More firms enter the journey
Lawyers are no longer the judges of their own performance. Instead, buyers are making their own decisions, armed with access to information and the ability to choose afresh. While Big Four firms and Alternative Legal Service Providers (ALSPs) are benefitting, others need to step up their pace. Evidence suggests that bigger UK firms are increasingly using branding to demonstrate how they can create better outcomes for clients. Some, especially mid-tier firms and large US firms, have been slower to get on board.
Top 30 UK firms
In the last 12 to 18 months, we’ve seen an increasing number of Top UK 30 firms use branding and content to distinguish how they deliver legal services. Sub-branding is growing, with around 60% of law firms (18 firms) now following the trend to separate their legal practice from their legal delivery. On top of the two firms adopting a branded approach (Condor and Konexo), 20 out of 30 firms overall (66%) now brand their platform of solutions and products. We anticipate this approach continuing, and becoming a stepping-stone for more stand-alone brands as the market in the next five to 10 years moves from using tech for automation to more transformational change. Even so, 33% of the Top 30 UK firms have so far failed to join the journey, or have done so on only a limited basis. During the pandemic, the rate and pace of change has slowed. Pre-pandemic, we saw new brands launched including BPLP Cubed, Konexo, Kennedys iQ and DLA Piper’s Law&. Other firms focused on strengthening their positioning and launching new solutions. This year, however, most firms have been using time during the Covid-19 lockdowns to upgrade content and websites, and to support their clients through the pandemic. Among UK firms in the Top 30-60, there continue to be differing rates of adoption of legal branding. Only 10 firms (33%) have started this journey, and over the past year there have been no significant changes. Notably, Lewis Silkin, Mishcon de Reya, TLT and Shoosmiths have used the time to launch new brands and strengthen existing ones.
93% (28 firms) Use monolithic approach to branding tech 60% (18 firms) Use sub-branding for platform of solutions 33% (10 firms) Include no or little reference to tech narrative
Top 30 – 60 UK firms
66% (20 firms) Include no or little reference to using tech
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