Every year, Chambers researches the Latin American legal market over a period of 9 months, covering 20 jurisdictions and dozens of practice areas per jurisdiction. For some firms, participating in this process can be scary and confusing.

The main challenges reported by partners and marketing staff are usually the same:

·       Managing multiple deadlines during the year

·       Getting key people at the firm involved

·       Keeping the same procedures across the firm

 

To help firms with and without marketing staff, we decided to share short guide on how to prepare for this yearly effort:

 

First Steps:

 

Regardless of the size and profile of your firm, the first steps you need to take are:

1.       Accessing the calendar for deadlines and name of the researcher

2.       Downloading the templates: submission and referee spreadsheet

3.       Get to know the Chambers LatAm team here

 

If your firm has a marketing team:

 

1.       Create a task force:

Not everyone in the marketing team needs to be involved in this process. Select 1-3 people (a reasonable ratio is 1 marketing person per 10 partners) and make sure they are involved from beginning to end.

2.       Assign tasks:

There are several stages in the process: reminding partners, pestering partners, sending critical !!!! LAST CALL WARNINGS to partners, polishing the documents and finally submitting (2 days late, but could be worse – relief). Make sure everyone knows what stage they are responsible for.

3.       Engage a senior partner:

It can be hard to get lawyers out of their work bubble, but you need them to engage and to provide good quality information. I suggest ‘recruiting’ a partner to be your ally in the process; someone you can copy in when it’s time for LAST-CALL-WARNING-type emails.

 

If your firm does not have a marketing team:

 

1.       Designate Coordinator:

Things usually run smoother if one partner assumes the role of coordinator. This role involves checking the calendar, being aware of all practice areas that want to participate and keeping on top of deadlines.

2.       Share responsibility for strategy:

The whole firm needs to be involved and responsibility must be equally shared between the Partner-Coordinator and the Heads of Department of every practice area. Schedule a meeting between key stakeholders and define your goals and strategy as a firm.

3.       Establish a Standard Operational Procedure:

The procedure is up to you – some firms opt for the Partner-Coordinator to take full responsibility for making sure every submission for every practice area is ready and for uploading them on the Chambers website. In others, each practice area autonomously prepares and submit the documents. It’s up to you, but make sure you have a well-defined SOP that everyone can follow.

4.       Use task managers:

There are many task management software solutions out there. If your firm is already using one, make the most of it to help you manage this process too. AGMC can provide you with an Excel task management sheet designed specifically for managing the Chambers process (get in touch with us here).

5.       Get login details:

If this is the first time you are submitting to Chambers, send an email to [email protected] and request a username and password. This will be essential for submitting your documents on the website on deadline day.