League Tables as a Marketing Tool for Dutch Lawyers

League tables are ranking lists of law firms involved in mergers and takeovers. When pitching for a job, law firms like to refer to their own ranking. It helps with marketing themselves as a major player. Ranking lists that Dutch lawyers like to use are those of the British Chambers and Legal 500.

To be included in these lists, law firms are being investigated, including interviewing clients about their experiences with the firm. The lists mainly serve as indicators of the “health” of the law office. Especially the number and value of the transactions that the firm was involved are great marketing tools. According to Gaike Dalenoord of the law firm Nauta Dutilh: “If you have a high score on both fronts, you are perceived as a serious and influential firm.”

Other league tables that are popular are those of the Nederlandse Overfusies (purely focusing on The Netherlands) and the British Mergermarket (includes all transactions in de Benelux. Both provide the value as well as the amount of deals. Most large international firms prefer scoring high on the value of the deals. They perceive being involved in really big deals as a way to move ahead of competition.

"We are making fun of them, but we still perceive them as an indicator for success”, said Jan Willem de Boer, partner at the Dutch office of Linklaters. “We all provide data about deals to the compilers of the ranking lists.”

Of course – the league tables and ranking lists are great for marketing!