Your deal sheet and writing sample are often the first proof points in a lateral process. Hiring teams use them to evaluate your experience, judgment, and communication before they decide to spend interview time.

The Deal Sheet

What it is

A deal sheet (or representative matters list) is a curated summary of significant matters you have worked on.

  • Transactional attorneys: deals, financings, capital markets, M&A
  • Litigators: cases, investigations, regulatory disputes
  • Regulatory attorneys: major advisory matters and enforcement responses

Common mistakes

  • Listing everything instead of a focused highlight reel
  • Being too vague about role, value, and complexity
  • Overstating your level of responsibility
  • Including confidential details that should be generalized

What strong entries include

Each entry should quickly cover:

  • Client name or anonymized descriptor
  • Counterparty or opposing party when relevant
  • Matter type and significance
  • Deal value or business impact when available
  • Your specific role and contributions
  • Outcome or current status

Organize by category (for example, M&A, financing, capital markets) instead of pure chronology so reviewers can scan your practice profile quickly.

Tips by level

Junior associates

Focus on quality over volume. A short, accurate list is stronger than a padded list.

Mid-level associates

Highlight leadership moments: running workstreams, drafting key documents, managing juniors, or direct client interaction.

Senior associates and counsel

Show progression and independence. Your list should demonstrate increasingly complex matters and higher trust.

The Writing Sample

What reviewers look for

A writing sample should show:

  • Clear structure
  • Sound analysis
  • Strong legal judgment
  • Precision and readability for a sophisticated audience

Choosing the right sample

  • Pick work aligned with the target role
  • Use material that is primarily your own drafting
  • Prefer recent work (ideally within the last two years)
  • Keep length manageable (often 10 to 15 pages)
  • Redact all confidential information

If your best work is very long, submit a strong excerpt and note that it is excerpted.

Final polish checklist

Before submitting, confirm:

  • Logic and flow are easy to follow
  • Citations and technical references are accurate
  • Grammar and formatting are clean
  • A new reader can understand the context quickly

A short cover note can help orient the reader to what issue the sample addresses and your role in the document.

Putting both documents together

Your deal sheet shows breadth and relevance of experience. Your writing sample shows depth of thinking and execution quality. Together they answer the core hiring question: can this attorney do the work at our standard?

Treat both documents as strategic materials, not administrative tasks. The candidates who prepare them early and carefully usually perform better throughout the entire lateral process.