The Legal 500 and Chambers are mainstays of the legal marketing world. Loved and loathed in equal measures they remain a useful guide for the buyers of legal services.
There are many good reasons for law firms to spend time, effort and money to ensure that their submissions are the very best they can be.
But, in the 25 years I have worked alongside law firms I have never seen a more frighteningly compelling argument as the one highlighted in the Israeli business magazine Globes.
It reports on how Israeli banks increasingly will only accept funds from private individuals with assurances from Legal 500 or Chambers accredited law firms.
The report highlights one individual seeking to transfer funds to Bank Hapoalim only to be told that the transaction had to be authorised by a Legal 500 or Chambers accredited firm or have their funds frozen. Ouch.
It appears that law firms being regulated by local authorities is not enough. The power rests with the Legal 500 and Chambers researchers. No pressure there then.
In one case Gervits came across, a customer, a Jewish businessman with dual Israeli and Russian citizenship gave the bank confirmation from his lawyer in Russia, as required. Bank Hapoalim refused to accept it, however, because the law firm was not on the Legal 500 or Chambers lists. In another case, the bank froze a customer's account and refused to release it, despite the fact that the customer provided many documents from the Russian tax authority itself.
http://www.globes.co.il/en/article-israeli-banks-toughen-requirements-for-dual-nationals-1001193445
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