Believe it or not, legal directory submissions aren’t just about filling in forms. And, if you’re feeling frustrated by your firm’s or chambers’ rankings, or if you’re navigating submissions for the first time in a new category or jurisdiction, it might be time to take a step back before you act.
Done well, directory submissions such as Chambers and Legal 500 are a strategic process that can significantly boost your reputation and visibility. But without a clear plan it’s easy to get lost in the last minute scrabble and details of drafting. You can miss the opportunities to position your lawyers and teams as leaders in a particular field. Here at ELE, we think considering your current approach and planning for the future, before you act, can help you overcome obstacles and take control of your rankings, leading to better results and a strong return on that investment.
The pitfalls of reactive submissions
For many, legal directory submissions are a yearly exercise in reactive reporting. Without a plan, firms and chambers often find themselves recycling old matters or relying on the same referees year after year. While these practices may have worked in the past, they can quickly lead to diminishing returns.
Léa Sarfati, Senior Directories Consultant at ELE, puts it succinctly: \”If you’ve been through the directory process more than once, you know the difference a plan makes. Without one, firms end up reacting rather than leading – recycling old matters, or relying on referees who’ve already been overused. But when you plan strategically – tracking standout work year-round, spotting gaps in coverage (like rising stars or overlooked practice areas), rotating referees thoughtfully – the results start to show.”
Opportunity is knocking
One of the key objectives of any legal directories strategic review is to take a step back and assess both internal and external opportunities. What will set your submission apart is how you identify and respond to the opportunities for growth you have – both those within your firm or chambers but also the wider marketplace.
Internal opportunities, like identifying rising stars, evolving expertise or overlooked practice areas, can be game-changers. These are the areas that help tell a more complete story about your team’s full range of expertise. By recognising and highlighting these areas, you ensure that your submission reflects the full depth of your team’s capabilities and positions it as a growing, improving entity.
When assessing your team’s strengths, don’t overlook succession planning. It’s vital to include individuals who are positioned to take on greater roles, as well as highlighting your firm’s or chambers’ ability to nurture long-term leadership. By showcasing these team members and their potential, you demonstrate a team committed to growth and continuity.
Externally, competitor analysis plays a critical role in shaping your submission strategy. Understanding where your competitors stand can help you identify opportunities to differentiate yourself. If your competitors are excelling in certain areas, take a closer look at how you can present your firm’s strengths both in those same areas, but with a unique angle, and in others that represent a “gap” in the market. It’s about finding what makes your firm stand out, and using that insight to your advantage.
Additionally, new or revised categories in directories like Chambers and Legal 500 can provide fresh opportunities for recognition. These changes offer the perfect chance to highlight areas where your firm may have gained expertise or expanded services. By keeping on top of these shifts, you can seize the opportunity to position your team in newly emerging practice areas and expand your recognition.
Why your message matters
When it comes to legal directory submissions, it’s easy to fall into the trap of simply ticking boxes and providing a list of facts. But that approach doesn’t make the best of the opportunity. What truly matters is how you present your work, how you highlight your team’s unique strengths, and how you make your submission stand out in a sea of similar documents.
Léa explains the difference: “It’s not just about planning ahead, it’s about shaping a strong narrative. Chambers and Legal 500 researchers are reviewing hundreds of submissions, often from firms doing similar work. The reality is they don’t always have the time or the tools to unpick vague language or guess why a matter is significant. If your messaging doesn’t cut through, it’s easy to be overlooked. Successful submissions tell a clear, compelling story about the work you do and why your team is uniquely positioned to do it. You shift from passive participation to proactive positioning, and that’s what moves you up in the rankings.”
A successful submission isn’t just a list of matters or achievements, it’s a story about your team’s expertise, your approach to client service, and the tangible results you achieve. The researchers who read these submissions are often under time constraints and reviewing multiple similar firms or chambers. If your submission doesn’t clearly explain why a matter is important or highlight your team\’s standout qualities, there’s a risk it will be overlooked.
Taking that step back to consider the overall strategy that you have will help you focus on the bigger picture: Why is your work important? What sets your team apart? What makes your approach unique?
Answering these questions in a clear, compelling way is the key to shifting your submission from passive participation to proactive positioning. It’s about creating a narrative that resonates with the researchers and allows you to stand out from the competition.
Here are a few more tips to turn your submissions from reactive to strategically proactive
- Track standout work year-round – Successful firms and chambers track key achievements and developments throughout the year. This proactive approach ensures that when it’s time to submit, you have a clear, compelling narrative ready to go.
- Use data and analytics to strengthen your submission – In addition to anecdotal evidence and client feedback, consider using data to support your submission. This could include performance metrics, case outcomes, or quantitative results from key matters. Data-driven insights not only add credibility to your claims but also help you stand out in a competitive field by offering clear, measurable evidence of success.
- Check your marketing matches your submission strategy – Your LinkedIn profiles, press releases, and thought-leadership activities should reinforce your submission messaging. Consistent engagement with peers and clients strengthens your position in the market.
- Rotate referees – Don’t rely on the same referees year after year. Rotate them thoughtfully, assessing response rates and the relevance of each referee to the matters you\’re highlighting.
- Engage referees proactively – Brief referees before submission to ensure they understand the process and can provide tailored feedback. After submission, keep them updated and thank them for their time to maintain strong relationships.
How ELE’s rankings audit & strategy works
At ELE, we offer a Directories Rankings Audit & Strategy that is designed to help you take a fresh, strategic approach to directory submissions. Our audit focuses on identifying the areas that need improvement while highlighting where you’re already excelling. This service is tailored to the unique needs of each client and provides a detailed, actionable roadmap to improve your rankings.
The audit process involves a deep dive into key areas, including:
- Submission document review: We evaluate at least one year’s worth of submission documents to identify immediate improvements and set you up for future success.
- Referee analysis: Our team reviews your referees, assesses response rates, and helps you identify opportunities to rotate and engage with referees more strategically.
- Competitor research: We analyse your competitors’ directories and communications activity to help you understand how they’re positioning themselves and what you can learn from their approach.
- Wider rankings analysis: By considering rankings beyond your competitors, we pinpoint additional areas for inclusion and help refine your strategy.
- Supporting evidence research: We compare your submitted messaging and key individual profiles against best practices and competitor strategies to help strengthen your approach.
At the end of the audit, you’ll receive a comprehensive report with prioritised action points, ranging from quick wins to longer-term strategies. This ensures you have a clear, actionable plan to improve your directory rankings.
Case Study: Putting strategy into action
A major law firm came to us frustrated by their consistently low rankings in a London-focused commercial practice area. After conducting a thorough audit, we identified several issues with their submission process, including ineffective referee management, not highlighting the right people within matters, a lack of clarity in terms of the significance of matters and wider expertise, a somewhat woolly adherence to the category rules and a lack of communication when it came to succession planning. We also felt that there needed to be a stronger sense of ‘message’ within the submission, ensuring that key arguments were both communicated and supported properly.
To address these challenges, we totally changed their submission process. We began by streamlining their referee management, replacing overused referees with fresh, high-quality choice, reviewing response data and ensuring that all referees were briefed thoroughly before, during, and after the submission. We also worked with the firm to reduce the number of lawyers put forward for ranking, ensuring that their most important (and likely to progress) individuals were properly highlighted within each matter, positioning them as key contributors to the firm’s success (both now and in the future) without being diluted by too many others.
We redefined how the firm presented the significance of each matter, ensuring that their impact was clear and relevant to the criteria set out by the directories. We also helped them tighten their adherence to the specific category rules, focusing the matters more carefully to demonstrate expertise in some of the new areas of focus now being included in the category. And we overhauled the introductory sections, setting out clear reasons why this team stands out now (as well as the things to watch for the future).
Finally, we provided advice on how they could better support these messages in their wider marketing, including updating LinkedIn profiles, sharing relevant press releases with the researchers, dovetailling the referee management with the firm’s client listening programme and more.
The results were evident in the following year’s rankings: the firm saw a significant improvement, with several key individuals included in the rankings for the first time, as well as others receiving higher ranking. The year after that the practice achieved a higher ranking as a department. By taking a strategic, proactive approach to their directory submissions and addressing the gaps in their previous submissions, the firm was able to transform its standing and position itself as a leader in the field.
