Reflecting innovation: Firms should show culture through brands

For the longest time, innovation was anathema to lawyers. The law was a profession steeped in learning, heritage, and trust; innovation was something entrepreneurs and scientists did.

In the past two decades this has changed completely, and now for many law firms innovation is a defining value. 'Continuous innovation is essential, not only to our success but our survival,' says Gavin Tyler, managing partner at Cripps. 'In this fast changing legal market, if you are not moving forward at pace then you have little chance of long term success.'

He is not alone. Patrick Allen, senior partner at HJ&A, says: 'Fail to innovate and you will soon be left behind. I've been running this firm for 38 years and throughout it we have innovated ceaselessly. Much of it has been in technology. In a world where computer capacity doubles every two years it is bound to be. But it is not confined to technology. We recently produced our second 'Innovations in Law' report.'

Indeed, innovation in the legal sector takes many forms. As Allen highlights, it is in working practices and in the law itself. But it is also in the way firms now structure themselves. In 2010, Sarah Golbourne founded gunnercooke on the principle of innovation.

'We used our decades of experience working as in-house lawyers and at some of the world's leading law firms, together with interviews with 60 CEOs and FDs, to create the sort of law firm that clients want,' says Golbourne. 'This means transparent pricing on value not time, lawyers with at least 10,000 hours experience, and flexible working in a collegial, supportive environment.'

Innovation is taking place throughout the legal sector, in different types and sizes of firms, across geographies, and in multitude forms. But it is not enough to be innovative, or to embed a culture of innovation - increasingly, the race is on for law firms to be known as innovative, and to have a brand that reflects their culture of innovation.

Differentiation through innovation

'Innovation is not the only way a law firm can differentiate itself,' says Ian Stephens, managing partner at Saffron, a global branding consultancy that specialises in the legal sector. 'They can seek to be known as wise, premium, conservative, large, efficient, or any of a number of other qualities. But for many, innovation is the key.'

He adds: 'For example, our work with Linklaters was about consolidating its position as a deliverer of premium work for premium clients. But with Taylor Wessing it was all about innovation: reorganising their sector focus onto the industries of the future, establishing a pop-up office in London's Silicon Roundabout, evolving their visual identity to be more contemporary, and so on. It led to them achieving a remarkable 30% increase in PEP and a 71% pitch conversion rate.'

It is outcomes such as this that make other law firms sit up and take note of the potential of a reputation for innovation. Yet, creating a brand which reflects a culture of innovation is not easy to do. 'Lawyers aren't trained in business or marketing, yet many believe that they know these areas better than anyone with such training,' explains Mitch E Kowalski, barrister and solicitor and author of Avoiding Extinction: Reimagining Legal Services for the 21st Century. 'This lack of trust for external advisers causes them problems.'

He adds: 'Another issue is that lawyers tend to be risk-averse, so they prefer the comfort of the familiar over the unknown. Finally, branding discussions are often an exercise in consensus-building across a large number of voices, and this tends to result in the selection of a brand that is based, not on its merits, but on the fact that it was the least offensive option.'

Risk-taking and complex uncertainty

So, how can a law firm go about getting this right? Jamie White, MD at Overture London, a branding consultancy that specialises in working with law firms, says that the first step is to be prepared to fail. 'Innovation comes from creativity, and creativity is about taking big risks,' he explains. 'Law is the most risk-averse industry in existence. That means that lawyers who engage in acts of pioneering innovation are doing so against type. Only firms with strong cultures and high-tensile bonds can manage the creative tension you need to truly break new ground.'

He points to Wiggin LLP as an example of a firm that manages to achieve this. He says: 'It has a small, close-knit team of specialists with a shared purpose, a brilliant and clear strategy, and a defined niche. The culture of Wiggin isn't laid down by a series of studied HR team initiatives, but by the natural bonhomie of people that really click, and have enough shared respect for each other to think beyond the normal rules of legal services.'

Equally, branding is rarely a straightforward process with one clear answer. Like all creativity it involves - requires even - complex uncertainty. For lawyers who have been trained to seek out the singular, this can be challenging. As White says, 'in today's always-on digital world, brands must grow and develop. Brands don't always get it right. Brands have to have enough stretch to grow. For example, Pinsent Masons understands the diversity of its various audiences and that there is no one-size-fits-all design solution for an established pensions trustee and a fresh CTO of a fintech start-up. That's why its brand has a strong level of customisable graphic design and narrative stretch.'

Who embodies your brand?

Successful branding projects begin with people. After all, it is people who ultimately are the expression and embodiment of a law firm's brand. Sara Woods, director and founder at Philosophy, a branding consultancy for professional services firms, highlights the importance of embedding innovation in graduate recruitment and training.

She says: 'If firms are focused on championing innovation, then this should not only be reflected in their overall brand proposition and marketing collateral, but also in specific recruitment and training materials. This will ensure that graduates, trainees and new starters are well versed in the firm's values and beliefs from the moment they join, and are quickly immersed in an environment which inspires and rewards innovation.'

Woods adds: 'A key element of our global brand refresh for international law firm Watson Farley & Williams was the creation of a new updated microsite for trainees and refreshed recruitment and trainee materials. Investing in updated collateral in this way immediately positioned Watson Farley & Williams as a firm that was committed to staying relevant, innovative and intent on appealing to the next generation of legal experts.'

'Having a top quality brand image has given us the edge when attracting the best candidates in a highly competitive market place,' explains Jennifer Jackson, head of global marketing communications at Watson Farley & Williams. 'Our new careers brochure, for example, provides compelling reasons at a glance for joining Watson Farley & Williams. We've also seen an increase in the calibre and quantity of graduate applications we receive on the back of our updated trainee microsite and recruitment fair materials.'

Visual identity

The firm's visual identity is an important expression of its brand, and the experts tell us that there is a very clear language of innovation in graphic design that firms can harness. For example, Jamie White points to his firm's work with Olswang which used colour, typography, and composition to signal not only that Olswang had grown up, and could compete with the best City firms on transformational deals, but also that it is an innovative and creative firm.

He continues: 'More recently, our work with Travers Smith has led us to explore a style of composition and typography that borrows heavily from the world of editorial design. Increasingly, the best firms are using content marketing to make their people more famous and, consequently, more readily instructed. By using the visual language of current affairs publishing, and augmenting content to add pace and narrative style, the firm's voice is at once more arresting and authoritative. Why? Innovation is often about having better intelligence than everyone else.'

Be prepared for evolution

By definition, an innovative brand cannot remain constant. It must evolve, and always remain fresh and relevant. For this reason, Richard Silbermann, MD of Brand Remedy, a branding consultancy for professional services firms, urges law firms to audit their brands regularly and be prepared to adapt various elements of the brand and visual identity.

'It is vital to perform quarterly brand audits,' he explains. 'All rules need to adapt to remain in tune with the world around them. So, don't simply stick to your brand rules without thought or consideration. Allow your brand to grow, adapt and remain relevant - just like your business offering. This evolution should not be haphazard. It should be carefully managed, with a skilled design resource that understands your brand, cleverly progressing your visual identity over time. In this way you ensure it never becomes out of date.'

Silbermann adds: 'To get all of this right requires investment. Consider just your website: this could well change several times every day, and so it clearly requires focused resource if all those changes are to remain on brand. Whether that resource is in-house or provided by an external agency, it needs to be there. An organisation needs to have the knowledge, design skills, and time not just to maintain a website but to lead on any pre-launch activity and engagement, and then provide ongoing services to review, evolve and protect the brand.'

Balance innovation and heritage

Finally, it is important to recognise that building a law firm brand that expresses innovation is not the same as abandoning the firm's heritage. For many senior partners this is a very real concern and one that delays and dilutes many branding projects in our sector. The story of Carpmaels & Ransford shows that the two qualities can be expressed simultaneously.

Founded in the 18th century, Carpmaels had built a reputation for the expertise and quality of its patent attorneys. Yet, by 2009, it felt its visual identity no longer reflected its reality, and so it brought in branding and design agency Identity. The agency's MD, Paul Silvester, says: 'Carpmaels needed to make a clear, visual statement that it might be a firm that brings heritage and expertise dating back to the 18th century but it is also a firm of bright, energetic people who offer skills and attitudes that are entirely relevant to the 21st century.'

His team began with extensive client interviews, and then created a new brand identity that is unashamedly modern but maintains the simplicity and quiet confidence of its long-established predecessor. An all new website showcased this new brand identity. One of the most striking elements of the rebrand was the 3D 'word wall' that now dominates the firm's reception area. Fashioned out of Corian, the wall is a montage of words and phrases that reflect the firm's vision, values, and services.

Since this rebrand, the firm has grown from 130 employees to 190 and has established a rapidly growing dispute resolution team. Emboldened and energised by its new brand it now aims to become Europe's leading IP firm.

It is just one example of what can be achieved by successfully creating a brand that reflects a culture of innovation. It is not easy to achieve, but as the many examples detailed here show, it can be done. And the rewards for those who do achieve it can be significant. Equally, the penalties for those who fail may be severe.

Alex Blyth is a freelance journalist
(www.alex-blyth.co.uk)