Directories 101: Four foundational steps you should never skip when compiling a submission
Whether you’re an associate, a partner or in BD/marketing you’ve likely spent more than enough time working on your team’s legal directory submissions and understand the importance of the Legal 500 and Chambers & Partners. These directories can play a crucial role in showcasing your firm’s expertise, and a leading individual ranking can significantly impact an individual’s career. Here are five steps you should never skip when pulling together your submission. 1. Understand what the researcher/directory is looking for Before you even begin the submission process, take the time to remind yourself of the criteria that the directories use to evaluate firms and individual lawyers. Each directory has its own unique set of guidelines, and it’s essential to align your submission with these criteria. Read through their guidelines carefully, and make sure you address all the relevant aspects they’re looking for, preferably before you agree on which matters you’re going to include. For example, don’t disregard a matter because the value is low – remember that complexity and context count too. Even if it’s a small monetary value, if it was instrumental in helping your client’s business, it’s worth including. 2. Showcase your expertise and achievements (without overdoing it on marketing speak) When it comes to the submission, don’t be modest. The researcher will be reviewing tens of submissions for the same practice area, so make it stand it out and make it count. Highlight your achievements, successful cases, and areas of expertise, but without relying too heavily on what we call ‘marketing speak’. We recently interviewed Simon Christian and Al Marsh at Chambers & Partners and overuse of marketing speak was one of their top gripes. An example: “we are 100% committed to our clients’ best interests” (as opposed to what?) – look at your content with a critical eye, make sure to add context, and provide specific examples that demonstrate your team’s capabilities. Use metrics and data wherever possible to substantiate your claims. Remember, the more evidence you can provide, the stronger your submission will be. 3. Be smart about your referees Client and referee feedback is gold – it’s near impossible to be promoted without it. There is so much to say about referees that this will be a dedicated article on this topic later in our series. In short: collate a list of potential referees well before the deadline (preferably throughout the year) so it’s not a last-minute scramble. Make sure all your leading individuals have sufficient referees (don’t fall prey to politics), and be sure to obtain their permission to use their feedback in your submission. 4. Keep it concise (and remember the researcher is a layperson) While you want, and often need, to provide comprehensive information, it’s crucial to present it in a clear and concise manner. Legal directory researchers see hundreds of submissions to review in one submission round, so make their job easier. Remember that while the researchers go through intensive training, they often come from a non-legal background. Littering your submission with legal jargon isn’t going to impress them without content. Review every matter with a critical eye – for teams with BD support – do they understand why a matter is important? If not, consider how it can be rewritten. Interested in finding out what else Simon and Al from Chambers said about how associates can get ranked? Sign up to our newsletter. Feeling overwhelmed by the directory process? Get in touch for a chat with Gemma. Keep an eye out for the next instalment of our series, focusing on mistakes to avoid with your referees.
The difference between BD & Marketing
Let’s be honest: Being a lawyer is a tough gig. Competition is fierce, and new client instructions are the holy grail, yet fairly often, lawyers haven’t been taught how to build their own practice until there’s a pressing need to do so. Understanding the distinction between Business Development (BD) and marketing is a game-changer for your career. These two disciplines may seem similar on the surface, but they play vastly different roles in the success of a law firm, and to your own personal development. In this article, we’ll delve into the nuances of BD and marketing and explain why knowing the difference is crucial for your professional growth, and most importantly, why you can’t (or shouldn’t) really have one without the other. BD: The personal touch BD in a law firm context is all about the personal touch. It involves one-on-one interactions with clients, prospects, and key contacts. Here’s why BD is so important: 1. Client-centric approach: BD revolves around nurturing existing client relationships and establishing new ones. It’s about understanding your prospects’ and clients’ needs, anticipating their legal requirements, and providing tailored solutions. Put it into practice: Schedule regular client meetings to discuss their legal needs and concerns, but most importantly, to chat with them on a human level. Listen actively, ask open-ended questions, and demonstrate your commitment to understanding and helping them with the challenges they’re facing. 2. Revenue Growth: BD efforts directly contribute to revenue growth. This means identifying cross-selling opportunities, collaborating with colleagues from different practice areas, spotting potential areas of expansion for your firm and converting prospects into clients. Put it into practice: The best place to start BD is at home (your own firm). Networking with colleagues from different practice areas is as important as with external contacts. Identify opportunities to cross-sell services to existing clients. 3. Building relationships: BD involves actively expanding your network. Building strong connections within your practice area or industry with potential clients and intermediaries is key to opening doors for new opportunities. Put it into practice: Attend industry-specific events. Follow up with new contacts promptly and consider organising or inviting them to firm events or for a coffee to showcase both yours and your firm’s expertise. Marketing: The bigger picture Marketing, on the other hand, takes a more holistic approach. It’s about creating a brand presence and crafting messaging that resonates with a broader audience. Here’s why marketing matters: 1. Brand visibility: Effective marketing enhances your law firm’s visibility and reputation. It ensures that your firm is recognised and trusted by a wider audience, which can lead to increased referrals and new client enquiries. Put it into practice: Start building your personal brand on LinkedIn. Share regular content and engage with people in your industry – this is a great way to showcase your expertise (and personality). 2. Thought leadership: Marketing through thought leadership trumps flyers/brochures every time – it’s a way of demonstrating your expertise rather than asserting it, positioning you and your firm as an expert. Put it into practice: Write articles or blog posts on emerging legal/industry trends and share them on your website and LinkedIn. Note: getting your article placed in an external industry-focused publication will always have more impact than just publishing onto your firm’s website/ LinkedIn company page – it will reach a wider, often more engaged, audience and adds to brand credibility. Why understanding the difference matters and how to implement it Marketing sets the scene and gives you credibility, whereas BD helps you to turn it into a conversation, and in time, a relationship (and hopefully revenue). Understanding the difference matters because it gives you the ability to cover both angles, in an environment where so many do one or the other. This goes some way to giving you a competitive edge. Example scenario: speaking at a seminar Marketing aspects: You, your firm and the event organiser sharing details on social media before and after the event Your speaker bio in the seminar brochure Speaking at the seminar BD aspects: Sending personal invitations to 2 – 5 contacts/target clients you know would benefit from hearing the topic you’re speaking about Researching attendees beforehand and compiling a shortlist of people you’d like to meet, and seeking them out Following up with audience members who had specific questions to continue the conversation Ideally you would do all of these things – build your brand and your network.
How to make it into the directories
We chatted with Simon Christian, Global Research Director, and Al Marsh, UK Research Director on exactly what associates need to do to get that coveted ranking in Chambers & Partners. In a nutshell, how would you describe Chambers & Partners? Al: The world’s leading provider of data and analytics to the legal profession and the most prestigious and most widely used legal rankings employed by the top GCs globally. Simon: We conduct independent research into law firms around the world, and our rankings help in-house counsel select the best lawyers for their most important matters. Our research process is unrivalled in its quality, depth and accuracy, and is founded on the 70,000+ in-depth client and lawyer interviews we do every year, as well as surveys and submissions from the firms under consideration. What are the most important things to consider/include when putting in a submission? Al: The quality of the work highlights, the quality of the work highlights and the quality of the work highlights. You simply won’t get very far if you don’t have 20 impressive matters. Simon: And those impressive highlight matters also need to be supported by strong, positive feedback from your referees. What are the most annoying things law firms do when putting together submissions/referees? Al: Not including matter values when it is obvious that they could have been included (e.g., a public M&A deal); referencing any accolades, particularly those awarded by Chambers’ direct competitors; not giving ranked lawyers work highlights (this sounds so obvious, but you’d be surprised how many firms manage it). Simon: Prolixity and overuse of “marketing speak”. We set word limits on certain sections of the form for good reason. Our researchers read lots of submissions, sometimes one after another, and long-winded puffery like “we are 100% committed to our clients’ best interests” (as opposed to what?) or “we handle the most complex, high value, market-leading matters” (we’ll be the judges of that) is even less persuasive when you’ve read much the same thing in 30 other firms’ submissions already. The same goes for jargon: some may be unavoidable, but you should try always to explain things in terms that a well-educated non-lawyer can understand. What would you say are the biggest benefits to an individual or firm being listed? Al: There are almost too many to list but just a few include: recognition from an independent, trusted third party; the ability to leverage your prestigious ranking in pitch decks, social media, etc; the improved chances of winning new business and retaining and attaining top talent through your ranking. Simon: If you’re an associate looking to make partner in the next few years, a listing in Chambers is a powerful external validation of your abilities and of your standing among the firm’s key clients. It’s also something recruiters will notice… What advice would you give to an associate or senior associate who has submitted for a few years but still hasn’t been listed? Al: Ask us why. There is a myriad of reasons as to why you haven’t been successful. Don’t suffer in silence, as it might be something easily fixed. Simon: For instance, the firm might not have included you on any work highlights on the form. Or, you might not have been mentioned by the firm’s referees. We might have got some good commentary about you but not quite enough to include you this year, but which is still very promising for next year. How can individuals who have been listed leverage their ranking? Al: Shout about it! Put it on your bio, mention it on your LinkedIn, use it in pitches… Simon: A ranking in Chambers should be used to support and corroborate all your other marketing and business development efforts. It’s an independent validation from a well-known and trusted brand that tells potential clients, referrers and competitors that you really are as good as your marketing says you are. Al: … and don’t forget to learn the secret handshake that will get you into the most exclusive speakeasy in the city. It can be difficult for an associate to stand out when the partners in their team dominate a submission – do you have any advice as to how they can overcome this? Al: This is really a question for the person in charge of the submission: who do you want to focus on? With 20 work highlights to play with, you can give at least six lawyers a leading highlight each (more if some highlights are co-led). There should be room for some associates to appear on some work highlights – especially given that we expect associates to be assisting more than leading, much of the time. Simon: I’d encourage associates to make sure their specific contributions to the firm’s highlight matters are recognised wherever possible. In the matter write-ups, for instance, you could say that “[Partner] had overall responsibility for this matter, including case strategy and client handling; [Associate] led on the jurisdiction issue, which was of vital importance at an early stage of proceedings and required complex analysis of the authorities…” etc. Does it make it harder for someone to be listed if there are multiple associates put forward at the same time? Al: Generally, a department will struggle to get more than one or two new individuals ranked for the first time in any given year. Therefore, trying to get, say, five lawyers into the rankings in one go isn’t a winning strategy. A lawyer debuting in the table will likely need multiple examples of positive client feedback. Assuming this is a typical table where most departments have one to four ranked lawyers, try not to spread your referees too thinly between too many unranked lawyers. Simon: Be strategic about which team members to focus on and keep trying if they aren’t successful at the first time of asking. It’s frustrating to get some good information about an unranked lawyer, not quite enough for a ranking this year but showing great potential for
Making the jump to partner
Rachel Davison joined the Taylor Wessing partnership in 2021. She shares her story, how she maintains her client relationships and tips on how to succeed with that all important jump. How would you describe your progression up to the partnership? This is probably common to most people, but I wouldn’t say it was a straight-line trajectory. Starting as an associate on day one, looking forward and being ambitious, which I always was, I sort of knew early on that, ideally, I’d like to become a partner. But it wasn’t a case of ticking the boxes each year, and then boom, year ten, I’m suddenly ready to become a partner. Part of that journey, to use the cliché, was slowly but surely realising what all the different component parts are to being a partner and that appreciation over the years of the different skills that you need to have within your toolkit to be an effective partner. There will always be times when you’re receiving constructive criticism, and it can feel quite difficult sometimes receiving this, but you need to learn and develop, and some things will be more natural than others. How did you know you were ready? For me, it was the moment when I no longer felt insecure about the thought of having the partner badge. It really came down to my client relationships and how those had developed, specifically how I was interacting with key clients and how they were looking to me as their trusted advisor and the first point of contact. It was that moment of realising when the client had a problem I would be the first person they called. They trusted me to do that, and I trusted myself to play that role for those clients. That is such an integral part of being a partner, but it’s not the only part. You also need to be able to go out there and win work. Having built up a profile in the market and having referrals coming directly to me, I could see how I could develop this if I had the partner badge, and I was ready for that. It wasn’t waking up one day and just saying, ‘I’m ready now’. It was that slow but sure appreciation that actually, I was effectively performing the role of partner, which I think is the ideal. You don’t want to be made a partner and suddenly be floundering around saying, ‘Oh my God, what do I do now?’. I think that’s a necessary part of it, that you feel you are operating at the level of a partner before you actually become a partner. How did you build your client base? I would say it was two aspects, the first being existing clients. I think a big mistake anyone could make is to say, ‘I’ve won those clients, I’m now the client partner, it’s done and dusted, so I must focus on new clients’, because existing clients continue to be the best referrals of new clients. When you start neglecting your existing clients or even seem not to be paying them attention, you’re really doing yourself a disservice in terms of your ability to win new clients from them. So that’s something I always do my best to keep an eye on. In terms of completely new clients (i.e., those that existing clients don’t refer) it’s all about contacts and trying your hardest not to let any go cold, which is easier said than done. Time just passes so quickly, and you need to make sure that you’re not looking at your contact list and saying, ‘Gosh, I haven’t spoken to that person in six months or a year’ because that’s just way too long. There needs to be that continuity and that constant sort of engagement in whatever form that may be, if it’s updates, phone calls, going for a coffee, etc. But just so that when that matter comes into them, you are there in their mind because if you’re not there, you’re not part of the thought process. And you just never know where your next instruction might come from. I think what I’m realising as a partner is that new work can come from really weird and wonderful places. You said that you keep up with all of your contacts. How do you manage that list in practical terms? I suppose it’s a bit old-fashioned, but I have an Excel spreadsheet, and it’s kind of broken down by category. The US market is my central focus, so I have a list for the various ‘hubs’ making up the US private wealth market e.g. Miami, New York etc, and I have a list of the people who work in the US space. I literally look at it each week. I have a handwritten list in my BD to-do list, and it’s just putting their names so that I make some contact with individuals on my list, so that, as I say, they’re not going completely cold because it is quite hard to pick things up over a year, when you may as well be starting from scratch. What strategies or activities have been most effective for you in building your client base? I think it comes back to the earlier point about the lists. It can sound a little mundane, but I think it’s having that discipline of knowing you have to give a certain amount of time on a daily or weekly basis in order to keep all of the plates spinning. Clearly there’s your fee-earning work, and I’ve talked about how fundamental it is that your clients are getting the best possible and highest quality service because your reputation rests upon the work you’re doing out there for your clients. But then also, there’s going out into the market and looking to win new work. I spend around 30 – 40% of my time on business development. So, I think it’s being disciplined and not