Stop paying for directories. You’re already in the one that matters.

PERSUIT for Firms is a monthly newsletter dedicated to law firm growth, written by Jordan Weinstein, VP of Data & Growth at PERSUIT. Click here to subscribe.

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Every legal directory has the same business model. Pay us, and we'll make you look impressive. Pay us more, and we'll make you look more impressive. Pay the most and we'll put you on top, surrounded by tasteful gold trim and a small medal we designed for the occasion.

I won't name names. You know them. Some of you sit in BD meetings every year deciding which directory tax to renew and which one you can finally drop without anyone in-house noticing.

But what if I told you you're probably already in the greatest and most relevant lawyer directory in all the land. 400,000+ lawyers, searched constantly by Fortune 500 in-house teams deciding who to consider for their next matter. You didn't apply. You didn't pay. You're just there and your info is updated as often as your firm's website. You're welcome.

That directory is PERSUIT – powered by our partnership with Firm Prospects. And now, for the first time, you can do something about how you (or your lawyers) show up in it.

First, a reminder

Showing up in the directory, being considered for matters, responding to RFPs, submitting proposals, winning new business – all free for law firms. That hasn't changed. What's new is that we now have an organized suite of premium products for firms who want an edge. We're calling that suite FIRM+.

Introducing

FIRM+ isn't a brand new product – it's the umbrella name we're putting around a set of products you may already know (and use), plus the new ones we're shipping now or soon. Three buckets, each with its own job:

If you're already subscribed to our AFA-based Price Benchmarking product, congratulations – you're a FIRM+ subscriber. The rest of this edition is about the headliner product that's brand new.

Business Development

Don't care about winning more business on PERSUIT?

Great, you can stop reading now and go on living your life.

But if you're interested... Here's the part most firms haven't considered: when an in-house team is putting together an RFP on PERSUIT, they go through a workflow to decide which lawyers to consider. That selection screen is where the actual decision happens. Not later. Not in the proposal. Right there, at the top of the funnel.

On a $2M matter, your lawyer's profile may get about 15 seconds of attention before the client decides yes or no (and yes, I completely made that number up). Today, by default, that profile shows: name, firm, location, practice areas. Roughly the same information they could get from your website's "Our People" page in 2009.

"Cool Jordan, but if I show up either way, why does this matter?"

Showing up isn't the same as being chosen.

Clients default to firms and lawyers they already know to lower their [perceived] risk. The way you reduce that risk for a new lawyer they're considering is by giving them evidence (or dare I say, "proof"?) – recent relevant matters, differentiators, and endorsements from clients. Without that proof, "capable but unfamiliar" loses to "familiar and good enough" almost every time.

Proof Points gives your lawyers richer cards in that selection workflow. Specifically:

• Recent Matters. The actual work this lawyer has done – matter type, year, role, value range. Client name optional.
• Differentiators. What makes this lawyer different from the next one with the same three practice area tags. Written by a human (maybe).
• Endorsements. Thumbs-up signals from clients you've already worked with on PERSUIT – the closest thing to a reference check that fits in 15 seconds.

Three things Proof Points is not, because the questions are coming:

1. It does not change whether your lawyers appear in the directory (they already do).
2. It does not change the order they appear in (ranking is merit-based and there is no pay-to-be-on-top tier).
3. It does not guarantee more opportunities. It changes how much evidence the client has at the moment they're deciding.

The impact is on conversion, not volume.

Setting up Proof Points

Active FIRM+ Subscribers
You will be getting this free for 6 months ✅

All other firms

If you reply to this email by Friday, May 8th, you will get this for free for 3 months. We're doing this to prevent overload in the initial rollout. So you have a full week to say you're in! Not Saturday, May 9th. Not Monday, May 11th.

After the free trial, Proof Points lists at $199 per lawyer, per month ($2,000/lawyer/year if you pay annually).

"Ok but I need to know, in detail, how much and what type of work is coming through PERSUIT?"

We've got you. As part of subscribing to Proof Points, you'll get access to a new Missed Opportunities dashboard. It will help you see exactly which types of matters your lawyers are a strong fit for—but not being considered. Use this data to sharpen Proof Points and capture more of the right work.

If you don't see value during the free window, you walk away owing nothing.

Reply to this email or grab 15 minutes with the JA'AM team.

The sensible next step is to join early access. The less sensible next step is to forward this to whoever's approving the renewal on a directory subscription that no client has ever cited as the reason they hired you.

As always – keep the feedback coming.

– Jordan Weinstein
VP Data & Growth
PERSUIT