a definition of practice areas?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"

A definition of the global practice areas we cover can\nbe found here.
"}},{"@type":"Question","name":"How will confidential information in a submission be protected?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"
We take confidentiality very seriously. Any\ninformation marked ‘Confidential’ will not be disclosed in any way. We\nappreciate you sending it, however, since it is useful in determining your\nranking.
"}},{"@type":"Question","name":"Does sending a submission guarantee a ranking?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"
\n\n

No. Sending a submission\nis only part of the ranking process. We also take into account the feedback of\nclients, peers and other independent market sources.


"}},{"@type":"Question","name":"Should I send separate submissions for Global and Continent-Wide sections?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"
\n\n

Yes you should. We need\nseparate submissions in addition to the country-level submissions.\nContinent-wide submissions should show work which demonstrates your firm's\ncontinental capability. The same applies to Global submissions: they should\ndemonstrate your global capability.


"}},{"@type":"Question","name":"What are Foreign Experts and Foreign Desks?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"
\n\n

Foreign Experts are\nlawyers based in one jurisdiction who have expertise in another jurisdiction.\nForeign Desks are groups of lawyers within a firm based in one jurisdiction who\nhave expertise in another jurisdiction.


"}},{"@type":"Question","name":"Should I send a separate submission form for Foreign Experts and Foreign Desks?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"Yes, firms are encouraged\nto provide Foreign Expert and Foreign desk information through a new\nspecialised spreadsheet. You can download the spreadsheet
here.

"}},{"@type":"Question","name":"How do I submit Foreign Experts and Foreign Desks submission form?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"Once your submission\nform is ready, please email it to
us

"}},{"@type":"Question","name":"I have a suggestion for a new practice area or an improvement to the Chambers guides. What should I do?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"
\n\n

The sections we include\nare based on what clients say is most useful to them. However, we are happy to\nconsider suggestions for other practice areas. We are also interested in\ngeneral feedback regarding our research methods.\n\n

If your suggestion\nrelates to a specific country or practice area, please contact the relevant\neditor. If your feedback relates to our research methods or website, please\nsend it to Rieta Ghosh.


"}},{"@type":"Question","name":"When do you contact a firm’s referees?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"
The research schedule lists the research period for when we will be conducting the bulk of our research for each category and we aim to have contacted all referees by the end of it. We generally start our referee outreach towards the beginning of the research month, although for sections that span more than one month, the process might take longer. If your referees have been put forward by different firms or different practice areas, there is the possibility that they will have been contacted earlier, although the researcher will make sure to ask about your firm as well. "}},{"@type":"Question","name":"Who will contact the firm’s referees?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"
The majority of referees will be contacted by the researcher listed on the research schedule as being responsible for the area for which the firm has submitted. However, if the referee has also been put forward by a different firm for a different practice area, there is the possibility that they will have been contacted by another member of the research team. All researchers will ask about all practice areas, jurisdictions and firms the referee has recent experience with. All of this information is stored on our centralised database and can be accessed by all other researchers. 
 
If you would like to give your referees a heads up that we will be getting in touch, the best thing to do is to tell them to look out for an email from someone from Chambers, as opposed to a specific member of the research team. Our emails will always come from an email address ending with @chambers.com. 
"}},{"@type":"Question","name":"How often will your team contact those clients suggested by a law firm?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"
We do not want to be a nuisance to your clients, so we have our own internal guidelines in place to limit how often we get in touch with them – a period of around 3 months. However, these are not set in stone and we will use our judgement if getting back in contact with someone we believe would be happy to engage with us again. "}},{"@type":"Question","name":"How do you reach out to referees?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"
Initial outreach is by email. We try to set up a time to speak over the phone or provide a survey for the referee to complete. If we haven’t heard back from the referee in question, we may follow up with a phone call or email, although this is wholly dependent on the researcher’s schedule and the progress of the research."}},{"@type":"Question","name":"What questions do you ask our clients?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"
When we talk to referees, we keep our conversations open-ended to try to ensure that we speak about all firms that have put forward this individual as a reference.  
We essentially want to determine:  
 
• The nature of the relationship between the firm and referee  
• The type of work that the firm has handled for the referee in the last year or so (if applicable)  
• The referee’s views on the quality of the service provided (including constructive criticisms) "}},{"@type":"Question","name":"Do you ask referees about other firms?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"
Yes, we try to get as much feedback as possible on all the firms that the referee in question has used but putting them forward as a referee guarantees we will ask them specifically about their interactions with the firm(s) that put them forward. Our researchers are trained to be appropriately probing and elicit as much information about the quality of the legal services they receive from all firms. "}},{"@type":"Question","name":"Will you tell me which referees have provided feedback? ","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"

No, we do not confirm the name of referees from whom we have collected feedback. \nTools such as Referee Management are available, which enable you to track our progress in contacting your referees. This tool will provide updates when we have reached out to each referee via email and when we successfully make direct contact with an individual.  

However, we do not confirm whether we ultimately have an interview or collect feedback from an individual about your firm. If our research team is in direct contact with a referee, we will respect their privacy and their right to confidentially opt out of participating in our research or opt out of providing feedback on specific firms or topics without this being shared or reported back to the firm. 


"}},{"@type":"Question","name":"What can I do if one of my firm’s referees says they haven’t been contacted?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"
We completely understand that emails get lost, accidentally deleted or caught up in spam filters, so the most important thing to do is to get in contact with the researcher assigned to the practice area and location you are submitting for (as listed on the research schedule). We’d ask that you collate the names of all the referees who haven’t heard from Chambers and their correct email addresses into one email, and send it to the researcher while research is still underway  
 
We will be happy to follow up, however we will do so in accordance with our own client contacting guidelines. "}},{"@type":"Question","name":"Can I ask my references to reach out to the researchers directly?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"
Other than in exceptional circumstances, we discourage firms from doing this as it has an effect on the reliability of the feedback provided and the researchers find it to be disruptive. We don’t want referees to feel pressurised into giving feedback, therefore unless there is a clear direction from our research team that they are blocked from communicating with a referee (e.g. because the email address is incorrect), we ask that firms leave our research team to reach out to your referees in accordance with our process.  
 
Any unsolicited feedback we do receive will be scrutinised and possibly discounted. It is most likely that we won’t be able to attach much weight to the feedback. To avoid this, if you feel your referee hasn’t been able to provide feedback, please ask the researcher to get back in touch with them. "}},{"@type":"Question","name":"How can I ensure that I receive important updates from Chambers and Partners?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"
Please e-mail [email protected] and ask to be added\nas a research marketing contact.
"}},{"@type":"Question","name":"Does Chambers have a research policy relating to parental leave (maternity/paternity), leave required for caring responsibilities or absence leave taken by ranked lawyers?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"

Yes,\nChambers has a specific leave policy which covers parental leave, leave\nrequired for caring responsibilities and also covers any health-related absences.\nDepending on the type of absence leave, the policy ensures that ranked lawyers\nwill remain in the rankings for a period of 1 year (secondary caregivers and\nhealth-related absence) and 2 years for primary caregivers. If a ranked lawyer\nhas a change in circumstance as a secondary caregiver or due to health-related\nabsence and therefore further consideration needs to be given to extend this\ntimeframe, this would need to be raised with Chambers and Partners directly.


"}},{"@type":"Question","name":"Does Chambers have a policy on harassment or inappropriate conduct towards its employees?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"
Diversity and Inclusion is a core value at Chamber and Partners and is\nembedded in the way we work with our colleagues and clients. Our Zero Tolerance\nstatement outlines our commitment to working with colleagues and clients in a\nrespectful manner at all times regardless of gender, race, ethnicity, sexual\norientation, age, disability or social background. We would like to remind our\nclients to treat our Chambers employees in a reciprocal respectful and\nprofessional manner at all times in both face to face and digital\ncommunications. Examples of unacceptable behaviour include but are not limited\nto: the use of discriminatory language, physical or non-physical threats,\nunreasonable demands and unreasonable contact. If such behaviour is\ndemonstrated, this could lead to Chambers and Partners omitting the individual\nfrom our research process."}},{"@type":"Question","name":"What is the difference between the Global Market Leaders and Global-wide rankings?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"

The purpose of the newly branded Global Market Leaders\nis to differentiate ranking areas that are practiced globally from practice\nareas that are international in nature. Global Market Leaders identify truly\nspecialist firms that are heavily involved in what might be better described as\nniche, but highly influential parts of an international market. (Example,\nClimate Change.) Global-wide rankings includes practice areas that are present\nin multiple jurisdictions and require expertise at a local level. (Example,\nCorporate M&A.)

 A Global Market Leader ranking indicates a firm’s\nspecialty in an international market, whereas Global-wide rankings indicates a\nfirm’s global reach for a particular practice area.
\n\nThis distinction\nallows firms to focus submissions and references for Global Market Leader\nrankings and global-wide rankings will be determined with research conducted on\nthe local level for other regional guides.

"}},{"@type":"Question","name":"If a lawyer or team has recently joined my firm, can I include examples of work they completed whilst at their previous firm on a submission?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"
​Yes, when making ranking decisions we will consider work that a lawyer\ncompleted at a previous firm so long as it falls within the given review\nperiod. However if you are including such work, please clearly label it so we\ndon’t misattribute it when producing content for our website.

"}},{"@type":"Question","name":"Do you contact referees for Europe-wide sections? Where do you get the feedback and quotes from?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"
We only contact referees for International Trade/WTO and Regulatory & Public Affairs (Environment, Agro/Food, and Government & Public Affairs). For all other Europe-wide practice areas, we use feedback gleaned from national research. If you upload referees for the other Europe-wide practice areas, they will not be contacted."}}]}

FAQs

Find the answers to our most frequently asked questions

Overview How do I get a ranking in a Chambers directory? Is participating in research free? How do I know when to submit? Can I have an extension on the submission deadline? Is an interview essential? How is referee feedback collected? Where can I find a definition of practice areas? How will confidential information in a submission be protected? Does sending a submission guarantee a ranking? Should I send separate submissions for Global and Continent-Wide sections? What are Foreign Experts and Foreign Desks? Should I send a separate submission form for Foreign Experts and Foreign Desks? How do I submit Foreign Experts and Foreign Desks submission form? I have a suggestion for a new practice area or an improvement to the Chambers guides. What should I do? When do you contact a firm’s referees? Who will contact the firm’s referees? How often will your team contact those clients suggested by a law firm? How do you reach out to referees? What questions do you ask our clients? Do you ask referees about other firms? Will you tell me which referees have provided feedback? What can I do if one of my firm’s referees says they haven’t been contacted? Can I ask my references to reach out to the researchers directly? How can I ensure that I receive important updates from Chambers and Partners? Does Chambers have a research policy relating to parental leave (maternity/paternity), leave required for caring responsibilities or absence leave taken by ranked lawyers? Does Chambers have a policy on harassment or inappropriate conduct towards its employees? What is the difference between the Global Market Leaders and Global-wide rankings? If a lawyer or team has recently joined my firm, can I include examples of work they completed whilst at their previous firm on a submission? Do you contact referees for Europe-wide sections? Where do you get the feedback and quotes from?

Research Process FAQs

Articles on Chambers.com

How do I get a ranking in a Chambers directory? Is participating in research free? How do I know when to submit? Can I have an extension on the submission deadline? Is an interview essential? How is referee feedback collected? Where can I find a definition of practice areas? How will confidential information in a submission be protected? Does sending a submission guarantee a ranking? Should I send separate submissions for Global and Continent-Wide sections? What are Foreign Experts and Foreign Desks? Should I send a separate submission form for Foreign Experts and Foreign Desks? How do I submit Foreign Experts and Foreign Desks submission form? I have a suggestion for a new practice area or an improvement to the Chambers guides. What should I do? When do you contact a firm’s referees? Who will contact the firm’s referees? How often will your team contact those clients suggested by a law firm? How do you reach out to referees? What questions do you ask our clients? Do you ask referees about other firms? Will you tell me which referees have provided feedback? What can I do if one of my firm’s referees says they haven’t been contacted? Can I ask my references to reach out to the researchers directly? How can I ensure that I receive important updates from Chambers and Partners? Does Chambers have a research policy relating to parental leave (maternity/paternity), leave required for caring responsibilities or absence leave taken by ranked lawyers? Does Chambers have a policy on harassment or inappropriate conduct towards its employees? What is the difference between the Global Market Leaders and Global-wide rankings? If a lawyer or team has recently joined my firm, can I include examples of work they completed whilst at their previous firm on a submission? Do you contact referees for Europe-wide sections? Where do you get the feedback and quotes from?

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