How your law firm brand and personal brand give you a competitive edge
Creating a compelling law firm brand helps your ideal client find you and connect with you before your first consultation.
Your firm’s brand
All law firms should select a name, logo and overall look and feel that conveys a sense of professionalism and experience.
However, in the field of law, expertise and training are a given. Years of education come with the territory, but that’s not all your clients want or need from your firm. To stand out from other well-trained lawyers and experienced firms, your brand needs to communicate something more.
That something more can come in many forms, such as:
- How you approach client service
- An alternative business model designed to serve specific client needs
- Overall culture, values and a strong mission
- Unique experience in a specific practice area
- Compelling case studies that speak to your track record
- Your relationships and/or service within the community
To begin crafting your firm’s brand, it’s a good idea to begin with writing mission, vision and values statements. These statements sum up: 1) who you are and who you serve; 2) your plans for growth and the impact you want to make on the community or your practice area; 3) your core beliefs that drive your culture.
Pay particular attention to crafting your firm’s core values. Lawyerist sums up core values as:
“Your law firm’s core values are the traits, qualities, and beliefs that help you live up to your firm’s mission and reach your future vision. Once clarified, your values should guide your law firm as it is now into the version of your ideal firm. Values lead your and your team’s actions and help you communicate how to best serve your clients.”
Importantly, these values help you make decisions and act in alignment with your vision. As you develop your firm’s brand personality, your values will help you determine how you want clients and the community to view your organization and team.
Your personal brand
A firm’s brand gains strength from each lawyer’s personal brand. For independent lawyers, these two brands might become more intertwined than in a larger firm. However, firms of all sizes should pay attention to both personal and firm branding.
Think of your personal brand as your individual voice within the firm. For example, the firm might issue a press release accompanied by a logo while you write a post on LinkedIn using your own headshot. When you create from your personal brand, you represent your firm but deliver your own style and use a distinct tone.
HBR highlights the importance of a personal brand, and how it differs from reputation:
“Your personal brand, on the other hand, is much more intentional. It is how you want people to see you. Whereas reputation is about credibility, your personal brand is about visibility and the values that you outwardly represent.
You have the power to define your brand by aligning your intentions with actions. That is, changing your decisions and behaviors to influence how others see you and to help them connect both emotionally and intellectually to the image you hope to portray. If that image aligns with the opportunities you want, then you are more likely to secure them.”
Just as you drafted your firm’s mission, vision and values, you can do the same for your personal brand. As you do, pay attention to where the two overlap and where they differ. This exercise will help you uncover how to differentiate your personal brand from the firm’s brand, and how to align the two in your communication.
Finally, look for ways to gain visibility for your personal brand, such as:
- Posting unique and interesting content on LinkedIn and other social channels
- Writing blogs on topics that align with your brand and elevate your reputation
- Securing speaking engagements
- Attending networking and professional development events
- Seeking out collaborative communities where you can connect with other professionals
Remember that people do business with people first, which means that they want to connect with you on an individual level. Your personal brand will help draw in your ideal client and set the stage for creating a professional relationship. Your firm brand will then deliver the experience and cachet to help close the deal.
LawBank offers independent lawyers and small law firms a collaborative community where you can grow your business. For larger law firms, we help you maximize your existing office space and reduce overhead expenses. Reach out to learn more.
