Guide: Selecting, Describing, and Getting Matters Confirmed
This guide helps lawyers and law firms to
- select the best matters for publication on matterius,
- describe matters appropriately, and
- obtain confirmation from clients.
Content
What do we mean by "matter"?
Which matters should I publish?
How should I start?
How many matters should I publish?
Should/must I mention the client's name?
How do I describe matters??
Obtaining confirmation for matters
Will only matters that have been confirmed by the client be published?
Why should I have my matters confirmed by the client?
WWhat is the best way and time to request confirmation from the client?
Should I ask my client in advance before entering any information on matterius?
What if the client has already agreed to publication elsewhere?
Selecting Matters
What do we mean by "matter"?
"Matter" refers to specific practical experience, e.g.,
- drafting, reviewing or negotiating a contract
- drafting of another type of document (e.g., policy)
- representation in a legal dispute
- advice concerning a transaction
- advice or representation in another specific matter (e.g., drafting a legal opinion, advising on regulatory issues, investigative work)
If you have many similar cases, you can combine these into a collective matter. The online form on matterius provides appropriate fields for this purpose (type of client, type of matter). However, we generally recommend describing matters individually. If adding multiple similar matters, you can copy and modify content from previously created matters or take client information from them.
Which matters should I publish?
There are various objectives you may pursue in publishing a matter and you should select your matters accordingly:
| Objective | Suitable matters |
|---|---|
| 1. Establishing reputation and trust | - large, well-known clients matters that can be considered common knowledge - high values in dispute - comprehensive, complex consulting services |
| 2. Demonstrating focus and expertise | - representative matters that are typical of your consulting work - matters that showcase your specific expertise Consider the following: - legal topics and issues you handle frequently - typical industries and client sizes - type of legal services you provide, e.g., litigation, contract drafting, M&A or compliance |
| 3. Facilitating recycling (win similar matters to be able to reuse prior knowledge and work) | Specific matters in which your expertise and results can be reused effectively. For example, consider draft contracts, briefs, legal opinions, templates, research findings, specialized knowledge, advice on specific contractual partners or opponents or potential mass litigation. |
Other selection criteria may include:
- If you plan to publish information about the client: Has the client agreed to publication or do you expect them to agree? How good is your connection to the client?
- What is the status of the matter: How long ago did you complete the work? Has the matter been concluded?
How should I start?
Consider which of the above objectives you want to achieve. If in doubt, aim for a mix of all three groups.
Write down the matters you can think of spontaneously for each group.
For group 2: In your profile on matterius, you can indicate the proportions of how extensively you advise in relation to specific areas of law, topics, and industries. Select your reference matters in such a way that they roughly reflect the proportions indicated in your profile.
For group 3, think in terms of outcomes: Which work outcomes are ideal to be recycled for other matters?
If necessary, look through your client list, cases, files, or invoices and select suitable matters.
Initially, you should focus on current cases and those from the last three years.
How many matters should I publish?
Every matter counts. Even one will bring you closer to your goal. Generally speaking, the more the better. We recommend starting with a base of 10 to 30 cases and expanding the list later, especially to allow for the reuse of work results.
Describing Matters
Should/must I mention the client's name?
Providing the name of your client, i.e., the company, creates trust. At the same time, however, this may limit the amount of detail you are free to disclose.
You can also publish matters on matterius without naming the client and can even ask the client to confirm them. It is often sufficient to state the size and industry and give a short description of the company to illustrate your experience.
Your contact person within the client company may be able to confirm a matter more readily if the company name is not already specified.
They may add the company name as part of the confirmation and approve it for publication. This means that you can leave it up to the client to decide whether their company should be mentioned by name.
How do I describe matters?
You should always describe your personal performance, not the work of the law firm or that of colleagues. As a lawyer, you should use matterius to maintain a list of matters you have handled personally. Your matters will be assigned automatically to your law firm on the basis of the law firm name in your profile. Therefore, it is important that you never enter your name or that of your law firm in the heading or client description as this information will be added automatically.
If possible, you should complete all fields in the order they appear in the form. Although most of them are optional, the more fields you populate, the easier it will be to find your matters and the higher they will be listed in the search results.
You will find explanations, tips, and examples for each input field on the online form.
The headline of the matter should attract the reader's attention and highlight the most important information. Use the following structure as a guide: activity + client + subject, e.g.,
| Activity | Client | Subject |
|---|---|---|
| Audit of the website of an... | ...eCommerce children's toy company website... | ...with regard to privacy and consumer protection |
| Representation of... | ...a Fortune 500 cloud provider... | ...in a lawsuit concerning open-source software |
| Drafting of reseller agreements... | ...for a provider of connected medical devices. | |
| Advising of... | ...a financial services provider with over 10,000 employees... | ...on the implementation of the GDPR in five countries |
The keywords you enter pertaining to the matter are just as important as the headline. These keywords are displayed prominently on matterius right next to the headline. You can use them to provide additional information in just a few words (e.g., outsourcing, GDPR).
A free text field is available to provide a detailed description of the matter. Don't copy press releases into this field; instead, write a text resembling a brief case study:
- What was the client's starting point or situation?
- What were the challenges?
- What were the results of your work?
- How did you contribute to your client's success or to the achievement of their goals?
- What specific experience and expertise did you gain?
Be mindful of confidentiality: providing too many details could allow conclusions to be drawn about the identity of your client, even if you don't mention them by name.
Obtaining Confirmation for Matters
Will only matters that have been confirmed by the client be published?
No, you can also publish unconfirmed matter descriptions on matterius.
Why should I have my matters confirmed by the client?
We recommend asking clients to confirm matters for the following reasons:
- Confirmed matters create considerably more trust.
- Confirmed mandates are displayed higher in our search results.
- Your client can leave an optional comment and feedback, which creates additional credibility.
Don't be afraid to ask your clients for confirmation. You are helping your client and working with them in a spirit of trust. They will be willing to support you as well. Confirmation can be provided online on matterius, takes little time, and all data are deleted after confirmation. Publication of the client's name is not required. And in the end, the client will also benefit from your specialization.
What is the best way and time to request confirmation from the client?
The confirmation function includes various e-mail templates that you can use when contacting clients. You can choose from short or long, German or English, formal or informal templates.
The best time to ask for confirmation is when you have just finished the project for the client and the client perceives the benefit of your work or when you have received positive feedback from the client (e.g., a thank you or recommendation).
Should I ask my client in advance before entering any information on matterius?
You do not need to do that as you can describe the matter without naming the client. We also do not receive access to your client's e-mail address from you, as you yourself send the confirmation link to your contact person within the client company. When providing a confirmation online on matterius, your contact person can then decide whether the company name they have entered may be published.
If you enter the client's name yourself in the client description, you can specify that the matter should not be published until the client has confirmed it. This ensures that nothing is published without the client's consent. However, you have disclosed the client's name to matterius, and you may already need consent for this alone. If you are unsure, you should not enter the client's name in the client description or should obtain the client's consent in advance.
What if the client has already agreed to disclosure elsewhere?
In this case you may publish the matter, including the client's name, on matterius. However, you should ask the client to confirm the matter online on matterius in order to enjoy the advantages outlined above.
Additional Questions?
You can find more information in our FAQ. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have questions that are not answered there.