Directories category strategy: Why where you submit matters as much as what you submit

For years there has been talk of whether the legal directories have had their day. Every year someone on LinkedIn pipes up asking who will be brave enough to say “no” and just not enter. While some do have policies to target just one or other of them, we have noticed a growth in this market, not a decline – particularly in light of their investment in quality data and back-end functionality. 

Love them or loath them, legal directory competition is fiercer than ever. And researchers are becoming more discerning about what – and where – they see evidence worthy of ranking.

You could submit the best matter summaries in the world, but if you send them to the wrong directory, under the wrong category, or at the wrong jurisdictional level, they’re unlikely to get the results you want.

Category strategy is not just a box-ticking exercise. It’s the foundation stone of your whole directories strategy, shaping visibility, credibility, and ranking success.

Step 1: Start with the big picture – general or specialist directories?

Your first decision is which directories to prioritise. While Legal 500 and Chambers & Partners are the best-known general directories, there are also a growing number of specialist options.

These include IFLR1000 (for financial and corporate work), Lexology GDR 100 (for global data law), WTR 1000 and IAM Patent 1000 (for IP work), for example, but the list goes on. 

Why might you choose a specialist directory?

• Your practice area is niche or highly technical
• You want to stand out in a more focused competitive pool
• You want to complement, not duplicate, your main directory presence
• You’re targeting clients who use or trust that particular publication

Why stick with Chambers or Legal 500?

• You want maximum visibility across the market
• You have broad, multi-disciplinary teams
• You’re looking for recognition across multiple practice areas and jurisdictions
• You’re building from a well-established platform

For many firms, the answer is: both. But your approach to each should be tailored accordingly.

You can explore some of the options in our guide to specialist guides and niche directories.

Step 2: Be honest about your positioning – regional, national or international? 

The next question is one firms often underestimate: What’s your jurisdictional strategy?

Directory categories aren’t just practice-based, they’re geographical too. You’ll find rankings by city, region, national level and even international cross-border categories.

Virtual business may have blurred lines, but directories haven’t. If you pitch yourself at national level, you’ll be measured against the biggest players in the market. Thinking of going regional? It isn’t as simple as just picking someone you want to be known for working. You have to have the evidence to show you have a real presence in that area.

Ask yourself:

• Are you genuinely national in scope, or is your client/activity base regional?
• Can you show matters from across jurisdictions, not just one city or court?
• Is the region new, and therefore looking more widely to establish its presence?
• Does a regional or sector-specific guide give you a better chance of standout visibility?

We explore this in more depth in our guide to spotlight guides in Chambers and Legal 500.

Step 3: Choose the right category – and read the summaries carefully

Once you’ve chosen the right publication and location, the next critical step is category selection.

This is where many submissions fall apart. Why? Because too few people actually read the category descriptions.

Here’s a golden tip: Directories tell you exactly what to include. But if you skip over the guidance and assume a matter must fit because it sounds right, you risk immediate disqualification (or at best, wasted effort).

Here’s what to look for in a category summary:

• What is the core focus of the category? (e.g. litigation or advisory work?)
• What types of clients and matters should be included?
• Does the summary specify inclusions or exclusions? (e.g. “this category does not include white-collar crime”)
• Is the category new or evolving?
• Would your work be better suited to a different category?

Want to understand what this means in practical terms? Here are a few real-world examples:

• White-collar crime vs general crime – many firms fall into the trap of submitting financial crime work into general crime categories. Chambers’ guidance makes it clear these should be kept separate.
• Employment categories are often split into employee-side and employer-side. If you do both, you need to position things clearly,otherwise you may not appear a strong contender in either.
• Technology and data protection is a growing category, but often overlaps with commercial, regulatory, or IP. Don’t try to shoehorn a matter in because it uses tech – check the guide to see where it best fits.

You can explore practice area definitions in full on the various directory websites, for example Chambers\’ and Legal 500.

Step 4: Assess your chances – and be consistent over time

Even if you’ve chosen the perfect directory, region and category, your chances of ranking depend on how well you match up against the competition.

You’ll need to:

• Research who is already ranked and what they’re highlighting
• Be realistic about how you compare
• Start submitting consistently, even if you don’t rank immediately

Consistency builds trust. If your firm appears year after year in a category with relevant, compelling work, researchers will start to take notice. Likewise, constantly banging your head against the wrong brick wall could do more harm than good if your category strategy is wrong. Don’t be discouraged if you don’t place in year one, especially in crowded categories, but if you still haven’t after several goes, it may be time to take a step back and ask yourself why…

(We talk more about this longterm approach in Don’t Just Fill In Forms.)

Step 5: Tailor your content to the category

This one’s non-negotiable.

You can’t just copy and paste the same submission across multiple categories. Researchers will spot it a mile off. And it will tell them you haven’t thought strategically about how your firm actually fits.

Each submission should be:

• Tailored to reflect what the category is asking for – if the matter straddles several areas, each matter description needs to be written for that specific category, to highlight the areas of skill you have in that area
• Clear on why your matters match the focus
• Focused on the right individuals – ensuring that the people featured are located (or work primarily) there, and on that field, not just a token gesture
• Aligned with the tone and positioning relevant to that practice or market – in short, you need to demonstrate you really do understand and play a part in this category

DOWNLOAD Directory category strategy: Do’s and don’ts

Ready to talk about category strategies? 

Our Directories & Rankings Audit helps you evaluate past choices, spot gaps and build a roadmap for more effective submissions… Because where you show up matters just as much as what you show off.