Legal 500: Submission Best practice

Since The Legal 500 is one of the most competitive legal directories on the market, it is important to know which criteria to follow preparing a submission. The editors have shared a piece of advice on the best practice.

You can find a list of recommendations on the editorial process below (divided by section):

Submissions
- Separate submissions by practice area
- Submit on time through a submissions site

Team information
- Only senior arrivals or departures relevant to the practice area should be mentioned
- Supporting evidence in the projects should be provided
- Avoid referencing awards and academics - not factors considered for the ranking

Confidentiality
- Any non-publishable work highlights should be mentioned
- Non-publishable highlights - providing that firms are able to disclose all significant and complex aspects - will be treated the same as publishable deals

Matter highlights
- Summarize key aspects of the deal
- Provide individual case summaries - avoid grouping work together
- Work can be ongoing
- Complete all relevant fields, including dates, team members involved, opposing parties
- Possible to include the same matter in more than one submission - description tailored to the relevant practice area

Overall the editors recommend the firms to
- explain in your submissions the difference in comparison to the peers,
- provide facts about your revenue growth or hires, new clients, patents, etc.
- tell about your role in the matter highlights and why it's special
- talk about strategic growth plans for the practice
- prepare your partners for interviews - researches want tangible information and honest feedback on rankings (not marketing puff)
- avoid jargon
- submit on time and in the right format

Basically, the more information you provide, the better. At the same only necessary information is needed - the ranking is not interested in your academics or associates.
You should not only represent the facts but also sell yourself - show your contribution to the development. It should not be a marketing puff, but the information supported by the facts.
That's briefly the approach that was chosen by the ranking.

You can find more information about the criteria to analyze firms' performance here.

Source: The Legal 500: meet the editor – Europe, Middle East and Africa