Mary K Young writes about the process of law firm mergers, the growing urge for firms to combine, the sensitivity around post-merger firm names, and retaining brand equity.

Zeughauser Group's 2021 Pocket Guide to the American Lawyer Rankings of the Am Law 200 by Profits Per Equity Partner and by Value Per Lawyer; The A-List; The Global 100; The Global 200; The China 50; The Asia 50; and The Corporate Scorecard.

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Marketing a law firm has been a challenging proposition during the pandemic, with offices closed and clients working in their homes. Some law firms have added entertaining relationship events to their marketing strategies, like wine tastings or book clubs over Zoom.  Arent Fox enlisted the help of two popular celebrities for interviews before a Zoom audience that included clients and potential clients.  Mary K Young observes that  many of these efforts were very successful. She notes that “if you’re going to do something that’s outside the practice of law, it’s best to totally focus on that and do it right, without trying to insert any legal substantive or marketing component.  Some people might object that it doesn’t have anything to do with the business of law, but that’s the point of events like this - law is a relationship business. These events bring people together.”

Complacency and the assumption that what is working now will always work can put a darker tint on a successful financial year for law firms.  What worked last year isn’t guaranteed to work this year, and relying on that principle could in fact have a detrimental effect on success down the road.  Mary K. Young observes that a small number of firms tend to move forward in a halting fashion, taking two steps forward and then one step back. But she believes that most firms recognize that being static after success isn’t the way to replicate it moving forward.  It isn’t so much that firms have a great year and then rest on their laurels. The firm could have had a major litigation matter settle and have comparatively lower numbers the next year.

In a roundtable discussion, Mark K Young discusses:

• What is a brand and how do you define it?
• How do you know if a brand is working?
• Are firms making big branding mistakes?
• Have firms moved fast enough on content marketing?
• Is it a smart move for law firms to bring emotion into branding?

Over the last two decades, global law firms have evolved from collegial professional partnerships to organizations that adhere to the management practices of other large businesses, yet many of them continue to neglect the vital importance of effective branding, particularly in a weak economy.  Mary K Young discusses the need for strong branding:

• What is a strong brand, and what are its benefits?
• How does a law firm develop a stronger brand at a reasonable cost?
• How does a law firm instill its brand in the marketplace?

She concludes that law firms that build strong brands attract the most prestigious clients to do their most important work. Consequently, they are among the most profitable law firms in the world.

Greentarget and Zeughauser Group surveyed In-house counsel as part of our ongoing research into social media and content consumption.