How clients use Chambers

Chambers shown to lead in recent survey

An independent journal, International In-House Counsel, conducted a survey in September 2008 of over 20,000 in-house counsel from around the world. They were asked: If you use directories to identify law firms/individuals, which one/s do you use?

Their answers gave Chambers an astounding lead.

These figures are reproduced from the International In-house Counsel Journal, an independent publication. Click here for a list of full results (at paragraph 6).

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Chambers is a reliable and respected source

The Chambers brand is well-known amongst clients, many of whom are familiar with our research. They know how thorough it is, and therefore trust us as a reliable source.

"I used Chambers to find the lawyer for a major transaction," said one UK Chief Executive. "I consulted Chambers, did a few background calls with bankers and then cold-called the lawyer in question. Chambers was how they got the work."

The General Counsel of a major UK football team remarked to our researchers: "I now rely on Chambers as my primary reference guide. This is because the guidance matches my own experience of particular lawyers and firms."

FURTHER CLIENT COMMENTS:

Chambers UK is an invaluable guide for both professional and lay people alike. It can be used from a local or national perspective.

Peter Camponi, General Counsel, Von Roll Isola

The descriptions are helpful, and I am familiar with the discipline used in making assessments. This gives me confidence that this resource is better than others that are less rigorous in their rankings.

John McCall, Executive Vice President, General Counsel & Corporate Secretary, E.ON

The first place to go when searching out reliable information on a law firm.

Philip A. Ramsell, Head of Legal - EMEA, Mercer

Chambers & Partners is my best reference to firms and lawyers around the world. They seem to get it right and I trust their judgment.

John Dickens, Alberto Culver

I find [the Chambers guides] useful and very much right on point.

Joseph Finn, Founding Partner, Finn, Warnke & Gayton

I think that lawyers rely on Chambers because of the process they go through to take the time to speak to people. It gives the publication real substance. Looking at my area I believe that it`s accurate - many, many good lawyers get listed in Chambers.

Jill Harrison, Assistant General Counsel W.L. Gore & Associates, Inc

It`s useful because the reviews come from clients and it`s anonymous, so there`s no benefit to plug anyone. It`s very helpful.

William Bonn, Senior Managing Director & General Counsel Beacon Capital Partners

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How do clients use Chambers?

Many clients use the rankings, editorial and profiles of firms to find lawyers. The head of legal at a global bank in London told us: "I use Chambers all the time as it is a useful guide in identifying specialists through both the rankings and the profiles."

Solicitors also find Chambers a useful source for finding barristers. One London lawyer commented: "I use Chambers when looking for barristers dealing with matters outside my usual geographic or practice area."

FURTHER COMMENTS

Chambers UK occupies a useful position in my library. I am especially impressed by the profiles of particular specialists at each firm. These enable me to pinpoint the individuals I can best approach for my professional training purposes.

Matthew Hutton, Chartered Tax Advisor

I use Chambers to review what they say about law firms I already use, or to get suggestions in jurisdictions where we do not already have contacts.

Matthew Foss, General Counsel, Moody`s Investors Service Limited

I use Chambers in several different ways. If I need a lawyer in a jurisdiction, I will consult the guide and see what firms and individual lawyers are recommended. I also use it generally to see what people are saying about the firms we use and to get a sense of what`s going on in a particular market.

Peter Schwartz, Senior Executive Vice President & General Counsel, Westfield Corporation Inc

I would look to Chambers if I wanted to select new firms for interview for our panel.

Maggie Wood, Group Corporate Services Director, A2Dominion Group

I use Chambers when looking at an area of practice that I don`t normally hire lawyers for - more esoteric or specialist practice areas mainly.

David Blue, Ospraie Management LLC

I have just used the Global Edition to appoint appropriate counsel in Brazil but I also use it for other countries. I am very happy with the content of the rankings and firms` profile information contained in the guide.

Matthias Fenner, Fresenius

I find Chambers useful when identifying practitioners for large matters.

Ken Dreifach - Linden Lab Inc

Chambers is an invaluable resource for finding law firms outside my area of expertise or for confirming my choice of counsel on a particular matter.

Augustine V. Cheng Managing Director & Chief Legal Officer Arizona Technology Enterprises

We use Chambers often. We receive two copies - our corporate department receives one and investment banking uses the other. Investment banking uses it to assist in assessing the quality of attorneys used by client companies. If a company or prospect comes to us represented by an attorney, we want to know who this person is, the quality of their effort and how he/she is generally regarded.

BarryAlpert, Managing Director Raymond James & Associates

Chambers Guides are incredibly helpful. When Emmis Communications is looking to enter a new market, either a new country or different market in the United States, Chambers is the first place I go to find top-quality local counsel. I typically identify three or four individual lawyers from the top three Chambers bands and have a conference call with each of them to determine who will be the best fit. In most instances, we have hired someone from the Chambers book.

J. Scott Enright, Senior Vice President, Associate General Counsel and Secretary, Emmis Communications Corporation and Subsidiaries

The Chambers Guides are a big thing here in the US. I want to give my appraisal because people look at the Chambers rating.

John Southern, Chief Financial Officer, CareSouth Health System

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Global Coverage

The guides cover 176 countries around the world and use the same research methodology to identify the key law firms in every jurisdiction.

Many clients are not content to rely on the recommendations of their existing counsel when entering new jurisdictions. One London solicitor, Andrew Peel of Halliwell`s, told us recently: "Many clients, despite what others may say, are heavily influenced by the rankings and profiles. This is even more apparent as overseas work is increasing and overseas clients almost wholly rely on these sources of information."

A banker at a leading global bank commented: "Chambers is really helpful in providing an impartial view of which lawyers to instruct in foreign jurisdictions."

FURTHER COMMENTS

Usually when finding local lawyers we go through the advice of our international counsel - unless they`ve just got no clue! In which case you get out your Chambers Guide and just try and work it out.

Ben O`Bryan, Director of Equity Derivatives Structuring, Merrill Lynch (London)

I use Chambers to find M&A lawyers as part of my role as a deal originator and have found it very useful.

Takahiro (Tom) Kimura, Global M&A Osaka Gas Co., Ltd. (Japan)

Our legal dept definitely uses the guides when we need to find a foreign law firm, and I think the global finance department uses them as well. I think they are very useful in guiding us to individuals we need for specific work.

Myung Hee Suh, Korea Development Bank

In my role as Group Legal Counsel for Ericsson I regularly engage legal counsel in a large number of jurisdictions all over the world, including developing countries. When I need to engage counsel on short notice in a jurisdiction where I have no established firm contacts or any reliable recommendation to go on, the Chambers Guides are an invaluable tool and my first port of call to quickly identify suitable counsel candidates for the deal in question, in particular in developing countries.

Hans Swolin, Group Legal Counsel Finance, Insurance and M&A Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson

The Chambers Guides are an invaluable source of up-to-date information regarding legal practitioners in the Asia-Pacific Region.With respect to the selection of local-law legal counsel, the guide provides good background information with respect to potential candidate firms and lawyers.

Tim Meaney, Head of Project Finance, Asia-Pacific, Global Structured Finance, DZ Bank

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Industry Respect

Lawyers as well as clients use Chambers as a valuable resource.

A partner at a leading London firm commented: "Everybody at my firm uses Chambers directories. I think the key point to make is that the research is accurate. We think they do a very good job and are certainly the most accurate publication available."

A barrister recently told us: "I use the guides when I am instructed by a firm of solicitors for the first time, to see what those who know them have to say about their abilities and practice. I also use Chambers to find out about counsel whom I am to appear against for the first time."

FURTHER COMMENTS

Yes, I do use Chambers, both in terms of reviews of other firms of solicitors, and (mostly) to assist with the selection of appropriate counsel. It is the foremost legal directory in the UK.

Michael Veal, Partner, Lester Aldridge

In a legal marketing world that is literally awash in gratuitous and duplicative listings, pay-for-plays, unresearched ratings, rankings and scams - over 900 at last count - there are innumerable ways for lawyers and marketing departments to waste their time and money. Amid the confusion and noise, there are only a few islands of sanity and dependability left. Among those, Chambers & Partners stands out for its comprehensive view of the marketplace, depth and quality of research, and commitment to reporting integrity. To be sure, there is time and effort involved in our commitment to Chambers, but this is work that both our attorneys and marketers undertake willingly because Chambers commands clout and credibility with key clients.

Mark P. Messing, Chief Marketing Officer, Duane Morris LLP

Seldom are rating services and surveys of lawyer reputations taken seriously by current or prospective clients, with one significant exception - Chambers. We have discovered that a Chambers' recognition is valued by both our clients and our fellow attorneys as a mark of informed distinction that gives us instant credibility and respect.

Bruce Culpepper, Akerman Senterfitt

I use Chambers Guides. I find them an objective and reliable index to what you need to know and who you need to know in the legal world.

Paul Kilcoyne, Barrister, 1 Temple Gardens

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