March 16th, 2012 · Comments off

101 More Law Firm Taglines – 2012 Edition

Posted by Emma Durand-Wood in Brand Building, Legal Marketing

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Back in 2009, Stem Legal published our list of 101 law firm taglines. At that point, many online pundits were quick to point out the terrible ones (no need to name names) as well as some rare gems that seemed to fit their firms well. Are law firm taglines still valuable? It’s a good question. Some are indeed terrible, but others are well conceived and through a short snippet of text, convey something positive about the firm’s brand.

We wanted to revisit the topic, so we started by checking the 2009 list to see if it was worth updating. But guess what? Most taglines hadn’t changed, and some firms had eliminated their tagline altogether. So instead, we decided to add to our original effort, and sought out 101 more taglines! (See the list below.)

It turns out that many firms are still using taglines that do little to set them apart from competitors or communicate core values. In “Is your law firm committed to mediocrity?“, Ross Fishman (of law firm tagline generator fame) bemoans the fact that so many firms choose taglines that really don’t say anything about themselves. Fishman says that effective taglines “help define the firm internally and externally. They set the tone and help the firm stand out in a meaningful way. They give the lawyers something to say in new-business meetings when the prospects ask, “How is your firm different?””

Neil Rose of Legal Futures makes similar observations, acknowledging that some firms do manage to come up with a fantastic tagline, like Harris Beach’s “Lawyers you’ll swear by, not at”. But of this rare corporate humour, he wonders, “if that is reflected in the client experience – in fact, I wonder if any of these and many other claims are really in the DNA of the firms making them, given the contrary, individualistic, pig-headed nature of many lawyers. To use, reluctantly, a very modern phrase, do firms really live their values?”

Amicus Creative offers some guidelines on developing a tagline. They warn, helpfully, that “taglines reached through consensus often tend to be bland and less creative” and that “alliteration can be good but it can also be overused”. Other advice is a little simplistic. For instance, using power adjectives is a tricky proposition. Jordan Furlong‘s advice on creating standout practice group descriptions and resisting the temptation to oversell can be applied to taglines, too.

At any rate, back to our list. We figured that mostly rehashed taglines wouldn’t be particularly interesting, so we scouted out 101 new ones, adding a few Australian firms to the list. Many thanks to all those who sent us their taglines (some, we had to leave out because they were included in our previous list). A a hat tip to Ross Fishman and Neil Rose for the examples in their posts, some of which are included here.

American law firms:

Allen Matkins: Challenge. Opportunity. Success.
Arent Fox: Smart in your world (R)
Aronberg Goldgehn: We Take It Personally (R)
Arnstein & Lehr: Mid-market value. Large firm expertise.
Bailey & Galyen: Solving your Legal Puzzle. (TM)
Bean, Kinney & Korman: Getting It Done. (R)
Bone McAllester Norton: Law. Life. Passion. (R)
Bowman and Brooke: From boardroom to courtroom (R)
BoyarMiller: Practice with Purpose
Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck: Always There (SM)
Bryant Miller Olive: Our name is easy to remember. Our work is hard to forget.
Chamberlain Hrdlicka: Your Goals. Our Mission.
Chapman and Cutler: Focused on Finance (R)
Chuhak & Tecson: Right there with you. (SM)
Cox Smith: Practice Advice for the Real World.
Dinsmore: Accomplish more. (SM)
Dunkiel Saunders: Making a difference is our practice.
Fennemore Craig: law that leads (TM)
Finnegan: protect. advocate. leverage. CHAMPION YOUR IDEAS. (R)
Fisher & Phillips: Solutions at Work (R)
Ford & Harrison: The Right Response at the Right Time
Gallagher Sharp: Solutions. Not Surprises. (R)
Garson Claxton: Quality. Responsiveness. Results.
Goldberg Simpson: A law firm that really moves. (TM)
Gordon & Rees: Responsive. Resourceful. Results (TM)
Gray Robinson: Extremely Floridian
Greenberg Glusker: The Counsel You Keep. (TM)
Herrick: Committed to Your Success.
Hodgson Russ: Where value is law.
Hughes Hubbard: Critical matters. Critical thinking.
Hymson Goldstein & Pantiliat: Our Business is Your Peace of Mind (R)
Ice Miller: It’s a Complex World. Be Advised. (TM)
Jackson Walker: Texas Based, Global Read.
Klein DeNatale Goldner: Results. Period.
Kleinbard Bell & Brecker: Our Most Important Partners Are Our Clients
Kutak Rock: National Resources. Local Results. (R)
Lanier Law Firm: Redefining Legal Care
Levenfeld Pearlstein: Unusually Good.
Lewis and Roca: Focus Forward
Lewis Wagner: Skilled Advocacy. Practical Solutions. (TM)
Massey & Gail: Fewer Lawyers. Bigger Impact.
Mayer Brown: Global Solutions, Local Strengths
McCarter & English: Our clients do great things. We get the assist.
Much Shelist: Thinking business, practicing law
Murphy & Hourihane: Ready for Trial!
Novack Macey: Small but mighty.
Owen & Owens: Every Client Matters
Pratt Attorneys: Experience. Integrity. Results.
Rothman Gordon: Just right.
Russ August & Kabat: Wise Counsel. (TM)
Ryley Carlock & Applewhite: The Business of Solutions (R)
Sandberg Phoenix Von Gontard: Seriously Unbelievable Client Service.
Segal McCambridge: We make the complex simple. (TM)
SettlePou: Big firm expertise. Small firm attention. (SM)
Schopf & Weiss: Bigger is good. Smarter is better. (SM)
Shefsky & Froelich: Putting imagination to work (SM)
SmithAmundsen: Top flight counsel. Bottom line results.
Soden & Steinberger: Changing the Way People Think About Attorneys, One Client at a Time (R)
Spector Gadon & Rosen: Practicing the Art of Law
Sullivan & Brill: Personal Attention, Proven Results
Taylor Duane: Quicker. Smarter. Better.
Unique Law: Illuminating Solutions
Vessa & Wilensky: Serious Lawyers…Serious Results
Valorem Law Group: Results, not Hours. (TM)
Warner Norcross & Judd: A Better Partnership. (R)
Weiss Berzowski Brady: All Business.
Williams Mullen: Where Every Client is a Partner
Woodard, Emhardt, Moriarty, McNett & Henry: Make your ideas untouchable. (R)