Law Firm Slogans
Something I look for when I’m assessing a website is the site’s conversion elements. Generally speaking, conversion elements are slogans, quotes, images and metaphors used to convey a message. They urge visitors to act - either to click on a link, submit a form or download a PDF.
One of the first impressions a firm makes is with their primary slogan or tagline. Traditionally associated with television and radio commercials, these are the catchy sayings that run along with a lawyer’s or firm’s name…
What are the merits of using a slogan? A quick Google search turns up a few articles on the matter:
- A Slogan Can Create A Brand That Clients Will Remember
- How to Build Your Law Firm’s Brand Using the Internet
- Establishing your brand in the law firm marketplace
I particularly enjoyed the “How to Build Your Law Firm’s Brand Using the Internet” discussion by Jerry Lawson, Brenda Howard, Dennis Kennedy. In it, they specifically address lawyer slogans:
Taglines or slogans are frequent components of a branding campaign. Web usability consultants recommend them… but in general I tend to be skeptical about taglines for law firms. What do you think?
(DK): …Events can turn your slogan into an ironic comment. I’m not sure that I’m as skeptical in general as Jerry is, but I am very skeptical of slogans and taglines written by lawyers or, worse, committees of lawyers.
(BH): …I LOVE tag lines. It’s akin to a mission statement that a client can understand. When you have a tag line for your law firm – you have a mission that a client can understand. More precisely, your law firm has a mission that it can understand. Jerry, your own tag line on your web site is wonderful, “Internet Tools for Lawyers.†Your visitor knows immediately where your focus is and you can keep that focus because you have identified a “one sentence mission statement 
If we side with those who think attorney slogans are effective, let’s also consider whether an website slogan should be different than one delivered through traditional media. I would say they are very similar in their goal of converting viewers to clients, but I think the online slogan has other requirements. Namely, an online legal tagline would ideally reference the firm’s practice areas and would necessarily appear in real text somewhere on the site. Online marketing is all about reinforcement of a short, direct message or association. By creating a slogan that is somehow inclusive of words focused on their area of practice and then by creating it so it can be easily spidered by the search engines, the firm can best create a slogan that’s effective and relevant. Tie relevancy to rankings and you can see how an online slogan does have special considerations above and beyond offline applications.
Which brings me to a stopping point: I’m led to wonder what the best and WORST law firm slogans are that are out there. Which ones have caught my eye for the right or wrong reason?
- “Tell Them You Mean Business…” - how many firms use this one???
- “All we do is work” - Jackson Lewis LLP, Labor Lawyers - very effective, short and relevant
- “Integrity. Commitment. Results.” - Lakin Law Firm - not much use for SEO but it’s a strong, memorable message
- “Give experience a try, call Robert Debry” - Utah personal injury lawyer Robert J Debry’s slogan is catchy - hey, it rhymes - but could be better defined for online use.
I’d like to compile a few more. Anyone with an opinion?
Technorati Tags: law firm slogans, slogans, legal marketing
It gets even more difficult if you do business internationally. Our slogan has been “The International Law Firm for Small Business.†This works great in the US, where small is the new big, but in places like Russia and China (from where we are grabbing an increasing share of our business), the image of a small business is a sidewalk food stand.