Review of Legal Tech Branding 2019 – 2020
ALSPs
US firms
Hiding away A recent report from consultants Baretz and Brunelle reported that 35 Am Law 100 firms are providing alternative legal services. Yet a review of sites of large US international firms reveals that most appear to be trailing the technology curve of UK equivalents. It may not be possible to build a full picture of activities just by searching firms’ websites, but these do give clues. Heavyweights such as Clearly Gottlieb, Latham & Watkins, Kirkland & Ellis, Skadden, Simpson Thatcher, and Weil and White & Case say nothing (or next to nothing) about branding tech. There are few press releases or references to awards, and none come close to branding their tech on the scale of the biggest UK firms. Just a select few heavyweights have moved down the branding pathway, including Baker McKenzie and Reed Smith. Recently, Baker McKenzie strengthened its positioning by launching a firm-wide innovation arm and teamed up with artificial intelligence specialist Spark Beyond to help it run its flagship project. Reinvent will act as an umbrella for its New Law programmes, sharing branding with Frankfurt-based technology hub Reinvent Law, which it set up in 2018. Reed Smith established Reed Smith Global Services for its legal services delivery, but with Gravity Stack, has moved away from its eponymous branding. With a separate name and visual identity, this is the firm’s technology arm. A fresh name means this stand-alone business has the flex to manage and position itself, free from the associations and cultural constraints of a Big Law firm. Other examples from US firms include Encompass (Nelson Mullins), Tritura (Faegre Drinker) and KP Labs (from Keesal Propulsion Labs). See page 17 for a fuller list.
Challenges in building distinction
A line-in-the-sand moment came in November 2018, when Elevate became the first of the big New Law players to rebrand itself as a ‘law company’. In doing so, arguably it became the first major player to redefine market perceptions about alternative provision and the business of law. This year, others have strengthened their positioning. Some examples include DWF’s acquisition of Mindcrest; Axiom Managed Services’ rebrand to Factor; high-ranking appointments at Elevate; and United Lex’s acquisition of Paul Hastings’ eDiscovery capabilities. Most of these, if not all, have continued to look the same and say similar things. Perhaps this is understandable: after all, it provides corporate reassurance. But under the bonnet, ALSPs are different from law firms, and from the Big Four. Arguably their culture and focus, free from the baggage of partnership, offer greater flex for different – and perhaps better – positioning. Many have yet to capitalise on this opportunity. Factor has become one of the first to step out of the shadows. Rebranded in January from Axiom Managed Services, it eschewed the label ‘law company’ and has instead built a clear proposition on being at the centre of transactional legal work (‘where clients spend a lot of their time’ as it is eager to claim). It has a name and copy lines to support this proposition. Moreover, its tone of voice gives the firm a modern, leading- edge feel, just right for the mobile digital world and fitting its claim that ‘Factor represents Legal Innovation 2.0’.
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