Today marks the launch of Chambers & Partner’s 2024 UK coverage, following on from The Legal 500 which launched its UK guide on October 04th. Chambers marked the occasion with an approximately 20-minute webinar, revealing some intriguing statistics and trends.
Overall, 5,500 individual departments were recognised, with 13,000 lawyers ranked on an individual basis, this marks an increase of 220 newly recognised practices and 834 additional lawyers.
Firms who have been submitting for years to no avail will have taken heed of the example of US-headquartered Armstrong Teasdale who, after numerous years of participating, received its first ever recognition in the UK via a ranking for its sports department. Evidently, a story reminding firms that persistence, and a desire to improve on submissions each year, can pay off.
Likewise, Chambers provided the example of Mann & Co which received a ranking upon its very first submission. The message all-around was that most firms were being recognised than ever, and that no outfit should be deterred from submitting, evident through the anecdote that numerous boutiques had received recognition for the first time.
Chambers also announced that it will be adding new SME-focused tables to its 2025 edition, a move which will no doubt continue the theme of increased focus for smaller- and mid-sized firms who will have noted that, in place of the usual suspects, it was actually Hill Dickinson, DWF and Foot Antsey who received the most newly ranked individual lawyers this year.
The door is certainly open to firms who may not involved in multi-million transactions, or act for household names, so long as they can clearly convey why their work is of significance beyond sheer matter value or profile.
The market leading directory also extended its welcome to female lawyers, who were noted to now outrank males by approximately 1/3 in the Up-and-Coming rankings. While it will likely take many years for the legal industry’s more inclusive trends to be represented at the more senior levels, Chambers did note that the 60/40 barrier was close to being broken, with 505 of the 834 newly ranked names being female.
Evidently, The Legal 500 and Chambers’s recent encouragement for firms to put forward more female lawyers is paying dividends, though firms still need to do more and ensure that candidates are properly and fairly advocated, namely through sufficiently exhibited work.
Chambers noted that its market research had been informed by more firm interviews than ever, along with 54,000 market responses from referees. Firms will have been reminded that the directory process is threefold between a strong submission, an insightful follow up interview, and a large, illuminating exhibition of client endorsements.
At Tier One Rankings, we are home to over 20 years of experience at Legal 500/Chambers, including three former editors. We naturally believe we are well-equipped to support on all fronts so please feel free to reach out, ahead of the December 6th deadline for the UK 2025 edition, should our services be of interest. For more information, please contact Galit Imbo at galit@nishlis.com.
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