During the eight years of our existence, the rating has been transformed and turned into extensive research reflecting the latest trends in the development of law firms and the market as a whole.
In 2016, we embarked on a path of reforming and developing the rating and entered into an active dialogue with the legal community. Throughout the year, we have been meeting corporate lawyers and legal advisers who are leaders in their branch of law. We have tried to update the rating’s methods to make them more transparent and clearer for market participants. We have added new branches of law for assessment.
The business environment changes, new players appear, law firms develop new practice groups, while some firms, in contrast, lose ground. Our goal is to help business make the right choice as to who can be entrusted with their projects. The Pravo.ru-300 Rating is an operating tool for choosing legal advisers.
The firms participating in the rating have taken very seriously the choice of projects to be presented for assessment on an absolutely confidential basis. Each category has been very competitive, and sometimes it has been very difficult for us to opt for one firm over another. The assessments of and feedback from the law firms’ clients, which we have included in the rating’s methodology, have been of considerable help.
When determining a firm’s position in the rating, we have relied on the opinion of the members of the rating’s Expert Board, which includes the heads of legal departments from top Russian and international companies. Our adjudicators work closely together with legal advisers and know their work inside out. In 2017, the Expert Board was expanded; now it consists of representatives from 60 companies. The experts play an increasingly active role when the rating is compiled. We have obtained interesting, well qualified and reasoned commentaries on the work of law firms.
We have assessed firms both in the legal categories that are key for the Russian market, such as commercial court proceedings, competition law, criminal law, labour law, real estate and construction, and in the industry categories: finance law, power industry and natural resources, telecommunications. We have also attempted to assess law firms by branches of law in the Russian regions.
A user will learn who the powerhouses are on the Russian law market, how reputed leaders and legal brands are regarded, and which new players are worthy of attention.
Boris Boltyanskiy, Pravo.ru Chief editor