How the Counterscope Score works
The Counterscope Score is a single, explainable measure of a UAE company’s legal risk, built only from official public legal records. It runs from 300 to 900 — higher is safer — and maps to five grades, A (lowest risk) to E (highest). Every grade traces back to the source documents behind it, and the same records always produce the same score.
How the 300–900 scale works
The scale is descending, like a credit score: 900 is the lowest risk, 300 the highest. Risk points drawn from a company’s legal record are subtracted from 900, and the result lands in one of five grades.
| Grade | Meaning | Score range |
|---|---|---|
| A | Low risk | 750–900 |
| B | Low–moderate risk | 600–749 |
| C | Moderate risk | 480–599 |
| D | Elevated risk | 360–479 |
| E | High risk | 300–359 |
How is a grade calculated?
Each legal event on record contributes points, weighted by four things:
- Severity
- The type of matter. A bankruptcy, criminal case or regulatory enforcement weighs far more than a routine notice.
- Recency
- Older matters fade. Weight decays over time — though serious events such as insolvency, criminal cases and enforcement keep weight for years.
- Direction
- Who prevailed. A case the company brought and won — or one against it that was dismissed — counts in its favour; a case it lost counts against it.
- Role
- The company’s part in the matter. Only a company that is the subject of an action is scored for it; courts, regulators and counsel who merely appear are excluded.
What keeps the score honest?
Four rules stop a company from gaming or masking its record:
- Serious events always count against
- Bankruptcy, liquidation, criminal and regulatory-enforcement matters lower the score regardless of how they are framed.
- Wins help only so much
- Favourable outcomes raise the score, but their total is capped — victories never wipe the slate clean.
- A serious event caps the grade
- While a bankruptcy or criminal matter is on record, no number of wins can lift the grade above a set ceiling.
- Volume can’t drown out severity
- A pile of minor matters cannot outweigh one serious event, and a single severe event always shows through.
Every point is traceable
Counterscope never infers — only the record scores. Every grade breaks down into the individual events behind it, each linked to its source document, so you can read the exact filing and export a dossier your committee can defend. Because the engine is a pure calculation — no AI and no randomness in the score itself — the same records always produce the same grade.
What “no adverse events” means
A company with nothing on record is not given a perfect score — it is shown as “no adverse events on record.” That reflects our coverage, not a clean bill of health: it means nothing was found in the sources we cover. Always pair it with your own due diligence.
What the score is not
The Counterscope Score is a legal-risk signal from public records — not a credit score, not a sanctions or PEP check, and not a verdict on a company. It is built to focus and speed up your own due diligence, not to replace it.
Common questions
Is this a credit score?
No. It measures legal risk from court and regulatory records, not creditworthiness or ability to pay. It borrows the credit-score scale (300–900, higher is safer) only because it is familiar.
Does a high grade mean a company is safe?
It means little or nothing adverse was found in the legal records we cover. It is a strong signal, not a guarantee — and never a substitute for your own checks.
Can a company improve its grade by winning cases?
Partly. Favourable outcomes raise the score, but the credit is capped, and a serious adverse event such as a bankruptcy holds the grade under a ceiling that wins cannot lift.
Is the score reproducible?
Yes. The scoring engine is a pure calculation over the records — no AI and no randomness in the score itself — so the same evidence always yields the same grade, and every point is auditable.