Legally India will launch the first fully-transparent law firm directory and rankings in October 2018

Monday, 4 June 2018 By Legally India Law firms

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We are very pleased to announce India’s first directory of law firms, which will describe and rank them by several completely transparent metrics.

The InLegal 50 will be an authoritative database of Indian law firms, with free participation and access for all.

Please watch the short video above that explains some of the thinking behind it.

We recognise that it is very difficult (some would argue impossible) to have a ranking that is completely objective. However, we trust that the data we are collecting and providing will help consumers of legal services to make better and more informed buying decisions, as well as increasing the overall transparency in the legal market.

The directory will include transparent league table data on corporate, private equity and venture capital activity, as well as preliminary data collection in the disputes space, of which we will reveal more shortly.

We also hope to keep adding more practice areas and metrics in future, and will keep you posted on that.

The first edition will launch in October 2018, in our next issue of Legally India in print, which is produced in collaboration with Global Legal Media in London.

Around 34 law firms have already filled in forms providing headcounts and other data. If you have not yet and to confirm your interest in participating, please click here and we will keep you posted about the process going forward.

If you have any questions or feedback, please feel free to leave a comment below, or to email

InLegal 50

Comments

Santander 4 Jun 2018, 11:24

+5 -4

Is this going to be an india today kind of rankings for law firms? How much will LI charge firms to give them better rankings? What about the firms LI has a bias with eg. Luthra, etc which might get bad rankings? And LI's favourites getting better rankings?

Generally 4 Jun 2018, 11:40

+4 -1

There, there! Let's not come to come to conclusions so quickly. The above comment itself being published is a good indication.

kianganz 4 Jun 2018, 12:01

+6 -2

Thanks for your tentative vote of confidence :) The reason we've shied away from doing a directory and ranking for so long, is partly that in all probability the majority of (vocal) readers will complain about it and will have some objections. But there's no way of finding out whether it's possible without trying :)

Ignored banks 6 Jun 2018, 08:35

+0 -0

Kian u have ignored the legal departments of banks. We want to know what happens in the legal departments of banks like Axis Bank, ICICI Bank, Kotak Bank, Rabo Bank, Yes Bank etc. Why not heard from you about banks?

kianganz 4 Jun 2018, 11:52

+4 -0

These are fair concerns: I hope not!

1. Because the Indian legal industry has a deep-seated and long-standing distrust of any rankings, is why we intend for this to be completely transparent. I.e., we hope that anyone should be able to reconstruct how a ranking in a specific area was arrived at, and slice and dice it whichever way they want, by ignoring certain parameters or prioritising others.

We are not looking to establish that firm X or firm Y is The Best, because that's generally nonsense. But we want to provide an evolving framework that will help people evaluate different strengths of firms.

2. Contrary to niche (or popular?) opinion, we don't have favourites at LI. And while nearly every firm I can remember has been upset with LI at some point or another in previous years over some coverage or other, we don't hold it against them.

3. All law firms can participate in the rankings for free. That said, if a firm chooses to boycott the rankings or not to participate by supplying no information at all, then yes, it will be more difficult to give an accurate picture of that firm. It is also in our interest for the rankings to include large firms, and I think we will mention if a firm has not participated, so that the data about that firm can be read with the appropriate proviso.

Generally 4 Jun 2018, 14:08

+1 -0

Also, out of curiosity, will you be releasing the total number (and / or the names) of the firms who filled in the forms? Therefore by implication exclude a particular firm from the top 50.

Further, just to rephrase, a large firm will be ranked (most likely higher) than a small/mid-sized firm that merely filled in the form.

Guest 4 Jun 2018, 14:37

+2 -0

Kian, just to be a little bit contrarian, I think a more rational and fair step is simply not to include any firm in this ranking that has not chosen to participate. That's what any private body ranking any other institution does. You can't simply rank a firm 11th based on data that has not been authorised by the firm and expect other people to look at that ranking and discount it appropriately. That's just.. not Cricket.

kianganz 6 Jun 2018, 08:54

+0 -0

Thanks, I think that's a very valid point and we'll have to find some fair way to account for that. But even if a firm does not share data with us directly, via research or other firms releases it may nevertheless end up featuring on the league table, though we intend to indicate in some way that such a firm's data may potentially be less complete than others.

Global 4 Jun 2018, 11:40

+1 -0

Will Legally India rank India practices of international law firms as well?

kianganz 4 Jun 2018, 11:54

+2 -0

Not yet, but one day we would definitely like to.

We want to start it out slowly, to allow the methodology to improve and incorporate feedback from readers and the market.

Do something different 4 Jun 2018, 11:45

+2 -0

Can you do a directory of law firms and corporates not to be joined. That way we can save precious years of our life. You will be doing service to mankind.
Also this directory will be fatter than your top 50 thing. And anyways no one will believe the top 50 like the commentor in comment no1.

kianganz 4 Jun 2018, 11:55

+1 -0

Thanks for your feedback - do you mean a separate directory of law firms and another of corporates? That's also something we may look to do in future, but we don't want to start off with too much at once.

Maybe 4 Jun 2018, 16:30

+1 -0

Legal cells of corporates are toxic places. Maybe you can have a joint or separate directory.

Confused? 4 Jun 2018, 16:32

+0 -0

"Not to be joined " means not to be working for. I think you took the meaning as joined or separate directories.

kianganz 6 Jun 2018, 08:54

+0 -1

Oops, sorry, I was indeed confused. For the avoidance of doubt, no, we'll not be doing a list of place you shouldn't join. :)

King-0 4 Jun 2018, 12:26

+2 -1

My apprehension is that LI will put up a ranking and the comments section will be used to slander all and sundry, as has always been the case. Why not require people to log in using their facebook or gmail ids to post comments? That ensures some level of accountability while ensuring anonymity. The LI comment section has become the home of trolls. People who suck up to the people mentioned in the stories in the real world and spew venom about them in the virtual world.

kianganz 4 Jun 2018, 12:34

+2 -1

I generally don't think any comments posted on LI are defamatory, or if any slip through, we aim to promptly remove those when alerted or pointed out. And I would urge you that if you think a comment defames someone or is trolling, to please report it with the "Report to LI" button, which lets us get a better idea of the tone that the community expects.

I agree that the tone of the comments section can be improved, but mostly people criticise firms, and not individuals, and such debate can be helpful and in many cases does result in interesting insight about a relatively opaque sectors of the market, such as law firms or legal education, and also lets people post negative or critical feedback about LI openly, which is useful to us.

Facebook comments I personally object to on basic privacy grounds. Gmail comments are marginally better from that perspective, but at the end of the day, any troll determined enough can create a fake or alias Gmail account, other than the fact that not 100% of people have Gmail accounts.

At the end of the day, maintaining decorum in any comments section comes down to better moderation rather than any instant technology fix, and we will continue to try doing a better job on that front.

Kyaaan 4 Jun 2018, 13:04

+2 -0

Why are Kian's response on this so constructive and intelligent? Seems you have thought out what you intend to do, unlike most other posts where there is just the rush to put some breaking coverage...hopefully you will live up to doing something interesting...

Rankings 4 Jun 2018, 13:35

+14 -3

I know it already:

1. CAM
2. AZB
3. SAM
4. Khaitan
5. JSA
6. Luthra
7. S&R
8. Some suspicious wild card firm which doesn't deserve to be here
9. Platinum
10. Nishith Desai

I think this ranking is pointless. Most of these are baniya firms doing well only because they block liberalisation. The "Campa Colas" of the legal world.

Close enough 6 Jun 2018, 11:01

+2 -1

No Trilegal?

namo 4 Jun 2018, 13:37

+6 -2

Kian will troll some firms big time by giving them low rankings. Then he will do a law school ranking and troll GNLU by ranking them 20, behind Patna, Ranchi etc. Nice clickbait strategy.

Internally 5 Jun 2018, 12:57

+10 -3

As if GNLU doesn't deserve the 20th place.

kianganz 6 Jun 2018, 09:00

+5 -0

If, taking a leaf out of GNLU's recruitment press releases, a law firm sends tells us that they did one huge named M&A deal "plus 20 other deals that were just as big but we can't tell you about them but give credit anyway and applaud", then yes, we'll maybe troll them a little bit for that. :)

Be the change you want 4 Jun 2018, 14:08

+34 -1

Dear Kian

Need these parameters to decide who are the top 50 and not how much cash they make:
1. Nepotism
2. Bullying
3. Sexual Harassment
4. Mental Torture
5. Transperent promotions
6. Discrimination on caste, creed, religion, sex, poor, rich, family background.
7. Pscyhopaths
8. Sharks
9. Groupism
10. Body shaming
11. Contribution to society

If you dont consider these parameters to do your top 50 law firms then you are not doing anything new.

Hope you do something refreshing and valuable.

Cheers

LI Reader

Reactions pls 5 Jun 2018, 07:53

+2 -0

Kian waiting for ur reaction on this. Will u do it based on 11 points above?

kianganz 6 Jun 2018, 08:57

+0 -0

You may jest, but who knows, maybe we can one day :)

AZB Wins 12 Jun 2018, 07:55

+2 -0

AZB ticks on all the above parameters. Add (12) for Dishonesty for withholding associates salaries and bonus.

Guest3 5 Jun 2018, 03:18

+0 -0

Wow, that's good to know. All the best Kian and team.

Guest 5 Jun 2018, 12:02

+5 -3

We already know the law firm ranking: CAM>AZB>Khaitan>SAM>JSA.

And the law school ranking: NLSIU>NALSAR>NUJS>NLUD>NLUJ

So both these rankings will just be a publicity stunt by LI.

Rankordas 9 Jun 2018, 08:03

+2 -4

I think Khaitan and AZB should switch places in that list? And in what world is NUJS better than NLUD?

Guest 9 Jun 2018, 12:16

+10 -3

There, there. Don't feel disheartened. Another year, another NIRF, another false data set, another round of beating one's own drums. Delhi aab dur nahin.

Chai Point 5 Jun 2018, 13:09

+6 -1

Ranks available just required sponsorship to LI event
Rank 1 = Platinum = 5 Lacs
Rank 2 = Gold = 2 Lacs
Rank 3 = Silver = 1 Lac

Salute to Raya Sarkar 5 Jun 2018, 15:51

+4 -2

Hey Kian, with so much of networking and secrets you know of the legal world why not publish a directory of the sexual harassers who hold offices as
-law college professors
-lawyers
I am sure you are aware of many sexual harassment men and what they have done, why not consolidate all incidents and make a huge publication instead of who is top law firm. There are too many publishers already making directories of law firms.

kianganz 6 Jun 2018, 09:01

+1 -0

Surprisingly, I don't really have such information. Or in any case, no such information so far where the victims have said they are comfortable with me going public about it...

Defend 9 Jun 2018, 08:03

+1 -0

That's one way of making sure that every top legal mind in the country sues LI and Kian into the ground.

Mistborn 5 Jun 2018, 15:59

+1 -0

Hm. I hope you consider work environment/attrition rate as an important component of your rankings.

If you do, I am sure a few firms won't make it to top three.

Catty 6 Jun 2018, 20:06

+1 -0

Great initiative, a much needed directory for the industry. Currently majority of the credible rankings are all from foreign publications which may or may not have a true picture of the industry on grounds :) Wish you the very best for this Kian and looking forward to staying updated about it.

Finally 7 Jun 2018, 07:21

+0 -0

Finally LI seems to have found a viable source for revenue. Can we rank these rankers first ? Whats the credibility of LI or anyone else for that matter who plans to rank the firms ? Is it nothing more than arm twist/blackmail to make money.

kianganz 7 Jun 2018, 08:07

+0 -0

Any commercial element to the October print issue has been and will continue to be handled exclusively by Global Legal Media, and in case it needs repeating, will not affect the ranking and directory element in any way, shape or form.

But I think the best defence against allegations or suspicions of bias will lie in a completely transparent methodology and data collection and publishing process, as well as sharing this with readers and opening it up to feedback.

And at the end of the day, it is in our and the ranking's ultimate interest for our methodology to not even have room for "arm-twisting".

Kkz 9 Jun 2018, 14:43

+1 -1

Sam is the best and it is a well established fact

WOoho 14 Jun 2018, 05:49

+0 -0

Legally India will launch the first fully-transparent law firm directory and rankings in October 2018 ? Is there something which is partially transparent or non-transparent ?

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