How to best utilize the Chambers and Partners USA portal for your firm
The Chambers and Partners USA Guide is considered one of the most prestigious legal rankings in the country, with a hotly anticipated release every year. You probably are very familiar with going through the complex submissions process — and the joy of seeing that hard work pay off in a top ranking. But did you know there’s a hidden aspect of Chambers you may have ignored that can be your ace in the hole? We’re talking about the Chambers portal.
Legal marketers and attorneys might have used the Chambers portal in the past as a place to pull badges and view rankings, but there are yet more treasures just waiting for you to check out and leverage in your Chambers process. These include a referee management platform, an analytics section and even a social media image generator. Below are four features you might not know about:
Referee management
References are a key part of a good submission to Chambers. Researchers rely on references even more than submission narratives to make decisions about who makes the cut. A well-rounded, quality reference list could potentially make or break a firm’s or an attorney’s ranking.
What makes a good reference? References are people who can speak about the breadth of an attorney or practice group’s work. They don’t necessarily have to have been a direct part of a case, but whenever possible, there should be a connection between matters and references. This isn’t a 100% concrete rule; references can also be the co-counsel from another firm or even opposing counsel. Chambers allows up to 30 referees per submission, so make each reference count. Pro tip: If you can choose a Chambers-ranked lawyer as a reference, all the better, as long as they know you and your work.
Because references are so important, it’s vital to ensure they actually speak to Chambers and there are no problems with incorrect contact information. Thankfully, the Chambers portal includes a free feature called Referee Management under the Submissions tab. This section lists the submission’s references and shows the contact name, the referring lawyers, the last contact date and the status. It also shows whether Chambers was able to contact them. If not, it lists the reasoning behind why the contact failed: this could be an invalid email, a bounceback or a wrong phone number.
The Referee Management portal is important because it shows the reference response rate. The more references that respond, the better! The referee response rate varies from practice area to practice area, but across all Chambers, the average response rate is 30-35%.
If the portal shows incorrect contact information for a reference, fix that immediately! It’s a matter of firm policy whether or not reluctant references should be nudged to reply, but worth considering. Just make sure it’s handled in a respectful way that prioritizes the client relationship.
In addition to response status, the portal also shows whether Chambers has put a reference on hold for a bit because they’ve already been contacted. When Chambers reaches out to references, researchers ask for feedback on multiple firms and lawyers who have included that name in their list. This is so references don’t get barraged with multiple contacts seeking information on just one firm or lawyer at a time. For similar reasons, once a reference has been contacted, Chambers gives them a break for a few months, and that’s noted in the portal. That reprieve helps prevent reference fatigue. Once that period lapses, Chambers will reach out to the reference again with a fresh request.
Research/analytics
The Research/Analytics section of the portal provides detailed data about a firm’s rankings. It shows year-over-year changes for a specific practice area and attorneys. This section also lists firm mentions, where Chambers tallies up every time a firm is mentioned organically by other firms and references throughout the research process. It also compares how a firm compares to the market average, which is helpful competitive information not only when promoting rankings but also in general.
Potential rankings
Another feature listed in the Research/Analytics section of the portal is Chambers’ potential rankings: this lists attorneys or practice groups that have the potential to be ranked in the next guide. You also don’t have to have previously submitted for a particular practice group or included matters from an attorney for them to be tagged as a potential. If a firm’s unranked practice area or unranked attorney is mentioned often enough organically during the research process, Chambers will also mark them as a potential.
This is like a wink wink nudge nudge from Chambers that a potential practice group or attorney could be ranked in the near future. Our tip: make sure to emphasize these attorneys and in the next submission and consider submitting for potential practice groups as well if you haven’t already. A potential designation is not a guarantee of future ranking, but it is a solid indication of what could happen.
Marketing toolkit
If you’re looking to promote rankings on a firm’s website or social media effectively and ethically (if you have questions on how to do this, check out our ethics guide), the Marketing Toolkit within the portal is the place to look! This section is filled with all things social media: images, badges, testimonials and more.
There is a section to download high-resolution badges for website bios and practice group descriptions. The Quote Image Generator section provides quotes from references and sources that spoke with Chambers during the research process. The images are automatically generated and provide quotes specific to lawyers, practice areas and firms as a whole. The Editorial Archive section stores all testimonials from the past three years and allows users to filter and browse by guide, practice area or location.
Note: Image taken from example in Chambers portal
Don’t neglect the Chambers portal!
The Chambers and Partners portal can be a wealth of information at your fingertips. From promoting rankings to creating new submissions, this is a helpful tool to make a legal marketer or attorney’s life easier. If you would like to know more about how to promote Chambers rankings, check out our blog post.
If you have any other questions about Chambers submissions or promoting your rankings, let’s chat: info@rep-ink.com!
