Chambers IP rankings & choosing between law firms? Forum

[ForgotMyPassword]

Hey, so I'm interested in IP litigation and have been fortunate enough to receive a few offers from firms with widely different chambers / vault ranking combinations. My issue is that I simply do not know how much to weigh the chambers IP rankings - how important is band 1 vs band 3 vs unranked? How much should I care about Vault rankings insofar as they affect exit ops? Is a V50 Band 1/2 better than a V20 band 3/4?

Any guidance from practicing lawyers would be appreciated!

[Johann]

i picked based on chambers rather than vault rankings. havent been disappointed so far. also picked based on people i would be working with.

[Tiago Splitter]

Chambers is much better than Vault, but you might want to start a thread naming the firms (or name them in this one) so people can help you understand the degree of difference between the various bands. But you can ignore Vault as that really only correlates well with NYC corporate stuff.

[Anonymous User]

Looking at a couple of firms for Norcal M&A, but they have pretty small classes and there isn't much information out there about the individual firms - any sense if Chambers is good in that department or if there might be a better source?

[Tiago Splitter]

Looking at a couple of firms for Norcal M&A, but they have pretty small classes and there isn't much information out there about the individual firms - any sense if Chambers is good in that department or if there might be a better source?

Chambers isn't great there. It's a good starting point but again telling people the actual firm names is going to be your best bet. NorCal is especially tricky because there are some equally strong firms doing very different M&A work.

[Anonymous User]

Looking at a couple of firms for Norcal M&A, but they have pretty small classes and there isn't much information out there about the individual firms - any sense if Chambers is good in that department or if there might be a better source?

Chambers isn't great there. It's a good starting point but again telling people the actual firm names is going to be your best bet. NorCal is especially tricky because there are some equally strong firms doing very different M&A work.

Is there a better resource? FWIW, looking specifically at M&A for Cooley, Shearman, Pillsbury, Paul Hastings, Jones Day.

[ForgotMyPassword]

Chambers is much better than Vault, but you might want to start a thread naming the firms (or name them in this one) so people can help you understand the degree of difference between the various bands. But you can ignore Vault as that really only correlates well with NYC corporate stuff.

Thanks for the advice, that helps me with the vault side of the equation. I don't want to name the firms as two of them are in CA and have quite small summer classes, but all three are patent lit with no patent pros. One is band 1, one is band 3, and one is unranked. Is there a significant perception difference amongst clients / lawyers between those, or is being ranked on chambers for IP enough for the group to be considered decent / have exit ops?

[camelcrema]

Chambers is much better than Vault, but you might want to start a thread naming the firms (or name them in this one) so people can help you understand the degree of difference between the various bands. But you can ignore Vault as that really only correlates well with NYC corporate stuff.

Thanks for the advice, that helps me with the vault side of the equation. I don't want to name the firms as two of them are in CA and have quite small summer classes, but all three are patent lit with no patent pros. One is band 1, one is band 3, and one is unranked. Is there a significant perception difference amongst clients / lawyers between those, or is being ranked on chambers for IP enough for the group to be considered decent / have exit ops?

This is likely not representative, but was interesting in terms of exit ops - the Recorder tallied up where Apple's in-house counsel had previously worked: http://www.therecorder.com/image/ca/cha ... ployer.jpg

[ForgotMyPassword]

This is likely not representative, but was interesting in terms of exit ops - the Recorder tallied up where Apple's in-house counsel had previously worked: http://www.therecorder.com/image/ca/cha ... ployer.jpg

You are the best! This is definitely helpful, now I need to see if I can track down similar data on some other tech giants.

Also - how important is geography? One of the firms is in NYC but has large tech clients and a very well regarded IP practice, would that hurt me significantly if I wanted to move in house at a Bay Area / Seattle tech giant?

[camelcrema]

This is likely not representative, but was interesting in terms of exit ops - the Recorder tallied up where Apple's in-house counsel had previously worked: http://www.therecorder.com/image/ca/cha ... ployer.jpg

You are the best! This is definitely helpful, now I need to see if I can track down similar data on some other tech giants.

Also - how important is geography? One of the firms is in NYC but has large tech clients and a very well regarded IP practice, would that hurt me significantly if I wanted to move in house at a Bay Area / Seattle tech giant?

Geography affects your network - being in the Bay Area / Seattle is a benefit because you will get to know Bay Area / Seattle lawyers, who will either be the in-house counsel or know the in-house counsel at these tech giants. This is not to say moving in-house to the Bay Area / Seattle can't be done from an NYC firm, but being local has some benefit. Feel free to PM me if you have questions about specific firms.