are several factors to take into account, such as clients’ likelihood of responding to a researcher. All of this takes up a great deal of time and effort, especially as submissions often fall to in-house business development and legal marketing teams, who are usually extremely busy with their day-to-day activities. Legal directory submissions are not simply a 61 AUG 2022 | WWW.LAWYER-MONTHLY.COM THOUGHT LEADER - DANIEL KIDD ‘write-and-go’ exercise; they require a significant commitment from strategy to post-submission. Are there any particularly common mistakes that you see in legal directory submissions? What effects can these have on the outcome of the process? There are several pitfalls and misconceptions surrounding legal directory submissions. Management of the journey is an aspect that is often overlooked. Whether through appointing an external consultancy like ourselves or organising an in-house team, project management can contribute significantly to a submission’s success. A carefully considered strategy that plans for the different directory and jurisdiction deadlines as well as including time for compiling the submission and reminding referees will make the process smoother. Starting with a plan, rather than tackling each deadline on an ad hoc basis, will save time and make the overall process more streamlined. This leads to succinct, successful submissions. Many are also tempted to use ‘legalese’ and other technical jargon to impress the researcher, but this is another pitfall. Researchers are often not from a legal background and unnecessarily complicated language will likely cloud their understanding of a submission. Instead, explaining matters concisely and clearly will stand it in better stead and highlight points far more effectively. By the same token, what steps should be taken to improve a submission’s quality? Successful submissions are united by one aspect: they all understand their point of strength. This is particularly important for the work highlights document. Many people believe that work for the most important or financially impressive clients should be prioritised in the work highlights. However, a more successful strategy is to identify the complexity and innovation of the matters and not focus Daniel Kidd Co-director, Kidd Aitken Legal Marketing Kemp House, 152 – 160 City Road, London, England, EC1V 2NX Tel: +52 813-402-5087 E: dkidd@kiddaitken.com www.kiddaitken.com Successful legal directory rankings greatly impact a law firm’s marketing effort – I think they are not talked about enough.
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