Alternative law firm brand identity structures
Posted on 23 February 2011
Branding, Practice Groups
Law firms almost always structure their identity in the same way - using one name and a single visual system throughout. Amongst large firms I can’t find a single example where this isn’t the case.
It strikes me as odd that nobody has tried an alternative structure, especially given the convention for organising firms in to departments and practice groups. These self-contained business units tend naturally to develop a culture and identity quite separate from that of the firm as a whole and perhaps there is an opportunity to capitalise on those difference by developing alternative ways to structure their brands
In Wally Olins on Brand
the author gives us three structures that large organisations typically use to organise their business units. We’ve redrawn law firm specific versions of his diagrams below.
Monolithic Identity
A monolithic identity structure is the status quo for law firms. Businesses use one name and a single visual system across all business units. Monolithic structures are perhaps the easiest to manage and each business unit contributes toward the value of the brand as a whole. The converse is also true where a failing in one business unit can have a substantial impact on the whole group.
Endorsed Identity
Companies forming a group are perceived either by written or visual endorsement to be part of that group. We occasionally see this approach taken in relation to marketing and information products produced by law firms, but rarely is anything other that the firms main identity used in relation to service delivery.
Branded Identity
In organisations that take a branded approach the identity of the parent organisation is dispensed of completely and each business unit has a visual identity designed to appeal to its own target market specifically. It would be very interesting to see a large law firm move towards this model. Given that PEP is often very high among small specialist firms, I think there is strong potential for individually branded practice groups to become little profit power-houses, especially given the reduced overheads and resource sharing that comes with being part of a large organisations.
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