Primerus helps member law firms develop relationships with fellow high-quality attorneys around the world as well as prospective clients, all with the goal of matching great attorneys with great clients.
Primerus was formed in 1992 as an international society of top-rated, independent, boutique law firms. Since then, Primerus has experienced tremendous success as it has worked to restore honor and dignity to the legal profession and to help rebuild the public’s trust in lawyers and the judicial system. Pursuing this goal was important then, and it’s even more vital today. Given the economic changes of recent years, it has never been more important for companies around the world to develop trusted relationships with lawyers and law firms that offer high-quality legal services at reasonable fees.
All of our member attorneys commit to following the Six Pillars: Integrity, Excellent Work Product, Reasonable Fees, Continuing Legal Education, Civility, and Community Service. Through our commitment to these values, we have been able to attract and retain some of the world’s best law firms.
We seek out, screen and regularly audit our firms to make sure we have only the finest. We use all the ratings services available to us, including Martindale Hubbell, Best Lawyers, Chambers and Legal 500, to ensure the law firms we invite to join Primerus are the best in the world. And that is just the beginning. We then conduct a more extensive investigation of the firm, including attorney backgrounds, references and malpractice history checks. An independent accreditation board has the last word on admission and retention of members, resulting in a high quality standard that’s applied universally to all members. Another board oversees quality assurance to more specifically define the high standards embodied within the Six Pillars and to help firms live by those standards in everyday practice.
We do all this because we want our clients to have assurance that whenever they reach out to a Primerus firm, they will get nothing but the best. We’re confident our strict guidelines ensure this is true. In fact, The Wall Street Journal has compared Primerus to the “Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval” for law firms.
Primerus allows small and mid-sized law firms around the world to enjoy all the advantages of being small, while also giving them international connections to help them compete in an increasingly global marketplace. By joining together, we offer clients the advantages of small and mid-sized law firms – personalized partner level service, fewer conflicts of interest, reasonable fees and the flexibility that comes with less overhead and bureaucracy. But we also offer clients the advantages of big law firms with global connections that offer possibilities to partner with the best law firms around the world.
With nearly 200 firms in 40 countries, Primerus can help clients find quality representation anywhere. Primerus members report more and more opportunities for collaboration with fellow member firms around the world given the increasing global business marketplace.
Primerus stands apart from other law firm alliances. Primerus is a society, a family, of the world’s best law firms who are committed to clients above all. While many lawyers are focused on billable hours and income, our lawyers are focused on delivering outstanding services to their clients at reasonable rates.
If you would like to join Primerus and allow us to help you attract new clients, gain referrals and help your law firm grow, please call us at 800.968.2211.
International Society of Primerus Law Firms
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Q: How long has Primerus been around?
A: Primerus was started in 1992. Beginning with a few member law firms, Primerus has steadily grown over the years, has internationalized, and now boasts nearly 200 member law firms from every corner of the world.
2. Q: Is my firm or is one attorney within my firm the actual Primerus member?
A: Primerus members are the law firms (i.e. not any particular attorney within the firm)
3. Q: How does Primerus choose its members?
A: Primerus’ staff meticulously researches a legal market, evaluating multiple factors prior to informing a law firm that they are a candidate for membership. These factors include, but are not limited to, the following: 1) Whether a current member has nominated the firm to join Primerus; 2) Whether a firm, if located in the United States, has achieved a Martindale-Hubbell AV-Rating; 3) Whether the firm is referenced and well-regarded by other international legal ratings services such as Chambers and the Legal 500; 4) Whether the firm enjoys a high standing in their legal community for their professionalism and quality of work product; and, 5) Size of the firm and the breadth of its practice.
4. Q: If our firm joins Primerus, is the firm barred from participation in other associations?
A: No. We understand and appreciate that your firm and its attorneys have developed relationships with other organizations, and we don’t in any way want to disturb them. As you will come to see, Primerus will be a vehicle to extend your firm’s reach to other attorneys and clients throughout the world, but not at the expense of your firm’s current and past relationships and associations.
5. Q: Where do you plan to put member firms?
A: Wherever there is a commercial center that has a recognized legal system, then Primerus will search for a quality law firm to acquire an available license.
6. Q: Is our firm’s Primerus license exclusive?
A: Yes. Your firm will be the only firm from your market that practices in your area(s) of law. Primerus maintains three separate and distinct institutes in the United States. The Primerus Business Law Institute (PBLI) consists of law firms that predominantly handle transactional and business litigation on behalf of clients. The Primerus Defense Institute (PDI) consists of law firms that handle predominantly tort defense litigation on behalf of individuals, insurance companies, self-insured companies, and business clients of all types. The Primerus Personal Injury Institute (PPII) consists of US law firms that predominantly handle plaintiff/personal injury litigation, plaintiff product liability litigation, and a wide assortment of cases representing individuals in litigation matters. Thus, in larger U.S. metropolitan markets, Primerus provides market exclusivity on a practice area basis. Thus, it’s common for Primerus to have a PBLI, PDI, and PPII law firm happily co-existing within the same market. However, only one such firm per institute exists in each market.
Outside of the U.S., Primerus provides strict market exclusivity based on geographic area (e.g. Primerus will only have one member representing Singapore in the society).
7. Q: What is the average size of a Primerus member firm?
A: To be precise, 15 attorneys. That said, you will find that Primerus’ U.S. plaintiff’s members are small by nature and Primerus’ business and litigation firms are typically larger. The “15” figure is simply an average.
8. Q: What is the financial commitment for my firm to be a Primerus member?
A: The monthly dues vary depending on the market for which your firm is located. Please contact Primerus staff more information.
9. Q: Are members required to attend Primerus events?
A: No. Members are not required to attend events. However, we suggest that members attend Primerus events as they are an excellent way to develop relationships with clients and members. Over and over again, we find that the happiest members are those that are involved.
10. Q: How can I become involved once I join?
A: There are many, many ways members can become involved in Primerus. The following are just some of the ways: 1) Attend the Primerus Global Conference; 2) Attend annual practice group and regional meetings; 3) Attend practice group conference calls and webinars; 4) Write articles for Primerus publications; 5) Take a leadership position in a Primerus practice group, committee or board.
11. Q: How do members interact with one another?
A: Here, again, there are many ways members can interact and work together. The following are just some of the ways in which members interact: 1) Attend Primerus sponsored meetings, symposia and seminars, and great relationships invariably flow from there; 2) Participate in practice groups where experienced and sophisticated practitioners discuss salient issues within their practice area and plan client webinars for educational purposes; 3) Utilize the Primerus listservs for quick answers to practical legal questions; 4) Join one or more of the committees and boards that help lead Primerus.
12. Q: Will Primerus expand my internet presence?
A: Yes. Primerus constructs a comprehensive home page together with practice area pages on www.primerus.com for all members. Those pages are search engine optimized (SEO).* Most small and mid-sized law firms cannot afford a premium SEO service. Primerus provides a premium SEO service to its members as just one membership benefit. Your firm will no longer have to take a backseat to your larger competitors that have been optimizing their websites for years. Your firm will gain competitive parity with larger firms in your market and a clear competitive advantage against similarly sized firms in your market that cannot afford SEO. Our overarching purpose is to give your firm as much exposure as possible. SEO is simply one way that we accomplish this goal.*For example, let’s say that a manufacturer located in Toronto, Canada, is sued in Budapest, Hungary. Anecdotal evidence and various accounts support the proposition that that manufacturer will simply make a generalized search on Google to find qualified counsel. We want to ensure that your firm is found on the first-page of the results. Primerus’ premium SEO service will better position the Budapest member to possibly get a call from this fictitious Toronto manufacturer.
13. Q: Are we required to refer client matters to other Primerus member firms?
A: No. All Primerus member firms are completely independent and autonomous. While we strongly believe that you’ll find great value in retaining member firms, you and your partners have no obligation to do so. Indeed, you will find that our members, rigorously screened and fully vetted, will treat your valued clients well and provide superb service at a reasonable fee.
14. Q: How do referrals work?
A: Members and clients alike simply go to www.primerus.com to find suitable representation based on jurisdiction and the type of matter involved. Also, members and clients contact us on a daily basis asking for attorney recommendations and we swiftly put the inquiring party to together with the appropriate attorney. The QAB mandates that referrals made from one member to another or from clients be reported to Primerus for recording purposes. Finally, Primerus has no financial stake in referrals made within the society. The members’ dues are the only remuneration that Primerus receives.
15. Q: How does Primerus enforce the Six Pillars?
A: As mentioned, applicants for Primerus membership are rigorously screened to ensure that they meet our code of professional conduct; a.k.a. the Six Pillars – Integrity, Excellence of Work Product, Reasonable Fee Structure, Continued Legal Education, Civility and Community Service. Members are annually audited to ensure continued adherence to the Six Pillars. Finally, Primerus’ Quality Assurance Board (QAB) adjudicates disputes that could possibly arise between members. Primerus’ goal, as always, is that clients receive first-class service.
Video: Why hire a Primerus lawyer?
Video: Why join Primerus?
