This Wednesday’s live session featured Jorn Vermeulen (CEO, KLERQ) and Alex Holtum (Product Ambassador, KLERQ). Holtum opened by outlining his career spanning private practice at Freshfields, Reed Smith, and DLA Piper, followed by an MBA and the founding of International Law Firm Solutions (ILFS). Across two decades advising independent firms, he identified a persistent operational burden: directory submissions. What began as a support function became the dominant share of client demand, exposing inefficiencies in time, cost, and data usage.

Vermeulen provided a complementary perspective from legal tech, positioning submissions not as administrative overhead, but as a strategic commercial asset for every law firm.

Directories as a Market Benchmark

Despite criticism, directories remain embedded in legal decision-making. Holtum described them as “about 80% right” and widely used for rapid due diligence, particularly in cross-border scenarios where firms need trusted recommendations at short notice.

Their value lies in acting as a credible third-party endorsement, providing visibility for smaller or emerging firms, and supporting referral decisions in unfamiliar jurisdictions. However, both speakers stressed that directories are only one part of a broader business development ecosystem.

The Core Problem: Time and Inefficiency

Traditional submissions are highly resource-intensive. Holtum cited figures of 20–25 hours per submission, multiplied across practice areas and jurisdictions. The process is largely repetitive, involving extensive copying, pasting, and reformatting to meet different directory requirements.

Crucially, the data generated by deal highlights, client narratives, and lawyer profiles is often underutilised, discarded after submission cycles, and recreated annually.

From Administrative Task to Strategic Asset

Vermeulen framed the “new era” as a shift in mindset from annual, reactive submissions to continuous, structured data management. Rather than treating submissions as outputs, leading firms are beginning to treat them as by-products of a well-maintained data infrastructure. This repositioning transforms submissions into a positioning engine, enabling firms to articulate their strengths consistently across multiple channels.

Structured Data and Reusability

A central theme was the importance of structuring experience data matters, deals, and client narratives so they can be reused across:

• Directory submissions
• Client pitches and proposals
• International referrals
• Internal knowledge systems

Holtum noted that tools like KLERQ can reduce submission time by over 50%, while also unlocking the broader value of previously siloed information.

Submissions and Referrals: A Direct Link

Vermeulen emphasised that referrals are driven by clarity and trust, not just reputation. Firms receive work when peers clearly understand their expertise.

Structured submissions data enables faster identification of relevant expertise, better cross-border collaboration, and more effective participation in international networks and conferences. He highlighted that many firms historically relied on informal relationships at events, with limited tangible outcomes. The shift is towards data-driven referral strategies.

The Role of Technology and AI

Technology acts as an enabler rather than a solution in isolation. Vermeulen stressed that AI only delivers value when applied to well-structured data. Once in place, firms can instantly identify ranked lawyers across jurisdictions, match expertise to opportunities in real time, and maintain a continuously updated “living” database of experience.

This moves firms from reactive BD to proactive positioning.

Client Referees and Data Management

The discussion also touched on referee management, a critical but often overlooked element of submissions. Over-reliance on senior clients (e.g., GCs) leads to fatigue, broader referee pools improve response rates, and tracking responsiveness over time is essential. Tools that monitor referee engagement allow firms to refine their approach and improve outcomes.

Adoption and Firm Size

While very small firms may not require advanced tools, Holtum suggested that firms with 40–50 lawyers and above benefit significantly. At this scale, collaboration, consistency, and efficiency become critical.

KLERQ Key Takeaways

• Directory submissions are evolving from an administrative burden to a strategic asset
• Structured data is the foundation of effective submissions, pitches, and referrals
• Technology significantly reduces time while increasing consistency and insight
• Referrals depend on clear, data-backed positioning
• The “new era” is defined by continuous, not cyclical, management of experience data