Overview
Most lawyer profiles describe experience. Few demonstrate it.
The typical profile reads something like: “Jane advises on mergers and acquisitions, corporate restructuring, and general commercial matters. She has extensive experience working with SMEs and family businesses across a range of industries.”
This tells you what Jane does. It tells you nothing about whether she’s actually done it.
Now compare: “Jane has advised on 40+ business sales in the manufacturing and logistics sectors, with transaction values ranging from $2M to $35M. Recent matters include the sale of a third-generation family logistics business to a national competitor and the acquisition of a manufacturing company by a private equity fund.”
Same lawyer. Same practice areas. Completely different level of proof.
The first version makes claims. The second version provides evidence. When a prospect lands on Jane’s profile – probably after being referred by their accountant – they’re trying to answer a simple question: has this person done what I need them to do? Claims don’t answer that question. Examples do.
Most firms understand this instinctively when it comes to other professional services. You wouldn’t hire an architect without seeing buildings they’ve designed. You wouldn’t engage a builder without examples of completed projects. Yet lawyers routinely ask prospects to take their word for it, offering descriptions of capability without evidence of delivery.
What Do Prospects Look for on Lawyer Profiles?
When someone’s been referred to you, they’re not shopping. They already have a recommendation from someone they trust. They’re validating.
The question running through their mind is straightforward: has this person actually done what I need? Not in theory. In practice. Have they worked with businesses like mine? Handled situations like mine? What happened?
This is why experience is such a powerful factor in choosing a lawyer. Not because prospects can evaluate legal expertise directly – they can’t. But because experience is something they can understand and assess. “Extensive M&A expertise” is meaningless. “Helped 40 business owners sell their companies” is concrete.
Work examples answer the validation question in a way that credentials and practice area descriptions never can. Where you studied and what awards you’ve won might matter to some prospects, but they’re not what most are trying to assess. They’re trying to determine whether you’ve been down this road before, whether you’ve seen the problems that might come up, and whether you know what to do when things get complicated.
A profile without work examples asks the prospect to trust your self-assessment. A profile with work examples lets them see for themselves.
Why Do Lawyers Need to Show Work Examples, Not Just Describe Experience?
Every professional service provider makes claims about their capabilities. Lawyers face a particular challenge: the work is largely invisible.
A graphic designer has a portfolio. An architect has buildings. A builder has finished houses. The evidence of their competence is tangible and obvious. Legal work happens in documents, negotiations, and advice that clients rarely show anyone else.
This invisibility makes work examples even more important. They’re one of the few ways prospects can see evidence of what you’ve actually done. Without them, you’re asking to be judged entirely on your own description of yourself – which is exactly how everyone else presents themselves too.
The firms that include work examples stand out precisely because most don’t. When every competitor’s profile says “extensive experience in commercial law,” the one that says “advised on the $12M sale of family-owned manufacturing business to an international buyer, including complex earnout arrangements and vendor warranty negotiations” is the one that gets remembered.
Can Lawyers List Client Work Without Breaching Confidentiality?
The most common objection to listing work examples is confidentiality. Lawyers worry about disclosing client information, breaching duties, or upsetting clients who value privacy.
These concerns are legitimate but often overstated. In most cases, work can be described without identifying anyone.
“Advised on the $15M sale of a Melbourne-based logistics business” reveals nothing confidential. You haven’t named the client, the buyer, or any identifying details. You’ve described the type of work, the scale, and the context. That’s enough to demonstrate experience without breaching any duty.
The same principle applies across practice areas. “Defended over 50 medical professionals against disciplinary proceedings arising from patient complaints” doesn’t identify anyone. “Advised a family-owned hospitality group on restructuring during COVID” could describe dozens of matters. “Recovered $850,000 in a commercial dispute over construction defects” names no names.
What matters is specificity about the work, not disclosure of the client. You can be highly specific about industry, deal size, complexity, and outcome without revealing who you acted for.
That said, every firm has different thresholds and requirements. Some matters are genuinely sensitive – high-profile transactions, contentious disputes, clients in the public eye. Some industries are small enough that even anonymised descriptions might be identifiable. You’ll need to exercise judgment, and there will be matters you can’t include. But that’s a reason to be thoughtful, not a reason to include nothing at all.
How Should Transactional Lawyers List Deals on Their Profiles?
Tombstones are short summaries of completed deals – a format borrowed from investment banking. They work particularly well for transactional practices: M&A, capital raising, property transactions, project finance.
A typical tombstone includes the nature of the transaction, the parties involved (or their descriptions), the value if appropriate, and what you did. They’re usually presented as a list or grid, often with visual formatting that makes them scannable.
For example:
“Acquisition of Vector Renewables – Advised Veridian Energy on its $3.2 billion acquisition of Queensland solar and wind assets from Vector Renewables. The transaction included 12 operational renewable energy projects totalling 1.8GW capacity, complex grid connection arrangements, and innovative power purchase agreement novations across multiple counterparties.”
Or alternatively:
$15M business sale – Advised the vendors on the sale of a third-generation family logistics business to a national competitor, including due diligence, sale agreement negotiation, and post-completion transition arrangements.
Tombstones are easy to produce – once you have a template, each one takes fifteen minutes. They stack up over time. After a few years, you’ve built a wall of evidence that says “I’ve done this, repeatedly, at scale.”
The format works because it mirrors how prospects think about transactional work. They want to know: what deals have you done? How big? In what industries? Tombstones answer those questions efficiently.
How Do Lawyers Describe Experience Without Naming Clients?
Not every practice area produces discrete deals you can list. For relationship-based or advisory work – employment law, commercial contracts, regulatory advice – experience snippets often work better.
Experience snippets are amalgamated descriptions of your work patterns. Instead of naming specific clients or matters, you describe the types of clients you work with and the kinds of outcomes you achieve.
An employment lawyer might write:
“Over the past five years, we've defended major hospitals, aged care facilities, and medical practices against unfair dismissal applications, achieving dismissal of 85% of claims at the first hearing. Our approach combines defensive termination strategies with meticulous preparation of managers who need to give evidence about their performance management processes. By identifying technical deficiencies early and building compelling jurisdictional arguments, we've consistently turned potentially costly disputes into quick wins that protect employers from both reinstatement orders and significant compensation claims.”
A white-collar criminal defence team might write:
“When doctors, lawyers, and accountants face criminal charges, the stakes extend far beyond the courtroom to their professional licenses and career futures. We've achieved acquittals in serious assault matters through methodical cross-examination, negotiated non-custodial outcomes for first-time drug offenders, and secured work licenses for professionals facing drink driving charges. Our experience spans over 400 contested hearings, from successfully defending domestic violence allegations using digital evidence and CCTV footage, to protecting reputations in matters ranging from theft to serious violent offences.”
Neither snippet names a client. Both demonstrate specific, relevant experience that a prospect can grab onto.
The key is specificity about patterns. “I advise employers on employment matters” is too vague to mean anything. “I regularly advise health sector organisations on managing underperformance involving clinical staff” is specific enough to matter.
Why Should Lawyers Include Numbers on Their Profiles?
Numbers give prospects something concrete to hold onto.
“I’ve advised on many business sales” is vague. “I’ve advised on 40+ business sales” is specific. “I have extensive litigation experience” is forgettable. “I’ve recovered over $15M for clients in commercial disputes” is memorable.
Volume metrics demonstrate scale: 50+ transactions, 100+ lease negotiations, 200+ estate plans. They signal that you’ve done this work repeatedly, that you’ve seen variations and edge cases, that you’re not learning on the job.
Outcome metrics demonstrate results: $2M recovered, 95% success rate in defended claims, zero successful challenges to wills drafted. They answer the question “what happened?” in concrete terms.
Not every practice area lends itself to outcome metrics – sometimes success means a problem avoided rather than a victory achieved. But where you can quantify results, it’s worth doing. Numbers cut through the noise of generic claims in a way that adjectives never can.
When Should Lawyers Write Case Studies?
Case studies go deeper than tombstones or snippets. They walk through a specific matter: what was the problem, how did you approach it, what was the outcome.
Done well, a case study demonstrates not just that you’ve done the work, but how you think. It shows your problem-solving approach, your ability to navigate complexity, and the value you delivered. This builds confidence in ways that a simple deal list cannot.
For example, a case study might describe a complex business sale where the deal nearly collapsed over warranty disputes, explain how you structured a solution involving warranty insurance and escrow arrangements, and conclude with the successful completion and the client’s ability to exit cleanly.
The trade-off is effort. A good case study takes hours to write, requires client input or approval, and needs to be genuinely instructive rather than just self-congratulatory. You won’t produce dozens of them.
But case studies serve you for years. One well-crafted case study in your core practice area is worth more than ten generic capability statements. For prospects who do their homework – the ones you most want as clients – a case study builds confidence that nothing else matches.
Should Work Examples Be a Separate List or Part of the Profile?
There are two main approaches to presenting work examples: as a separate deal list, or integrated into profile content.
A deal list is a dedicated section – often its own page or a distinct block on a profile – that catalogues completed matters. This works well when you have significant volume and want to demonstrate breadth. It’s scannable, easy to update, and signals activity.
Integrated content weaves examples into your profile narrative. Instead of a separate list, examples appear as evidence within your description of what you do. “I advise owner-managed businesses on M&A” becomes “I’ve helped over forty owner-managed businesses in manufacturing and logistics navigate their first sale, typically to trade buyers or private equity.”
Both approaches work. The choice depends on volume (deal lists need enough entries to look substantial), practice type (transactional work suits lists; advisory work suits integration), and website structure (what does your platform support?).
You can also combine them – integrated examples in your profile narrative, with a link to a fuller deal list for prospects who want to see more.
Why Does Specificity Matter on Lawyer Profiles?
The common thread across every format is specificity. Vague descriptions don’t count as work examples – they’re just claims in different clothing.
“Advised on a significant M&A transaction” is vague. What industry? What size? What was complex about it?
“Advised on a $12M Series B capital raising for a Melbourne fintech, including negotiating investor veto rights and founder protection provisions” is specific. The prospect knows the industry, the scale, the geography, and the complexity.
Specificity creates recognition. A prospect in fintech reads that example and thinks “this person knows my world.” A business owner contemplating their first sale reads about “navigating their first sale” and thinks “this person understands my situation.”
Include industry where relevant, transaction or matter size where appropriate, geographic context if it matters, and the nature of the complexity involved. These details transform generic claims into concrete evidence.
How Do You Choose Which Work Examples to Include?
Impressive matters aren’t always relevant matters.
If you’re trying to attract owner-managed businesses, a profile full of ASX-listed company transactions might actually work against you. The prospect wonders: “Do they work with businesses like mine, or am I too small for them?”
The best work examples mirror your ideal client. If you want more manufacturing clients, lead with manufacturing examples. If you want family businesses, showcase family business transactions. If you want a mix, present a mix.
This doesn’t mean hiding impressive work. It means curating with intention. Your profile should answer the question “have you worked with people like me?” with obvious, repeated yes signals.
Review your examples through your ideal prospect’s eyes. Would they see themselves reflected? If not, consider whether you’re showcasing the wrong work – or whether your actual experience doesn’t match your stated focus.
How Recent Should Work Examples Be?
A deal from 2018 still demonstrates you’ve done the work. Experience doesn’t expire. If you advised a mining business sales seven years ago, that experience remains relevant to a mining business owner considering a sale today.
But recency matters for the overall impression. If all your examples are from years ago, it raises a question: what have you been doing since?
The issue isn’t how old any individual example is – it’s whether there’s a pattern of ongoing work. A mix of older and recent examples signals sustained experience. A list that stops in 2021 signals something else, and prospects will notice.
Where possible, include recent work alongside established examples. This shows currency and continuity. If your recent matters are genuinely confidential or too fresh to discuss, that’s fine – just ensure the overall picture doesn’t suggest inactivity.
Should You Lead With Your Biggest Deals?
The biggest matter isn’t always the best example.
Lawyers naturally gravitate toward their most impressive work – the largest transactions, the highest-profile disputes, the landmark cases. These feel like the strongest proof of capability.
But impressive and relevant aren’t the same thing. An appellate court victory that changed industry regulation is impressive. If your typical client is a medical professional facing a disciplinary hearing, it might actually create distance rather than connection. A $500M property development is impressive. If your typical client is a suburban dentist buying their first commercial premises, it signals you operate in a different world.
The best examples are ones where prospects see themselves. “That’s my industry. That’s my situation. That’s the kind of problem I’m dealing with.” Recognition beats impressiveness for conversion.
This doesn’t mean excluding significant matters. It means leading with relevant ones, ensuring prospects see familiar territory before they see your trophy work.
How Should M&A and Property Lawyers Show Experience?
M&A, property, capital raising, and project work lend themselves naturally to work examples. Transactions have clear beginnings and endings, defined values, and describable outcomes.
Tombstones work well here. A list of completed deals – with industry, size, and brief description – builds evidence quickly. Transaction values provide natural specificity. The format is familiar to clients who’ve seen similar presentations from accountants and investment bankers.
For transactional practices, the question isn’t whether to include work examples – it’s how many and how detailed. Err toward more rather than fewer, and toward specific rather than generic.
How Should Litigation Lawyers Show Experience?
Litigation outcomes are often public record, which solves part of the confidentiality problem. Court judgments can be referenced. Significant verdicts or settlements can be described.
The challenge is that not every matter goes to judgment, and not every outcome is a clear “win.” Many disputes settle confidentially. Many good outcomes involve avoiding litigation entirely.
Focus on what demonstrates skill: complexity navigated, amounts recovered or defended, creative solutions achieved. “Recovered $1.2M in a construction dispute through mediation after previous solicitors had advised the claim was unwinnable” tells a story. “Defended a professional services firm against claims exceeding $5M, achieving complete dismissal” demonstrates results.
Where outcomes are confidential, experience snippets work well. “I regularly defend professional services firms against negligence claims, with a strong track record of early resolution and cost containment” conveys capability without breaching any settlement terms.
How Should Advisory Lawyers Show Experience?
Advisory practices – regulatory compliance, governance, commercial advice – face a different challenge. The work is often ongoing rather than transactional. Success means problems avoided rather than deals completed.
Experience snippets shine here. Describe the types of organisations you advise, the regulatory frameworks you navigate, and the patterns of work you handle. “I advise aged care providers on regulatory compliance, helping boards and executives navigate newly introduced standards, manage complaints processes, and prepare for accreditation reviews.”
Volume metrics help where applicable. “Advised over 30 organisations on privacy law compliance following the 2024 amendments” demonstrates both capability and currency.
Case studies can also work well for advisory practices, particularly where you helped a client navigate a significant regulatory challenge or restructure their compliance approach. The narrative format suits work that’s about judgment and process rather than discrete transactions.
How Should Employment and Commercial Lawyers Show Experience?
Employment law, commercial contracts, and similar relationship-based practices often involve the same clients repeatedly over years. The value is in the ongoing relationship, not individual matters.
Here, experience snippets that describe client types and working patterns are often more effective than matter lists. “I act as external employment counsel for several mid-sized professional services firms, handling everything from contract reviews to complex performance management and terminations.”
You can also highlight the duration and depth of relationships without naming clients. “My longest client relationship spans fifteen years and has included three business sales, two partnership restructures, and countless commercial agreements.” This demonstrates trust and continuity.
How Should Family and Estate Lawyers Show Experience?
Family law, estate planning, and private wealth work present genuine confidentiality constraints. These matters are deeply personal. Even anonymised descriptions risk being identifiable in smaller communities.
Volume metrics often work best here. “Prepared over 200 estate plans last year for business-owning families” or “Negotiated settlements in over 100 separations involving medical professionals, including complex valuations of practice goodwill and partnership buyouts” demonstrates experience without stating specific clients.
Experience snippets can describe patterns carefully.
"I've advised over 60 high-net-worth families on succession planning, typically involving testamentary trust structures, staged handovers of family businesses, and coordinating wills and tax planning across two or more countries"
The prospect understands your experience without learning anything about specific clients.
Testimonials – where clients consent – are particularly valuable for private client work. A quote from a satisfied estate planning or family law client does work that matter descriptions cannot, precisely because the client has chosen to share their experience.
How Do Lawyers Show Experience When Outcomes Are Hard to Measure?
Some work defies easy measurement. The trusted commercial advisor who handles whatever comes up for a growing business. The governance lawyer who keeps boards out of trouble. The compliance specialist whose success means nothing went wrong.
For these practices, focus on relationship depth, client types, and the nature of problems you solve. For example:
"I serve as trusted external counsel to several owner-managed businesses, providing commercial advice across the full range of issues that arise as businesses grow – contracts, disputes, employment matters, property, and governance."
You can also describe what you’ve helped clients avoid. “Helped a technology company identify and address regulatory risks before a planned capital raising, avoiding issues that would have delayed or derailed the transaction.”
The challenge is that preventative work is inherently less visible. Lean on testimonials, long-term relationship evidence, and descriptions of the types of problems you help clients navigate. The prospect may not see a deal list, but they should see evidence of sustained, valued relationships.
Where Should Work Examples Appear on a Law Firm Website?
Work examples belong in multiple places, not just one.
Lawyer profiles are the primary location. This is where referrals land when validating a recommendation. Examples here answer the immediate question: has this person done what I need?
Practice area pages can showcase work at the team or firm level. A collective deal list demonstrates the group’s experience, which matters when the prospect hasn’t yet chosen a specific lawyer.
The firm’s homepage or about page might feature selected highlights – signature matters that define the firm’s capabilities and market position.
Pitches and proposals should draw on the same examples, tailored to the specific opportunity. The website builds the foundation; pitch documents should be customised for context.
Consistency matters. The same matter might appear on a lawyer profile, a practice area page, and in a pitch – described consistently, demonstrating that this is genuine experience you’re proud to showcase.
Why Do Work Examples Matter More Than Experience Claims?
The difference between “I do M&A” and “I’ve helped forty business owners sell their companies” is the difference between a claim and proof.
Every lawyer makes claims. Profiles are full of them – extensive experience, deep expertise, strong track records. These claims are unfalsifiable and therefore meaningless. When everyone says the same thing, no one stands out.
Work examples are proof. They show rather than tell. They give prospects something concrete to assess, something that answers their actual question: has this person done what I need?
Building a list of work examples takes effort – reviewing closed matters, thinking through what’s showable and how to describe it, perhaps some conversations with clients about what can be shared. If you’re starting from a blank page, it’s a one-time investment that works on every profile view for years. After that, updating once or twice a year is enough for most lawyers. Heavier-volume or transactional practices might revisit monthly to keep the list current.
The lawyers who include work examples aren’t doing anything exotic. They’re simply showing prospects what they need to see. The evidence does the work that claims cannot.
