A better brand means better hirability—a strong brand makes you much more attractive to clients.

BTI’s brand new research with corporate counsel shows 28% of law firms are strengthening their brand in the eyes of clients. Of these, more than half improved their brand to be ranked at all-time highs—making them the firms to beat to win new work.

36.8% of law firms suffered a drop in their brand, as ranked by clients. Top legal decision-makers see the brands of these firms as having less impact on decision making—so getting hired is harder. A weaker brand means you do more work to get access to new business.

The most common way law firms dilute their brands is inaction; particularly in the face of more aggressive firms actively building the strength of their brand in the market.

Only a few actions truly impact the strength of a law firm’s brand in the eyes of clients—these are broken into 3 categories:

1. Direct Experience

2. Transferred Experience

3. Indirect Experience

Direct Experience

Direct experience will always be the strongest driver in leaving your brand imprint on a client. This includes:

• Delivering legal services

• Well-designed websites

• Client service initiatives; including client feedback, client teams, and client service standards

• Your pitches

• Watching your firm from the other side of a matter

• Attorney bios

• Interactive thought leadership (such as custom CLEs, webinars, and training sessions)

• Value-driven digital conversations (typically social media and blog interactions where clients learn new approaches to better manage risk)

• Memorable encounters where clients and prospects quickly see the direct impact you can have on their business; typically, these occur by active participation in:

  • Trade Associations

  • Industry networking opportunities

Transferred Experience

Transferred experience is the 2nd most powerful way your brand is built up in clients’ minds. This type of strength is built through:

• Referrals and recommendations

• Client-to-client conversations about law firms

• Client comments about law firms in:

  • Articles

  • Social Media Posts

Indirect Experience

Indirect experience ranks 3rd in the small set of activities able to leave a positive imprint on clients, including:

• Passive, but relevant, thought leadership, such as:

  • White papers

  • Speeches at industry events

  • Quotes in publications

  • Email newsletters—with personal commentary on the relevance to the client

  • Non-custom seminars and events

  • Generic websites

On the other hand, there are a number of activities proven to have a limited impact on clients and prospects—and can sometimes even confuse and dilute brands. These low-impact experiences include:

• Traditional advertising

• Brochures

• Single sponsorships

• Entertainment

The law firms with improved and better brands are going out of their way to drive more direct experience with clients and prospects. Look for more on exactly how they are doing this in a future post.

You can learn exactly where your law firm stands, including a history and comparison to 8 law firms of your choice, in the about-to-be-released BTI Brand Elite: Client Perceptions of the Best Branded Law Firms 2019.

MBR

The post 12 Tactics Branding Your Law Firm and Boosting Hirability appeared first on The BTI Consulting Group.

Only 1 strategy drives a better brand—making a better direct and indirect client experience in the 9 factors driving brand. This means leveraging strength and intentional branding while minimizing unintentional acts of branding.

Once law firms reach the BTI Brand Elite 28—it becomes exponentially harder to improve your brand. But 14 firms have figured it out. Each of the firms who manage to move up have different approaches focused on a common goal. They are focused on improving key parts of the client experience which have the most impact.

Please join me in congratulating the 14 firms who were able to increase their rank to get into or while in the BTI Brand Elite:

Akin Gump
Paul, Weiss    
White & Case
Mayer Brown
Paul Hastings
Hogan Lovells
Dechert    
Greenberg Traurig
Pillsbury
Latham & Watkins
Sidley
Cooley    
Gibson Dunn    
Morgan Lewis   

And, don’t miss out on the significant changes in the 5 other key branding factors clients rely on to separate one law firm from another, make hiring decisions, and pick and choose who they ultimately work with—and who they don’t:

Clients See a Few Law Firms Become Premium Worthy
More Bet-the-Company Work but Fewer Bet-the-Company Law Firms
Clients See More Law Firms Ready to Lead the Industry
Clients Shorten Short Lists
Fewer Law Firms Earning Client Recommendations

Learn how to earn premium worthy status, and keep it, in the new BTI Brand Elite 2018: Client Perceptions of the Best-Branded Law Firms, available now.

The post Best of the Best in 5 Branding Factors and 14 Law Firms Boosting Their Already Strong Brand appeared first on The BTI Consulting Group.

Clients single out 3 more law firms able to bring this premium insight—increasing the number of premium-worthy law firms by 3% over last year. However, none of the 2018 newcomers made Best of the Best, leaving the number unchanged from last year.

Please congratulate these premium-worthy firms:

Best of the Best

Cooley
Davis Polk
Dechert
Dentons
DLA Piper
Gibson Dunn
Jones Day
Latham & Watkins
Skadden
 

Leaders

Arnold & Porter
Cravath, Swaine & Moore
Debevoise & Plimpton
Fried Frank
Hogan Lovells
Kirkland & Ellis
Morgan Lewis
Paul Hastings
Paul, Weiss
Pillsbury

Proskauer Rose
Simpson Thacher
Sullivan & Cromwell
Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz
Weil
White & Case
Willkie
WilmerHale
Winston & Strawn

Learn how to earn premium worthy status, and keep it, in the new BTI Brand Elite 2018: Client Perceptions of the Best-Branded Law Firms, available now.

The post Clients See a Few Law Firms Become Premium Worthy appeared first on The BTI Consulting Group.

Best of the Best

Baker McKenzie
Cooley
Dentons
DLA Piper
Gibson Dunn
Jones Day
Latham & Watkins
Skadden
Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz
 

Leaders

Cleary Gottlieb
Cravath, Swaine & Moore
Davis Polk
Debevoise & Plimpton
Dechert
Hogan Lovells
Kirkland & Ellis
McGuireWoods
 

Morgan Lewis
Norton Rose Fulbright
Pillsbury
Reed Smith
Ropes & Gray
Sidley
Sullivan & Cromwell
White & Case
 

Learn more about why legal decision makers think fewer law firms are a sure bet in the new in the new BTI Brand Elite 2018: Client Perceptions of the Best-Branded Law Firms, available now.

The post More Bet-the-Company Work but Fewer Bet-the-Company Law Firms appeared first on The BTI Consulting Group.

Top legal decision makers see 51 more law firms than last year as The Survivors. Please congratulate the following firms on their ability to convince the most demanding clients they will be last firm standing:

Best of the Best

Baker McKenzie
Dentons
DLA Piper
Jones Day
Latham & Watkins
Skadden
 

Leaders

Cooley
Cravath, Swaine & Moore
Davis Polk
Dechert
Gibson Dunn
Greenberg Traurig
Hogan Lovells
Kirkland & Ellis
 

Morgan Lewis
Norton Rose Fulbright
Ropes & Gray
Sidley
Sullivan & Cromwell
Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz
White & Case
 

Learn more about the future market leaders—and how your firm can join them—in the new BTI Brand Elite 2018: Client Perceptions of the Best-Branded Law Firms, available now.

The post Clients See More Law Firms Ready to Lead the Industry appeared first on The BTI Consulting Group.

Everyone wants to at least be on the short list. But clients want no part of it—trimming their short lists by 1% this year and 22% over the last 3. Clients indicate they want more knowledge from fewer firms. They have cut their law firm rosters to record lows. Short lists were bound to follow this path. The firms who remain or regain their place are looking at bigger chunks of business.

We found 3 fewer Best of the Best and 7 fewer Leaders. Please join us in giving an especially hearty congratulations to the firms below who lead the pack in claiming their place on client short lists. The law firms enjoying a strong position on client Short Lists in the just-released BTI Brand Elite 2018 are: 

Best of the Best

Baker McKenzie
Dechert
Dentons
Hogan Lovells
Jones Day
Kirkland & Ellis
Latham & Watkins
Morgan Lewis
Sidley
Skadden
Sullivan & Cromwell

Leaders

Alston & Bird
Cahill
Cooley
Cravath, Swaine & Moore
Gibson Dunn
Greenberg Traurig
K&L Gates
King & Spalding

Littler
Norton Rose Fulbright
O’Melveny
Polsinelli
Reed Smith
Simpson Thacher
Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz
Weil

Learn how to secure—and continually defend—your position on client short lists in the new BTI Brand Elite 2018: Client Perceptions of the Best-Branded Law Firms, available now.

The post Clients Shorten Short Lists appeared first on The BTI Consulting Group.

Try as you might to manage, control, focus, and provide clarity—ultimately clients define your brand based on their experience with you. Law firm brands are volatile. Clients change their perceptions of law firms based on their direct and indirect experience.

Despite this, or perhaps because of these changes—clients identify 4 new law firms as part of the 2018 BTI Brand Elite 28—the law firms with brands 7 times stronger than all other law firms. 14 firms within the BTI Brand Elite moved up—all edging for the number-one spot—because they will get the most inbound referrals.

4 New Firms Join the 2018 BTI Brand Elite 28

Akin Gump, Paul Hastings, and Paul, Weiss make their debut appearances in the BTI Brand Elite 28 while Mayer Brown returns after a brief absence. Clients note an increase in client service and innovation at Akin Gump, Paul Hastings and Paul, Weiss. Clients credit increasing innovation from Mayer Brown for the return to the BTI Brand Elite 28.

Jones Day Takes the Top Brand

Top legal decision makers rank Jones Day as the strongest brand for the 2nd year in a row. The world’s most demanding clients rank Jones Day as Best of the Best in all 9 branding attributes. The firm has been able to continue to improve its client service, innovation, and can be relied on for the truly bet-the-company work. This is not a random set of events. Improving on an already best-in-class performance demands vision, a plan, implementation, commitment, and the will.

14 Firms Moved Up

Brands are more volatile than most people give them credit for, resulting in lost deals and lower rates. Despite this we are pleased to report half of the BTI Brand Elite 28 from 2017 moved up at least one place in 2018. The firms below demonstrated the behaviors behind the 9 factors driving brand hirability. Please congratulate the 28 law firms with the best brand according to the most demanding clients.

You can learn about the detailed changes in your firm’s brand with your copy of the BTI Brand Elite 2018: Client Perceptions of the Best-Branded Law Firms, available now.

Any change in client experience can easily change the brand. Some of these changes are strategic and intentional—others are the result of unintended branding events.

BTI conducted more than 686 interviews with top legal decision makers to single out the law firms with the best and strongest brands. Each of the CLOs provided detailed answers and explanations—and have deep opinions about law firm brands.

MBR

The post 14 Firms Move Up in the BTI Brand Elite 28 for 2018 appeared first on The BTI Consulting Group.

Innovation is rampant. Top legal decision makers recognize a whopping 40% increase in the number of innovative law firms over last year. This translates into 200 law firms—of the 650 who compete for business from Fortune 1000 and large companies—standing out in a noticeable way, up from 143 last year.

Clients are resetting their expectations and perceptions of innovation as they continue to see more innovative thinking from their law firms. But, 9 firms stand out with the most impressive and impactful innovation. 4 of these firms—Jones Day, Kirkland & Ellis, Latham & Watkins, and Skadden—repeat their Best of the Best performances from last year, while the other 5 are newly recognized.

You’ll find the top Innovators—this year’s Movers & Shakers—from the just-released BTI Brand Elite 2017 at the bottom of this post.

And, don’t miss out on the significant changes in the other 8 branding factors clients rely on to separate one law firm from another, make hiring decisions, and pick and choose who they ultimately work with—and who they don’t:

Big Growth in Firms Making Big Changes to Boost Client Service

Number of Law Firms Worth Premium Rates Continues to Climb

Clients Name More Tech-Savvy Law Firms in 2017

Clients See Fewer Bet-the-Company Law Firms as This Work Surges

Many More Law Firms Delivering More Value

Clients Name the Long Term Law Firm Survivors

Clients Keep Shrinking Their Law Firm Short Lists

A Downward Trend in Law Firms Earning Client Recommendations

Please join us in congratulating the below world-class innovators in the legal world.

The law firms climbing to the top of the Mover & Shaker ranks in the just-released BTI Brand Elite 2017 are:

Best of the Best

Baker McKenzie
Cooley
Dentons
DLA Piper
Jones Day
Kirkland & Ellis
Latham & Watkins
Skadden
Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz

Leaders

BakerHostetler
Bryan Cave
Covington
Cravath, Swaine & Moore
Davis Polk
Dechert
Gibson Dunn
Greenberg Traurig
Hogan Lovells
K&L Gates
King & Spalding
McDermott Will & Emery
McGuireWoods
Morgan Lewis
Ogletree Deakins
Pillsbury
Polsinelli
Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan
Reed Smith
Ropes & Gray
Sidley
Simpson Thacher
Sullivan & Cromwell
Weil
White & Case

Learn more about how your firm can influence both clients—and competitors—in the new BTI Brand Elite 2017: Client Perceptions of the Best-Branded Law Firms, available now.

The post Innovation Runs Rampant in the Legal World appeared first on The BTI Consulting Group.

The number of top legal decision makers recommending firms to their peers dropped for the 2nd year in a row. A concerning trend as clients continue to expect more. This is even more concerning when you factor in the shrinking number of law firms clients keep on their short list for hire. We go into 2017 with 13.4% fewer law firms earning client recommendations than in 2015. Client expectations are changing, growing, and only moving up. Law firms who engage in comprehensive client feedback programs earn dramatically more recommendations than those who don’t.

Broad and penetrating client feedback fundamentally drives the delivery of steadily improving client service. Think feedback with at least 45 top clients, if not well more. The firms who gather 3rd party client feedback from a large enough client group see their performance substantially improve. The reason: firms performing client feedback learn about the changes clients are making first, can stay ahead of those changes, and provide the client service clients have come to expect—and tell their peers about.

In a world where it’s harder to deliver the kind of client service earning an unprompted client recommendation, please join us in congratulating the below firms who do.

The law firms climbing the ranks for Client Recommendations in the just-released BTI Brand Elite 2017 are:

Best of the Best

Cooley
Dentons
DLA Piper
Gibson Dunn
Jones Day
Kirkland & Ellis
Skadden

Leaders

Alston & Bird
Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer
Baker Botts
Baker McKenzie
BakerHostetler
Boies Schiller & Flexner
Bryan Cave
Cleary Gottlieb
Covington
Cravath, Swaine & Moore
Crowell & Moring
Davis Polk
Dechert
Eversheds Sutherland
Faegre Baker Daniels
Fish & Richardson
Greenberg Traurig
Hogan Lovells
Holland & Hart
Holland & Knight
Hunton & Williams
Jackson Lewis
K&L Gates
King & Spalding
Latham & Watkins
Littler
Mayer Brown
McDermott Will & Emery
McGuireWoods
Morgan Lewis
Morrison & Foerster
Norton Rose Fulbright
Ogletree Deakins
Orrick
Paul, Weiss
Pillsbury
Polsinelli
Reed Smith
Ropes & Gray
Scopelitis, Garvin, Light, Hanson & Feary
Seyfarth Shaw
Sidley
Simpson Thacher
Squire Patton Boggs
Sullivan & Cromwell
Troutman Sanders
Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz
Weil
White & Case
WilmerHale

Learn how your firm can earn client recommendations in the new BTI Brand Elite 2017: Client Perceptions of the Best-Branded Law Firms, available now.

The post A Downward Trend in Law Firms Earning Client Recommendations appeared first on The BTI Consulting Group.

Clients cut more law firms from their Short Lists for Hire than in any other of the 9 attributes impacting hiring decisions—dropping 21.5% of firms from their 2016 short lists. Top legal decision makers are no longer considering firms who are on the margins of performance. Clients keep wanting more and getting less—and law firms who can’t meet the minimum expectations are simply leaving clients’ consciousness.

Please join us in giving an especially hearty congratulations to the firms below who lead the pack in claiming their place on client short lists.

The law firms enjoying a strong position on client Short Lists in the just-released BTI Brand Elite 2017 are:

Best of the Best

Baker McKenzie
Dentons
DLA Piper
Hogan Lovells
Jackson Lewis
Jones Day
King & Spalding
Morgan Lewis
Polsinelli
Sidley
Skadden
Sullivan & Cromwell
Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz
Winston & Strawn

Leaders

Allen & Overy
Alston & Bird
Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer
Cadwalader
Davis Polk
Dechert
Eversheds Sutherland
Fish & Richardson
Gibson Dunn
K&L Gates
Kelley Drye & Warren
Kirkland & Ellis
Latham & Watkins
Morrison & Foerster
Parker Poe
Reed Smith
Simpson Thacher
Smith Anderson
Thompson Hine
Troutman Sanders
Vinson & Elkins
Weil
Winstead

Learn how to secure—and continually defend—the position of core law firm in the new BTI Brand Elite 2017: Client Perceptions of the Best-Branded Law Firms, available now.

The post Clients Keep Shrinking Their Law Firm Short Lists appeared first on The BTI Consulting Group.