5 tips on writing a winning legal directory submission

Lean into your practice differentiators

How does your firm’s offering differ from your main competitors? The reality is, a lot of law firms offer very similar services, so it’s important to identify a few key differentiators that set you apart and means that certain clients will be drawn to your practice over another. For example, are a lot of your clients operating in a particular sector? Do you have a highly diverse workforce or do your lawyers have experience working in-house? Have you developed an innovative approach to benefit your clients?

The reality is, you may already have multiple differentiators to lean into, and if they are hard to identify, it’s certainly worth considering potential growth areas to target in your business development strategy.

Avoid overly legal jargon

Your submission needs to be compelling to researchers and it needs to hold their attention. Many researchers don’t have a legal background and even if they do, they will be sifting through an extensive number of submissions so work highlights that go into the deep intricacies of a case, or include overly complex terminology, is unlikely to hold their attention.

Thankfully, this means that you don’t need to spend hours detailing the ins and outs of every legal process that occurred throughout the course of the matter. In fact, you shouldn’t. Your work highlights in particular should focus on why the matter was important (AKA – why is it a highlight)?

Be specific and back up your claims

If you’re claiming that you or your practice deserves to be ranked, tell the researcher exactly why this is the case. Are you acting on the opposite side to ranked firms? If so, which firms are you acting against and where are they ranked?

You say your firm is punching above its weight, but how? Is it on deal values, the caliber of your clients, or the level of innovation and client service? Are you being advised on bet-the-company disputes, first of their kind matters, or matters in the public interest?

All of these are potential factors you should be using to differentiate your practice and show why you deserve to be ranked. Simply submitting 20 your work highlights and the practice description from your website isn’t enough. Be specific.

Legal directory referee strategy

The most important part of the legal directory process is the feedback your clients provide, which is even more so in highly competitive practice areas. Referee strategy is crucial - it’s a common mistake to think that you need to use only your most senior client contacts as referees.

In reality, the most important factor is that your referee will actually respond to a feedback request (assuming that feedback is positive and relevant to the submission category, of course). Often, it’s the more junior contacts that will be able to respond in a timely manner (and within the research period).

This is why it’s crucial to keep nurturing your client list throughout the year.

The submission process doesn’t end when you hit the submit button

The tendency after a big directory push is to relax and forget about it for a year. But it's so important to check in with your referees.

Whether it’s to let them know the research period has begun and they will soon receive an email from Chambers or Legal 500, or even to ask if they would be willing to send their feedback directly to the researcher (a win-win for you, your client and the researcher).

Finally, try and get a research and feedback call. Whilst the directories are adamant that research calls have no bearing on rankings, it certainly can’t hurt to have a discussion with the researcher and give a good impression of your firm and, if you don’t achieve the ranking you had hoped for, ask for a feedback call. Whilst not a guarantee, Chambers & Legal 500 will often be willing to oblige.

How Elmfields can help with legal directory submissions

We understand that law firms may not have the time or resources to manage every aspect of the legal directory submission process. It’s time intensive, and the process doesn’t just stop once the document is submitted – it’s an ongoing project.

We prepare compelling submissions for as many practice areas as needed, including collating, drafting and editing all content, and providing guidance on referee selection.

Our dedicated team also takes care of all post-submission requirements – from managing referee outreach and responding to researcher enquiries, to promoting a firm, Partner, or lawyer’s rankings.

For more information, learn more about our legal directory writing agency.