As companies look to cope with a sluggish economy, one of the ways they are cutting legal costs is by moving away from Big Law and turning instead to smaller, nimbler law firms. Luckily for them, Asia has seen the rise of some quality smaller outfits that are punching well above their weight in terms of work handled and services delivered.

For this reason, in its February 2016 issue, ALB is again spotlighting its list of Firms To Watch. These are firms that are small but are already making waves, and either challenging (or with the potential to challenge) much larger law firms for their share of the work. In particular, we will highlight those operating in Asia’s emerging markets, but we’re not just looking at domestic firms; smaller international outfits will be considered too.

While submissions are not absolutely necessary – we will combine our stock of industry knowledge with news reports, the general buzz around some firms and publicly available information to select some of the firms on the list – firms are still welcome to send in submissions for consideration. To submit, please use the form attached here. Only firms with 10 or less partners across their Asia offices will be considered. The deadline for submissions is Friday, Jan. 8, 2016. Please send submissions to ranajit.dam@thomsonreuters.com.