Increased commercial confidence has made some of the larger law firms competitive in the extreme.

It is no longer enough to make a reasonable profit; firms want to be seen to be the best.

Osborne Clarke's new corporate identity is a graphic illustration of the highly competitive atmosphere in the legal services market-place.

The Bristol and London firm, which hunts for work across the south east, has chosen an orange, panther-like beast to prowl before the world as its corporate logo.Image projection is an expensive business.

Osborne Clarke spent a substantial five-figure sum re-modelling its image.

However, the impulse which led the firm to hire corporate public relations and design consultancy Fishburn Hedges stemmed from a profound dissatisfaction within the firm about its image.

There had already been one abortive attempt to change it.'The old letter paper had become cluttered with partners, offices and statutory information and it was universally unpopular with the partners,' said managing partner Leslie Perrin, who headed the committee which took the new design forward.

'When we first made an attempt to change, we just threw it at someone who we thought was a talented graphic artist.

We didn't really give them a brief, we weren't led to expect that such a thing was necessary.

The result was a letterhead with two old geezers in wigs and the partners loathed it.

It looked hopeless,' he said.After talking to clients and staff at the firm, Fishburn Hedges was given a brief to create an innovative, approachable and professional image.Its creative director, Michael Slater, explained: 'We work to a series of adjectives and aspirations and then we try to put into visual terms an identity that will meet them.'Once the design was finished, Osborne Clarke actively marketed it as its brand.

An internal glossy brochure for staff was produced explaining how to use the image, including a standard format for letters.

'Like any uniform, a company's corporate image allows instant recognition in a crowd and creates a link with certain values in the mind of the observer,' explains the brochure.Mr Perrin sent 8000 clients a letter explaining the firm's relevant, fresh and modern image.

He wrote: 'We are braced for a flow of "fat cat" jokes.' Clients and staff were given a silver mouse mat bearing the logo as a form of corporate gift.

He said: 'I thought the staff might say: "Why are they spending money on this? I've already got a mouse mat," but they loved it.'Scores of clients also responded to the letter and gift.

There were hundreds of puns -- many of which were variations on 'purrfect'.One client sent Mr Perrin a tin of cat food every day for a week, with a note on the Friday saying: 'Love the cat, don't forget we need feeding too.'This is typical of the interactive marketing which develops between solicitors and clients.

The lead partner of Lewis Silkin, Roger Alexander, was recently approached by an advertising agency client and asked to collaborate in a radio advertisement to promote the agency.

Mr Alexander said: 'They wanted someone who had a laid-back style and could deliver a tongue-in- cheek script.

It was certainly compatible with the kind of image which our firm is trying to project.' 'I think it's absolutely crucial for any law firm to differentiate itself in the market-place,' he added.Chris Manners, the head of business development at Norton Rose, which has just invested in an IT suite in order to give presentations and seminars to clients, said: 'We see ourselves as absolutely one of the world leaders, but what sets us apart is that we are more commercial and approachable than the others.'And Hazel Marsh, the managing director of Marshall Cummings March, the design consultancy which created the interior which won Wilde Sapte the 1995 office of the year award from The Times and the British Institute of Facilities Management, said: 'The managing partner wanted the office to be warm and welcoming but, at the same time, to show professionalism.' Ms Marsh's brief was to take Wilde Sapte into the 21st century.

Many firms are now using information technology as a direct way of telling their clients that they are ahead of the times.

Nabarro Nathanson believes that it is the first law firm to produce a corporate brochure on CD-ROM.

This marketing technique was targeted towards in-house lawyers, who generally have access to the technology.Chris Hinze of Nabarro Nathanson's marketing department said: 'Any law firm knows that you have to keep an eye on the levels of awareness among purchasers or you lose market share.

The level of awareness of law firms among chairmen and chief executives who increasingly sign our cheques is extremely low.

It's a constant battle to stay ahead.'