The 2025 submission process for the IP Stars rankings kicked off with a detailed webinar hosted by Kingsley Egbuono and Chris Adams from the now-officially named Legal Benchmarking Group, which manages the IP Stars and Managing IP Awards. Here’s a recap of the essential updates and strategic insights shared during the session.
Standout Case Studies and Achievements of 2024
One of the key focal points of the submission process is the importance of highlighting a firm’s achievements in 2024. It’s crucial to clearly indicate the timing of a matter, as the assessment process gives significant weight to the date of the work. This is especially important as the submission form remains the primary tool for both the rankings and awards process. This dual function means that attention to detail in completing the form is critical to ensure your firm’s best work is recognized in both contexts.
Partner Interviews
The Legal Benchmarking Group continues to value interviews with partners to supplement the written submissions. Their preference is to interview at least two partners per firm, allowing for a more comprehensive understanding of a firm’s achievements. If a firm is approached by an IP Stars researcher for an interview, it is crucial to arrange for multiple lawyers to participate in the discussion to provide a well-rounded perspective.
What’s New this Year?
A few new elements have been introduced for the 2025 submission process:
– Addition of the Firm’s URL: On the first page of the submission, there is now a section to add the firm’s URL for their website.
– Your New IP Stars Section: This is where firms can recommend senior IP practitioners who are not already ranked. This is a chance to elevate deserving professionals for consideration in the next edition.
– Diversity and Inclusion Reporting: There has been a change in how the Legal Benchmarking Group collects diversity data. A new Social Impact Awards category is being introduced, giving firms recognition for their contributions to diversity, inclusion, and broader societal impacts.
– Referee Spreadsheets: While last year they introduced two separate spreadsheets for referees, one for companies and one for firms, there is now just one. However, firms must still clearly identify the type of referee (in-house practitioner/ direct client or another law firm) to guide the research team’s questions effectively.
Best Practices for Submitting Matters
A final key piece of advice focused on the submission of matters: it’s recommended to submit at least 10 to 15 cases. Submitting fewer than 10 may not provide a comprehensive overview of your firm’s work, making it harder for the researchers to accurately evaluate your firm’s standing.
As highlighted in the webinar, most of the information from last year’s session remains highly relevant and can serve as a helpful reference for addressing further questions. For a detailed review of last year’s insights, please refer to the following link: https://tieronerankings.com/key-updates-for-you-from-the-recent-ip-stars-webinar/
