Research for the inaugural LMG Life Sciences Europe Awards has officially commenced. The event will recognise leading European law firms and lawyers specialised in the life sciences industry. An awards dinner will take place in May 2020 to celebrate outstanding legal work over the previous 12 months. The event aims to honour firms and attorneys on the forefront of legal work in life sciences. The award’s distinctive structure highlights firms that specialise in four main practice areas by shortlisting firms and by listing our life sciences nominees in a way that shows overlap between certain legal areas.
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What do you award?
We award law firms and lawyers working in life sciences in person and publish the shortlists and winners on our website and social media.
Research timeline
- RESEARCH LAUNCH – 21 November 2019
- SUBMISSION DEADLINE – 20 December 2019
- RESEARCH INTERVIEWS – January to February 2020
- AWARDS DINNER – May 2020
How to take part
To take part in our research simply:
- Download our research form
- Complete the form
- Upload it to our online submissions portal or email to john.harrison@legalmediagroup.com
Research period
We will be rewarding legal work in the life sciences that has taken place between 1 January 2019 to 31 December 2019.
Any supplementary cases, deals, or information can be submitted by 7 January 2020.
Why take part?
- Accurate and in-depth representation of your firm’s activities
- Exposure to our global readership including in-house counsel to the industry’s leading development corporations
Ranking criteria
Our law firm rankings are based on three key criteria:
Case evidence
We ask firms to provide recent deal and case highlights and this is used to determine their position in the market.
Firms should provide their most complex and interesting matters in the research form and explain clearly to our research team why they are important and what they tell us about the firm’s abilities.
Client feedback
We speak to a wide range of corporate and in-house contacts to get their opinions on the firms and attorneys they use.
Peer feedback
We engage with lawyers throughout Europe in life sciences legal field and get their opinions on other firms and attorneys that are showing great success in this field of legal practice.
Structure of the Awards
In covering Europe, we focus on four main practice areas and shortlist firms within several sub-categories:
- Regulatory – Advisory, Judicial Review
- Intellectual Property – Patent Prosecution, Patent Strategy and Management, General Patent Litigation, Opposition Proceedings
- Financial & Corporate – General Corporate, Licensing & Collaboration, Mergers & Acquisitions, Venture Capital
- Non-IP Litigation and Enforcement – Product Liability, White Collar Crime, Antitrust, Parallel Import
You can read about the categories here.
Life Cycle Firms
Only a small number of firms are rated as a "Life Cycle Firm." We feel the firms shortlisted will have capabilities that allow them to handle pertinent legal issues facing a product throughout its life cycle. We shortlist firms based on the breadth of their life sciences practice, by meeting a threshold number of life sciences practitioners across at least three practice areas.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I send information in another format?
Yes, as long as the information we ask for is provided you can submit in any Word or PDF format.
Can I provide the same information that I provided to another publication?
Yes–so long as it relates to your life sciences practice and the information included is what we have asked for.
How much influence do we have over our rating vs. the external market?
Firms are encouraged to tell their story via our research form and through interviews. We then measure the firm’s input against the feedback we receive via studying the market. If our studies are in harmony with the firm’s assertions, we weight them equally. If there is an extreme disparity between the firm’s views and a pronounced percentage of the market, we will provide greater weight to the market consensus.
If we participate, are we guaranteed to get awarded and/or have commentary?
We do not guarantee awards or shortlist rankings.
Should we list confidential cases/clients? How do we ensure these remain confidential?
You can provide confidential clients/cases if you feel we should be aware of these, and we will certainly be respectful of confidential agreements – please mark confidential information clearly, ideally in RED.
When/how do you contact client referees?
We contact all client referees provided to us via email and invite them to take part in an online client survey. The survey asks clients about the firms they use, why they use them, what they use them for and how long they have been using them. The information provided by clients is confidential.
Do you only award those of partner level for individual awards?
There are rare exceptions where an attorney of counsel or senior associate will be recognised for performing at a partner level.
We’re a small boutique firm – what chance do we stand against the big brand name firms in your rankings?
Because LMG Life Sciences Europe focuses on a number of practice areas within the industry, smaller firms stand a very good chance of being awarded and in some cases, it may be to your betterment.
How do we get an in-person interview?
In-person interviews are welcomed in the London (UK) area. Simply contact us and request one, and, depending on the schedule and flexibility of our researchers, we can arrange one. We also conduct annual visits to various rotating jurisdictions around Europe. In the event that we are visiting your jurisdiction, we would reach out to your firm to invite you to meet.
Who are the attendees of LMG Life Sciences Europe?
Those attending our awards night include law firms and in-house counsel.
Is LMG Life Sciences "pay-to-play?" If I don’t support the project financially do I still get shortlisted?
LMG Life Sciences Europe is absolutely not "pay-to-play." Firms cannot pay to receive an award and will only be shortlisted if the market deems them worthy of consideration. Declining to financially support LMG Life Sciences Europe will not in any way affect a firm’s opportunity to receive an award. However, conversely, client firms do enjoy additional benefits such as being able to inform their clients and publish on their own websites and social media that they have been shortlisted and/or have won awards for the work they have done on their client’s behalf.