What We Learnt at the LFMS: Legal Directory Submissions and AI

We had a fantastic discussion at the Law Firm Marketing Summit around the increasing use of AI tools to assist in gathering and drafting legal directory submissions this year. It is still in the early stages of development but there is both a lot of potential and pitfalls surrounding the use of AI for this purpose.

Here are some key themes that stood out from our Q&A breakout session:

AI

There is potential in using AI tools for streamlining the process, engaging partners efficiently and reducing the overall administrative burden. However, it doesn't yet have the capability to understand the nuances of practice areas, firm's messaging or the overall strategic approach essential for improving rankings. It will be interesting to revisit this next year and discuss the use of AI tools.

Referees

Chambers ’three-month rule’ can cause confusion when navigating the referee process. If a particular referee is used by multiple different practice areas and departments within the same firm or by multiple firms and responds, Chambers will not contact them for another three months. A useful tool for monitoring Chambers referee response rates their Research Management Tool (RMT) (paid for product). It allows you to check each referee status ahead of deadlines to determine if they have already been contacted in the last three months or have unsubscribed and switch them up until research starts as needed. Here's more information about navigating the referee process.

When it comes to Chambers referee response rates, it varies depending on practice area/guide. Previously a 50%-60% referee response rate was a good minimum standard but, with more firms now interacting with this tool, this has increased to a 70% or higher referee response rate. Chambers has stated that referee feedback equates to approximately 60% of a ranking decision, making it vital to have a strong referee response rate. Legal 500 have discussed a similar tool which will be interesting to see how this impacts their ranking decisions and process in the future.

Strategy

It's easy to think of the legal directory process as a standalone, time-consuming task but we challenge this perspective. Instead, these can be an invaluable knowledge base that can reflect and inform a firm's entire marketing strategy. It can relate to retention, client listening and relationship building, succession planning, relevant content creation, internal communications, partner engagement and much more.