The directories edition | Troubleshooting checklist, how to maximise your ranking and dates for your diary

Welcome to Edition 13 of Trifecta

This edition is dedicated to the thing we all love to hate:

directories 🆘

We know this time of year can be painful, so to celebrate (or commiserate) the launch of the Legal 500 and Chambers UK guides, we’ve compiled our most helpful directories content.

We hope you find this useful. If you have questions about your upcoming submissions, please let us know.

It's that time again...making the most out of your directory rankings

Legal directory rankings are worth so much more than a humble brag a couple of times a year. Given that they take BD and lawyers an obscene amount of time to compile, it seems like a missed opportunity to just use them for marketing purposes. If all you’re doing is updating your website or sharing an "I’m delighted to be ranked" post on LinkedIn, you’re missing out on some serious business development opportunities. Here’s how you can make your rankings work harder for you:

The basics

Share on LinkedIn
While we joke about the 'humble brag', sharing your rankings and testimonials does make marketing sense. Some tips for maximising the post:

Include one or two testimonials
Ensure you have sufficient spacing between paragraphs to make it easier to read
Tag the Legal 500 or Chambers in your post
Make sure to thank clients and intermediaries (it's good manners)
Link to the webpage of the ranking (though please note that linking to pages outside of LinkedIn may impact your reach
If your firm has created imagery be sure to include this - posts with images tend to fare better

Add to your website profile

Adding the logos, rankings, and testimonials is standard procedure for most firms, and it's a sensible approach—directory accolades are external validation and can sway some clients.

Add to your pitches and proposals

As with the website, rankings are an excellent way to build credibility in pitches and proposals. Incorporate relevant quotes and logos from the directories to show how your strengths align with a potential client’s needs.

Use in your marketing collateral

While the tendency is to just add the logos or quotes onto marketing brochures, there is absolutely no reason why you cannot include a quick note in your regular newsletter about your rankings. Go further than the usual content and perhaps link it to an anonymised case study.

Add to email signatures

This one doesn't need any explanation, really. Our tip is that if you're going to add them to your email profile, ensure that you have a page set up on your website that talks about your rankings and has a clear user journey mapped out after this (i.e., you've thought about where you would like your audience to go next). Linking to the Legal 500 or Chambers & Partners just directs your website traffic elsewhere and potentially to your competitor profiles.

Next level

Use it as an excuse to connect with clients and intermediaries

Your ranking is a perfect excuse to check in with clients and intermediaries. At the very minimum you should be sending a personalised thank you note to each client or contact that agreed to be a referee, but you should also be using this as an excuse to catch up, continue the conversation and learn (and possibly win work).

Analyse your market

The directories have a wealth of information that firms rarely use. Think about: What trends are emerging in your practice area/sector? What are your competitors doing? Who’s climbing the ranks, and why? Use this data to help you spot new opportunities and areas where you need to improve.

Learn what clients are really interested in

Client feedback (and not just your own) is hidden gold, in our opinion. Personally, I love to know why clients are raving about my competitors and benchmark myself against them. Law firms should be doing the same thing.

A note on best practice

Keep a database for future submissions

This is aimed more at BD and marketing teams, but the last-minute scramble by organising your testimonials, client feedback, and rankings in one place. By keeping a central repository, you’ll not only be able to track how your rankings evolve over time but also make your lives easier.

Start preparing now

If you haven't already started thinking about the process for the upcoming 2026 submissions - start now. Chambers & Partners has some deadlines as early as November (see below). If you're a lawyer, start thinking about your biggest and best matters from the last 12 months and any clients or contacts who might be willing to give positive feedback about you. If you're in BD start pulling the data, and case studies, check on the recent changes to the submission templates and enjoy the calm before the storm!

Disappointed with your 2025 rankings? Read on

Amongst the influx of celebratory LinkedIn posts, a good number of individuals or teams are usually disappointed with their rankings.

Perhaps they feel their submission didn’t reflect the strength of their practice, or their referees didn’t deliver the feedback they were expecting. Legal directory rankings can be a powerful tool for your practice, so when results fall short of expectations, it’s natural to question where things went wrong.

For many firms, paying the directories for feedback isn’t an option.

However, there are some practical steps you can take to troubleshoot and improve your future submissions without the extra expense.

Here are some potential issues that may have contributed to your ranking falling short.

Referees

You didn’t warm up your referees
Did you remind your referees ahead of time that they’d be contacted, and explain why their feedback was so important?
Your referees were too senior or too busy to respond
Did you select referees who were realistically available to respond promptly, rather than those who might not prioritise the request?
Your referees were listed by multiple firms
Chambers generally contacts referees only once per submission cycle, even if multiple firms list them. Due to their '3-month rule,' referees will not be re-contacted within three months of their last feedback request. If you selected referees who were also listed by other firms, they may not have provided feedback specifically on your submission. Learn more about Chambers' approach to referees here.
You didn’t provide enough referees
Did each leading individual have at least three strong referees who could vouch for their capabilities?
Your referees weren’t briefed
Did your referees understand what to expect and know the key areas they should focus on in their feedback?

Leading individuals and team members

You didn’t have enough leading individuals
Legal 500 recognises and highlights leading individuals who demonstrate consistent, high-quality work and impact in their field. If your submission lacked a sufficient number of these standout individuals, it may not have reflected your firm’s full strength. Did you identify and feature enough key individuals who could be distinguished as leaders?
Your leading individuals didn’t have enough references
Were your leading individuals each supported by at least three quality referees, ideally connected to standout matters?
The rest of the team members weren’t well-represented
It's easy to centre your matters around your leading individuals, but you also need to demonstrate depth and breadth for the wider team. It needs to be a balancing act.
Referees weren’t tied to your standout matters
At least some of your referees should be able to speak to significant, high-value matters you have handled. Quality is more important than quantity (particularly when it comes to the Legal 500 where there is no cap on referees).

Matter descriptions

You didn’t provide 20 matters
Unless you’re working in a brand-new area of law with developing case law, you should be submitting the full 20 matters to demonstrate depth and consistency.
Your matters didn’t show the full scope of your expertise
Did the matters you submitted cover a wide range of work, showcasing your team’s versatility and unique strengths?
Your matter descriptions weren't clearly explained
Provide concise but comprehensive descriptions of the matters, including the complexity, your team’s role, and the outcome. Remember that the researcher is usually a layperson, so if the matter is overly complex, the important facts can easily get lost.

Useful directory resources

While the Chambers and Legal 500 2025 guides have just been released, it's already time to look to 2026. The 2026 edition deadlines are fast approaching - and some sooner than you might expect.

To help you prepare a standout submission, have a read through our Directories 101 series. And if you're looking to refine your strategy or want a fresh pair of eyes to review your submissions, we have space to take on one more client this cycle. Get in touch if you'd like to chat.

Four foundational steps you should never skip when compiling a submission

Read article

Five mistakes to avoid with your legal directory referees

Read article

Six things you can do to boost your peer/market feedback year-round

Read article

Read our 2023 interview with the Chambers & Partners editors

Read article

Dates for your diary

The directories (e.g. Legal 500 and Chambers) are a significant commitment, demanding effort from partners, associates, and the BD team alike. With each cycle, early preparation can make a real difference, helping to smooth out the process and deliver strong submissions.

The good news is you don’t need to wait until the last moment. Starting early not only eases the workload but often enhances the quality of your submission. Here are the current deadlines and some steps to take now.

Submission deadlines

18 November Chambers High Net Worth 2025 London & UK: Buying Agents, Defamation, Estate Agents, Family Offices, Immigration, Real Estate: High Value Residential.
26 November: Chambers 2026 London submissions for Competition Law, Competition: Litigation, Environment & Climate Change, Family/Children Law & Social Housing
16 December: Chambers High Net Worth UK: all other practice areas - London and UK
5 February: Chambers 2026 London submissions for all other practice areas
Regions: If you are submitting for the Chambers 2026 regions doublecheck your submission date here: Chambers Research Schedule
7 February: Legal 500 outside London (NB: This date has not been confirmed and is based on last year's deadline).
21 March: Legal 500 London (NB: This date has not been confirmed and is based on last year's deadline).
2 April 2025: Chambers 2026 London submissions for Agriculture & Rural Affairs, Real Estate Litigation, Intellectual Property, Corporate/M&A

What should you be doing now?

If you’re submitting in November: Ideally, you should be at the proofing stage (but see below asap if you're not!)

Tip: Ensure your ranked individuals have sufficient coverage (referees and matters).
For December submissions and later: Start pulling together a list of your top cases from the last 12 months. Associates, keep notes on the major matters you've handled or worked on down some notes of the big matters you've worked on as you're likely to be asked (possibly at the last minute) to draft these.

Tip: Researchers are usually not legally trained, so keep your matter summaries clear and concise and give enough context for them to follow easily.
Prepare your Referee/Intermediary Lists: Create a broad list of clients and intermediaries you could approach for both Legal 500 and Chambers submissions. A wider pool of potential referees gives flexibility, making it easier to divide them between the directories.

Tip: For those taking the lead, discuss referee allocations sooner rather than later. This will allow everyone sufficient time to ask their referees for permission.

Bonus: Need a BD plan and don't know where to start?

Are you tired of starting each year with great intentions for BD, only to feel lost halfway through? Need a strategy that’s clear, focused, and actually leads to growth?

In partnership with Peakleap, we’ve launched the Creating a Business Development Plan online course to help lawyers and consultants build a BD plan that works — and that you’ll actually enjoy sticking to.

Every lesson is under 10 minutes, breaking down each practical step to make it easy and actionable so you can:

Build a solid BD plan – Set a clear direction aligned with your goals
Embed growth habits – Make BD second nature with routines that stick
Achieve predictable success – Develop a plan that adapts as you do

This course is for you if:

You’re ready for a strategic, sustainable approach to BD
You want BD habits that feel natural, not forced
You’re serious about setting 2025 up for growth that lasts

If this sounds like what you’ve been looking for, click here for more information: peakleap Creating a Business Development Plan

Use the discount code GEMMA for 10% off.

Not sure what to do next?

You have some options:

View previous editions of Trifecta by clicking here.

Want even more content? Check out the insights page on our website here.

Let’s keep in touch:

Have you been forwarded this email? Click here to sign up to receive the next edition directly into your inbox.

Want to change how you receive these emails?
Unsubscribe · Preferences

Trifecta

Directories Deep Dive : How to boost your rankings & refine your strategy

The directories edition | Troubleshooting checklist, how to maximise your ranking and dates for your diary