Chambers M&A (Israel) – What is Going On?

Chambers made an important announcement earlier this month, pertaining to the Israel rankings, that their research would now cover Corporate/M&A: Technology.  This is not the first sub-table for this practice area. Keen observers will have noticed yet another sub-table – Corporate/M&A: Fund Formation [and for firms not based in Israel, there is Corporate/M&A: International Firms (Experts Based Abroad)].  The expansion into new categories and sub-tables does not come as a surprise, as we are witnessing the growing trend of directories increasing the scope of their research. 

But the multiple sub-tables had law firms looking for clarifications, so Adina Cutler, head of our submissions department, spoke with Laurence Mussett, who is the EMEA Research Manager at Chambers & Partners, to clarify.

The new Corporate/M&A: Technology category will be a sub-table of M&A and will highlight key individuals whose M&A practice focuses primarily or exclusively on the tech sector. This will not cover work for startups, which firms should continue to submit in the Start-Ups & Emerging Companies category. Corporate/M&A: Technology is not yet open for a separate submission and therefore should be included within the regular M&A submission as normal, although Chambers is looking to expand this category in the future if the Chambers Global 2024 inclusion proves to be successful.

Likewise, Fund Formation remains a subcategory of M&A for now, so firms interested in this area should submit to the wider M&A category. While this category typically covers more the establishment and structuring of funds, Chambers is also interested in hearing about the investments themselves, as they are considering making Investment Funds a standalone category.

What to do if your firm does classic M&A, investments, high-tech work and fund formation?  Take a deep breath, strategize as to what the firm’s strengths are, and try to include more information about the areas and people that show the greatest strength.  Do not pigeonhole the firm and do your best to include a variety of matters and referees that span all that is included in this section.