If nothing else, the Legal 500 is an excellent test of a law firm’s ability to humblebrag. The annual list was released last week and prompted a flurry of tweets, LinkedIn updates and press releases from excited firms and their marketing managers.

But how to show off this achievement without seeming to be showing off?

Obiter was particularly impressed by the tweets saying how humbling it was to be in such esteemed company. Others just happened to mention their recognition tucked away in messages of thanks for the whole team.

Obiter tired a little of the number of lawyers who were honoured and thrilled by their rankings, and we can take it as read you’re proud to announce a colleague ascending to the list.

We jest, of course. Obiter sends our genuine congratulations to everyone on the list, as well as to the PR people who have ensured blanket coverage in local newspapers. We’re only sorry there isn’t a directory for sarcastic back-page columns.

And the humblebrag has one definite upside: all lawyers telling the world about their achievement were encouraged to donate to QC Sean Jones’ billable hour campaign, which raises money from the legal profession for the charity Save the Children. At the time of going to press, lawyers had donated more than £10,000 in penance for shameless self-promotion since the Legal 500 went live. Now that’s something to boast about.

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