The research for the IP STARS rankings and Managing IP Awards

Why is it important for firms to participate each year?

The minimum we expect from firms each year is that they should submit their firm questionnaire and client referees documents ('research forms'). The submission process is simple: complete the research forms and upload to our online submissions portal.

We use the information in the research forms for the IP STARS rankings and Managing IP Awards.

Regardless of whether your firm is ranked or not, it is important to submit your forms each year because our firm rankings are subject to change each year, i.e. a firm can be added, upgraded, downgraded or removed.

Annual participation demonstrates that your firm’s IP practice is credible and active, and it helps us build up reasonable research data on your firm and practitioners. If appropriate, and subject to other research information, a ranked firm may well be removed or downgraded if we do not receive a submission.

We also use the firm submission for the research for the Top 250 Women in IP and Rising Stars, and the Managing IP Awards.

Lastly, we are looking into other ways to recognise certain unranked firms that participated in our research; when/if we decide to do something on this, we'll prioritise those firms that consistently participate in our research.

Do firms and individuals have to pay to participate in the research and/or to be ranked or to win an award?

No. It is absolutely free to participate in our research. For the avoidance of doubt, commercial dealings with Managing IP (for example, paying for a subscription or advertisement) do not and will not influence our research results. Firms and individuals are recognised only on merit.

Would you encourage or accept a submission which has been prepared for other legal directories? 

No, we do not encourage this. Managing IP is a specialist, long-established IP publication. Submitting the document of another legal directory will make it very difficult for our research analysts to properly assess your firm for the IP STARS rankings and Managing IP Awards.

Do you change your research process and forms each year?

Our research methodology has not changed and we do not have any plan to change it in the near future. However, each year we seek feedback on how to improve our research forms, i.e. the firm questionnaire and client referees document, and the submission process. We avoid making significant changes to the research forms.

Can you briefly explain your research methodology?

The firm rankings, IP Stars lists and Managing IP Awards are based on the information we obtain from different sources, including firm submissions, publicly available information and market feedback. Please read more about our methodology here.

Where can I find the research forms, submission portal and guidelines?

The latest research forms, link to the online submission portal (opens on September 1) and submission guidelines will be found here.

When do you start accepting firm submissions each year?

Each year we start accepting firm questionnaires and client referees from September 1. See our research timeline here.

When is the deadline for firm submissions?

The deadline to submit your firm questionnaire and client referees documents is October 31 or the next working day, if October 31 falls on a weekend. See our research timeline here.

Can I update our firm questionnaire and resubmit if the portal is still open?

We need firms to upload final, complete documents on or before the deadline. We strongly advise firms not to rush and submit something they will later update and resubmit.  Resubmitting documents or making changes after the deadline creates data problems for us, and we cannot guarantee that we will use your new information or updated documents after the deadline.

If you want us to use your updated documents, you must delete your previous documents and upload the new documents on or before the deadline. We normally download all documents from our portal a day after the deadline. 

When do you start contacting referees and how does it work?

We normally start contacting eligible referees via email in December. An email will be sent from our general email address (see here).

Can we change or update our referees after submission?

To ensure we use your updated referee documents, you must delete your previous referee documents and resubmit them via our portal on or before the deadline. We cannot guarantee that we will accept or process referee changes after the deadline. We use documents submitted via our portal and do not accept submissions via email.

We strongly advise firms to only submit final documents and obtain consent from their referees before giving us their contact details. We will contact all referees provided and cannot be held liable for not implementing changes received after the deadline.

Do you have different research dates/deadlines for different regions or jurisdictions?

No.  

Which regions and jurisdictions do you cover?

Click on a region's navigation tab above to see the jurisdictions and rankings we have under it. We always consider new jurisdictions to introduce, but this depends on the number of research participants and amount of research data.

We have IP teams in offices in different countries in our region (or, for US firms, in different States in the US), can we submit one firm questionnaire to cover all the countries? Or do we have to submit one form for each country?

You are required to submit one form for each jurisdiction/country. Please only submit for the jurisdiction/country and/or US state in which you would like us to consider your firm for our rankings and awards. Although not mandatory, US firms may wish to also submit by state.

When do you survey individual practitioners and how does it work?

We survey individual practitioners after the firm submission deadline. We send an email to all ranked practitioners and anyone else who is interested in taking part in the survey. The email will be sent from our general email address (see here). Please note that completing the survey does not guarantee ranking, and there is no special survey to complete for the Top 250 Women in IP list and Corporate IP Stars list.

See our research timeline here.

What is the difference between the practitioner survey and the firm submission?

The contents of the firm questionnaire and client referees spreadsheet (firm submission) are primarily used for the firm rankings and Managing IP Awards. The firm submission covers the firm's entire IP practice/work and teams.

We have two IP practitioner surveys for individuals in private practice: one for our IP Stars list (to be completed by senior IP practitioners, especially partners) and the other for our Rising Stars list (to be completed by junior IP practitioners, especially associates). 

The main purpose of the practitioner survey is to get feedback or suggestions for our rankings and awards, but it also gives the practitioner the unique opportunity to provide his or her own practice/work information which was not included in the firm submission. Completing the survey is a strong indicator that the practitioner is active. We use the survey data for all our rankings, including practitioner rankings, and awards.

We expect practitioners to complete the survey themselves because it is designed for them and they know the answers. Practitioners do not need to provide case studies and/or client referees if they are satisfied with the contents of their firm questionnaire and client referees spreadsheet.

How can we get the practitioners in our firm to be ranked?

Please complete and submit our research forms. We will review the forms, including other research data, conduct independent research and decide whether or not to rank an individual.

Can the marketing/business development staff complete the practitioner survey on behalf of practitioners?

No. The practitioner survey is designed for practitioners to complete themselves because only they will know the answers to the questions.

Please also note that we do not have a Word or PDF copy of the practitioner survey.

When do you start your research interviews?

First, you do not need to submit your research forms before scheduling an interview with us. The main purpose of the interview is to get feedback on our rankings and the Managing IP awards.

We will schedule and conduct the first batch of interviews between September and November. The second batch of interviews starts in December and ends in January. Please note that interview slots are offered on a first come, first served basis.

We interview as many firms as possible and obtain a lot of data and therefore we regret that not all firms will be interviewed.

Please note: the interview isn’t compulsory and not getting a slot won’t influence our decision on whether you or your firm should be ranked in IP STARS or shortlisted for the Managing IP Awards. The most important way to participate in our research each year is to submit your firm questionnaire and client referees.

See our research timeline here.

Do you have research forms for in-house legal teams or counsel?

Yes, we accept in-house submissions for the Managing IP Awards programme. In-house legal teams or counsel should complete and submit our in-house awards form here. We will also use the submissions, together with other research data, for the Corporate Stars list.

Where can I find information about the Managing IP Awards and previous winners?

You can read about the awards on our dedicated page here or on Managing IP's website here.

When will you publish the results of your research?

We normally start publishing our research results from February (follow our updates here). The firm rankings for patent and trade mark work will be published in the Managing IP magazine as well as on this website.

The Managing IP Awards shortlists and winners are published on Managing IP's website, managingip.com

Firms will be informed about the rankings and awards in advance, and we will publish an announcement on this website.

Our general research and results publication timeline can be found here.

Where can we find more information about your research?

Please click here. If you still have further questions after reviewing all the information on our website or have feedback to share please send them to us here.

For the latest updates and announcements, please keep an eye on our news page (here), follow us on Twitter and/or join our LinkedIn group.