How to make your legal practice stand out from the crowd

There is a scene in the US television drama Damages, where Ellen, the bright young lawyer, is asked to undertake a straightforward manslaughter case, writes Philip Davies. She is annoyed. She joined Hewes & Associates (the fictional law firm headed by Glenn Close) for big class action cases, bringing down corrupt corporates where getting away with murder is simply a means to an end. Manslaughter is not what she joined this firm for. She knows why she joined Hewes & Associates – the firm’s got a story.

Here’s where fact and fiction do not align. Most law firms don’t have a story. Or rather, they are all telling the same one.

If you were to take a look at how many of the better-known law firms present themselves, you would find them all saying the same things: advises the world’s leading companies; provides an outstanding service, often to the most exacting standards; is committed to helping clients succeed; believes in open working partnerships; and is often enjoying being ‘law firm of the year’, even though the criteria for that accolade are not always clarified. You have an absolute guarantee that threaded through the text will be the words ‘trust’, ‘partnership’, ‘tailored’ and ‘solutions’. Sprinkled with supporting words such as ‘powerful’, ‘experience’ and ‘success’.

With every firm saying the same thing in the same way, there is every chance that no one really gets heard. This lack of individuality means there is little reason to choose one firm over another. So imagine the impact a distinctive and recognisable brand would make. It would set the firm apart from everyone else, it would make it significantly easier to deliver key messages and, ultimately, constitute a platform from which to share the firm’s point of view. This, we know, would pay dividends not only in attracting and retaining clients, but also in recruiting the best talent to work with the firm.

At successful companies the image is consistent. Of course, it needs flexibility to connect with a number of different audiences. But there is always enough character within it to be recognisable for something. For example, look at Apple, Bentley, the Economist or McKinsey. These companies communicate in a way that is seen to come from one personality – as though one person is writing or talking about a range of subjects with a common sensibility and intelligence. This does not happen by accident. A company’s image first requires definition and then careful management.

Why can’t law firms do this? No reason at all. But when it comes to law firms, there is a negative assumption that partnerships do not agree on much. Or rather, making decisions is too hard – too many opinions, too many egos. So what is to be done? There are five key things that could transform any law firm and enable its partnership to mean more to more people. It would have real power.

First, work with a senior team in an open session and explore what the real vision for the firm is. Second, attach some beliefs – what is important to the firm and what you care about. Third, be consistent; establish a style to guide and direct the way you express yourselves. Look at the knockout brands that really do have a style – IBM and so on. Fourth, find a story, a unifying sense of what you are all about that defines you, a platform to explain the firm. And finally, keep it simple, make it different to other firms and relevant to the audience, projecting a point of view and creating esteem in people's minds, internally and externally.

Simple really. There is no need for anything too dramatic.

Philip Davies is managing director of business brands at Dragon Rouge in London