The research process for the GC Powerlist has grown substantially since the first report was published in 2013, and now encompasses online nominations as well as substantial interviews with senior general counsel (GCs) and private practitioners.
The first stage for the 2019 report began in early December with the launch of an online survey to canvass recommendations for outstanding GCs.
The online survey posed the following questions:
- Which individual GC would you highlight as outstanding in terms of performance and overall contribution?
- What qualities would you say make this lawyer outstanding?
- What career achievements would you highlight that illustrate their abilities and potential?
Separately, a team of journalists in November began researching the report via interviews with senior lawyers in-house and private practice to canvass nominations. The core team comprised corporate counsel editor Hamish McNicol and senior reporter Tom Baker, who have regularly covered in-house and deal with GCs for Legal Business and The In-House Lawyer, as well as research writer and reporter Anna Cole-Bailey. City editor Nathalie Tidman, senior reporter Marco Cillario and reporter Thomas Alan also contributed with extensive private practice interviews.
The research period continued into mid-February, with the final names reviewed by Legal Business’ editors, from which we aimed to draw up a list of 102 outstanding individuals.
With the core research, we were looking to individuals that have a strong track record in developing talent, implementing inventive and thoughtful new projects and systems, and those with a demonstrable record of working on successful initiatives.
Weight was given to individuals that received multiple recommendations or those that could demonstrate commercial qualities beyond legal skills. Even more weight was given to the seniority and credibility of those nominating or vouching for individuals. We in addition often looked for credible third-party citations.