Not surprisingly, this was a hot topic during the recent 成人VR视频 29th聽annual聽Marketing Partner Forum. One panel discussion, Still Waters Run Deep, took a close look at the dynamic that client challenges pose to law firm reputations.

I moderated the diverse panel, which included Craig W. Budner,聽Global Strategic Growth Partner at K&L Gates; John Hellerman,聽President & Founder of Hellerman Communications; Chris Hinze,聽Chief Marketing & Business Development Officer at Steptoe & Johnson; and Gina N. Shishima,聽Ph.D.,聽Chief Strategy and Operations Partner at Norton Rose Fulbright US.

Why brand and reputation

The session started out with an audience poll that asked how important a law firm鈥檚 reputation is. While most respondents indicated reputation was very important, this set the stage for a conversation around why reputation is a critical driver in shaping the perceptions of many firms.

Panelists described several key factors, primarily the relationship between brand and reputation. Brand is an implicit promise firms make to their stakeholders, while reputation is the perception of how a firm is delivering on that promise, panelists explained. One way that a positive reputation can bring a firm success is by building a repository of 鈥渞eputation capital鈥� 鈥� a reputation bank, so to speak, that provides benefit of the doubt in the event of a crisis situation.

It was the mention of 鈥渁wareness鈥�, however, that demonstrated the implicit value of a strong reputation. Panelists largely agreed that a positive reputation drives brand awareness of the firm, which leads to both increased business and higher retention rates for talent. Indeed, this factor is increasingly critical as firms face an even tighter than normal recruitment landscape at the start of 2022.

The clients鈥� perspective

Next, panelists explored the client in-take process as the first step in the client journey, drawing a distinction between legal conflicts and business conflicts. There was consensus that both communication and firm culture play a pivotal role in resolving any concerns or divergent views within the firm at this critical stage.

But what happens once a client is on-board, and a solid client situation deviates from the ideal? This question highlighted the challenge firms face when drawn into a public predicament in which, for legal and pragmatic reasons, they are unable to defend themselves even as allegations continue to mount. This point highlighted the challenge of reputation risk and the fine balancing act firms must take to ensure they are both saying and doing the right thing.

The panelists also recognized that today鈥檚 multi-stakeholder environment can prove challenging, requiring many law firms to ensure their words and actions meet the expectations of diverse audiences. This challenge is apparent when trying to bridge the expectations of a younger generation whose views and experiences are often quite different from those held by more senior practitioners. Once more, the idea of a coherent firm culture grounded in common values was seen as the path through multi-generational and geographical differences.

What to do

Panelists also offered some tangible take-aways for law firm leaders looking to ensure reputation stability in an environment that is experiencing significant change. These included:

Start with values 鈥� A defined set of firm values supports the firm鈥檚 vision and shapes its culture. This also enhances team cohesion and creates a sense of commitment in the workplace.

Hold key conversations 鈥� The simple act of communicating was mentioned several times. Panelists felt that having direct and frank conversations among individuals or in small groups is a simple and underutilized way to bridge internal or external conflict.

Provide context 鈥� Sharing background information and highlighting the broader context for a situation can help secure greater alignment around a common cause.

Deliver facts 鈥� Providing straight, factual details when encountering difficult issues or conflict helps to foster greater understanding and a willingness to appreciate diverse perspectives.

The panel concluded with some practical tips grounded in a metaphor that law firms need to be a beacon of light in the darkness of reputational danger; and can activate factors such as culture and values, authentic leadership, and meaningful conversations as a way to navigate conflict or crisis and lead with confidence.

So, law firms need to set a strategy that is built on their strengths and informed by objective, comprehensive market intelligence. This will show the direction of travel for their clients and how the firm can best adapt to any directional change. Firm leaders need to execute on this strategy while keeping close check on progress and contributing objectives. Over time, say in three to five years, the firm should see results.

成人VR视频鈥� newly published 12th annual Global Elite Law Firm Brand Index 2022 shows how law firms that set these longer term strategies, while keeping their clients鈥� needs as a North Star, have best navigated the still-choppy waters of the legal environment in 2022.

Indeed, the shifts in client sentiment during the pandemic led to some suddenly turning their back on their most trusted high-reputation lawyers 鈥� at least in the short-term 鈥� were the kind of temporary change that can elevate or damage of a brand visibly, even within a 12-month cycle 鈥� depending, of course, on relevance of the firm鈥檚 strategy to its clients at that time.

Finding the way that works for your firm

There is no one formula for success. Some law firms have gained above-average levels of favorability for providing great quality expertise at a good value; others are doubling down on key practice strengths like M&A and accepting no low-ball work offers. Still, what works for one firm won鈥檛 necessarily work for another, and what makes one firm different could be its very own superpower. So, while it鈥檚 important to keep close check on your competition, it鈥檚 not a winning game to try to emulate them too closely either.

Looking ahead then, where is the greatest growth opportunity for law firms?

First, firms would be wise to pay attention to two key practice areas, based on clients鈥� legal spend projections. M&A saw the biggest shift in terms of predicted growth over the last 12 months, so we expect this area to continue to provide a brand boost for those law firms that can demonstrate their strength in M&A. Also, regulatory work is the area of legal budget expected to see the greatest increase this year, according to our research. Regulatory work is a very fragmented practice area because the work type is so specific to each client, depending on their business, industry sector, and geographic footprint as international companies have to comply with local regulators in multiple markets, not all of which have a consistent approach.

You can download a copy of the Global Elite Law Firm Brand Index 2022 here, and 听丑别谤别.

Second, all law firms would benefit from building a brand that will be relevant and differentiating in 10 years鈥� time. More than a decade of research has shown us increasing levels of client satisfaction 鈥� law firms seem to be doing a better job at pleasing clients. And, as the bar rises, clients鈥� expectations are increasing around how they will be serviced. High levels of satisfaction with factors like Quality of advice, Speed of response, Communication and even Business understanding are becoming the norm, which unfortunately decreases the opportunity for a firm to stand out by doing a particularly good job in that area.

Innovation and Value are the only two aspects of service (out of the 12 that we measure) in which we see a gap in the market. Few firms get high scores in these areas, yet both are important to client relationships. And as corporate law departments come to rely more on external counsel, value in particular will become even more important.

Proactive risk mitigation and Cost/value control also represent key strategic focus areas for clients. Unfortunately, our research shows that these areas are also where clients say their law firms are not landing coordinated, innovative solutions. As a result, clients are not waiting for firms to catch up 鈥� they increasingly are building their own mechanisms to control, monitor, and assess spend and efficiency of legal service delivery.

Keeping client communication open

So, what can firms do to address this? The number one way is to talk to your legal clients. Firms should ask clients what they are anticipating for the year ahead. What are their greatest challenges and strategic priorities? What is most important to them in the working relationship, and how best you can support them in issues big and small? What does value mean to your clients? Gathering all of this insight can deliver the data that law firms need in order to make good decisions about where to invest their resources, time, and talent.

While our research shows us that legal spend is on the rise with unprecedented predictions of growth, firms will have to undertake careful targeting of clients and be strategic about where to focus efforts in order to capture that increased spend. Identifying which clients or segments on which to focus and where return is expected to be greatest for the effort required are not easy tasks. Nor is assembling a team that draws expertise from across disciplines and geographies, and collaborating effectively across this team and with clients.

Yet, for the best chance of success, law firms need up-to-date reliable intelligence about their clients and market. More importantly, firms need to act on this knowledge and use it to inform, shape, and adjust their strategy.

As the new Global Elite Law Firm Brand Index shows, the strong connection between brand strategy and client service strategy is undeniable, and those firms that execute well on their legal service delivery strategy also will continue to strengthen their brand in the minds of their clients.

And within the legal industry, that proved to be especially true. As many clients sought out their most trusted legal advisors during the crisis, strong relationships, favorability, and brand awareness continued to be viewed as critically important.

成人VR视频鈥� newly published 12th annual Global Elite Law Firm Brand Index 2022 shows that those law firms that clients most strongly associate with M&A and those which were among the most favored by clients saw the most growth in this year鈥檚 Index. (You can download the full report below.)

You can read further analysis of the Global Elite Law Firm Brand Index 2022 here, and here.

The Global Law Firm Brand Index score for each law firm was based on four different measures related to how legal clients choose law firms for work. Two of the measures 鈥� Top-of-mind awareness and Favorability 鈥� relate directly to a client鈥檚 perception of a law firm鈥檚 brand, and, as our research has shown, are the first steps in determining which law firms will be selected for client work. The other two measures 鈥� Consideration for multi-jurisdictional litigation and Consideration for multi-jurisdictional deals 鈥� illustrate the importance of law firms being global in scope and able to handle a wide variety of legal matters in multiple jurisdictions.

鈥淟ooking at this year鈥檚 Top 20, it is clear that brand favorability and multi-jurisdictional deals have been the most important success factors this year for global law firm brands,鈥� says Elizabeth Duffy, Senior Director of Global Client Services at 成人VR视频. Five of the seven fastest growing law firm brands showed above-average consideration levels for multi-jurisdictional deals, Duffy notes, and it is the strength of their brand for M&A that has truly elevated their overall Brand Index position this year. Another two of the fastest growing brands this year have above-average levels of favorability, indicating a close alignment between these firms鈥� client offerings and the drivers of legal service demand.

鈥淚n 2021, as businesses emerged from the crisis, legal service buying patterns focus on forward-facing factors like understanding the client鈥檚 business and knowledge of their sector,鈥� Duffy explains. 鈥淎nd we still see clients prioritizing specialist expertise over historical relationships or reputation.鈥�

In this year鈥檚 index, Baker McKenzie continues to hold the top spot, marking its dominance for the 12th consecutive year ever since the Index was first launched. DLA Piper, which moved into second place in 2020, continued to hold that spot, even nudging slightly closer to Baker McKenzie in this year鈥檚 Index.

The first big movement among the top firms occurred as Clifford Chance became the third-strongest global brand, raising its Brand Index score 9 points and elevating itself from a fifth-place tie in the 2021 Index. Dentons, in fourth place, has been one of the biggest rising legal brands over the past decade, breaking into the top 10 in last year鈥檚 Index and further increasing its Index score again this year. Only one new firm joined the Global Elite Law Firm top 20 this year, Gibson Dunn.

You can download the 成人VR视频 Global Elite Law Firm Brand Index 2022 report here: