The Lawdragon selection process has been created over 30 years of researching and reporting on the legal profession and creating lists and guides to the most effective legal professionals. Our team brings more than 100 years in the lawyer reporting and information business.
The foundation of our selection is in journalism. We research each guide extensively, studying which professionals have had significant impact, including an emphasis on recent matters handled. We encourage submissions – though they are not required - and review them alongside hundreds of candidates we identify and consider for the Lawdragon Global 100 Leaders in Legal Strategy & Consulting. We vet candidates with editorial advisors from each discipline represented.
To make a Lawdragon guide, a legal consultant or strategist will have been working in the industry for a decade, with extremely rare exceptions. More often, the professional will have 20+ years of deep experience advising legal leaders on their most pressing choices. While there are lawyers (or, to be accurate, mostly former lawyers) among those recognized, those selected are frequently from business, media, HR or finance backgrounds.
The professional focus of those included in the Global 100 Leaders in Legal Strategy & Consulting is, broadly speaking, advisors in hiring, marketing, communication, strategy and vision. First published in 2017, this guide initially included Legal Finance experts; with the ascendance of litigation funding, they have their own robust and independent guide. Recruiters are long a mainstay, as are marketing and communication afficionados as well as high-level strategists. Every year, we survey the type of professionals most in demand by firms and adjust to reflect current priorities. Of note this year is the continued ascendance of crisis communicators and litigation support pros and the continued need for a focus on diversity, equity and inclusion.
In 2023, we also refined our focus on a ‘global’ emphasis. What you will see in those recognized this year reflects the nature of the cream of the crop of legal advisors – they are standouts in the most important legal markets in the world, from Texas to the Thames, and trusted by those who put it all on the line. An important note on our process is that we watch you all year long, surveying new placements; merger attempts; and efforts to control a narrative.
Lawdragon is an advocate for inclusion in the legal profession and searches extensively for female candidates and others who represent diversity.
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