For both Legal 500 and Chambers, the main criterion is the quality of a firm's work highlights.

As such, well-crafted case summaries are a crucial difference maker.

Researchers assess your work on significance and complexity. You therefore need to provide context/background as to why the instruction was of critical importance, and also focus on a handful of points which showcase it was highly technical and complicated.

Far too many firms simply describe their work in a couple of sentences, simply providing a general overview, this can create the idea that the matter was routine/straightforward.

At the opposite end of the spectrum, some, but not many, write mini novellas with all the key details lost in a wall of text which nobody is going to want to read.

There is definitely a balancing act to be had here, which is why I have written a fictitious example showcasing the ideal level of detail, and the key points we want to address:

Publishable Matter 1

Background

We advised California-based Alpha Gamma Industries, a publicly listed market leader in the hotels industry, with annual revenue of $1.2bn, on its $300m majority acquisition of Bella Vista Hotels, an Egyptian hospitality chain with over 60 sites across the country.

The transaction marks the 3rd MENA-related investment we have handled for XYZ in as many years, as the client looks to expand its global presence and reach a targeted revenue of $1.5bn by 2027. We have worked with the client since 2012 and have handled all its corporate/commercial work ever since.

Complexities

- The transaction saw the client acquire 75% ownership of the company, with 25% remaining in equal share with the original three private owners, resulting in the need for a bespoke and highly complicated governance structure.

·        We acted on the full lifecycle of the transactions, including intense negotiations, due diligence across Bella Vista’s expansive 400 property portfolio, and post-closing integration.

·        We leveraged our firm’s cross-disciplinary expertise to provide a holistic service. Our colleagues in employment played a particularly crucial role as 200 Bella Vista employees were laid off post-acquisition.

·        Likewise, our competition expertise proved a difference maker. The local regulator originally intended to block the transaction, ruling that the acquisition of the domestic market leader by a US company would detriment Egypt's hospitality sector. We had to contest this ruling in 3 separate hearings.

·        As a result of the delay, the deal looked to have collapsed due to increased political tension within the region. We had to conduct an extensive risk assessment and successfully re-negotiate the purchase terms.

Added Value – We believe that our track record within the hospitality sector, which has seen us act on 3 of the 10 largest global transactions within the sector, made us a go-to for this particular deal. We also have specialist expertise in acting for US clients in their investments in the MENA region, as you will also note by Matters 5 and 15 below.

Approach Explained

With the 'Background' section, we are trying to provide context. Introduce the parties involved in the matter and provide the commercial objectives behind the deal. The more that the researcher understands about the matter, the better-placed they are to judge its significance. They will also naturally find the matter more interesting if they know the key background behind it. Deal values are critical, especially for transactional tables, always do your utmost to include these. You can mark them in red if the figure is not for publication.

Notice, on the theme of context, that we also made sure to provide background on the client's relationship with the firm. Here's your chance to show off your long-standing relationships, or briefly refer to other flagship historical matters you've handled for the same client.

For the 'Complexities' section, we don't need to drown the researcher in an exhaustive list of all the facts. We really just want to prioritise a handful of points which best encapsulate that this was a highly complicated instruction, requiring cutting-edge expertise. It's best to break these up into bullet points so they are easily digestible. Having separate sub-headings for 'Background' and 'Complexities' for also challenges the firm to directly address why the matter was complicated, as opposed to focusing too heavily on a surface level overview.

As for 'Added Value', this section is not a necessity, but try and think of why your firm was best-suited to handle the matter. How did your expertise/resources/track record make you the go-to over other firms in the market? Notice how we also focused on the firm's full-service expertise in the 'Complexities' section to likewise portray this idea.

Feel free to email me with any questions you may have in relation to this topic.