Seyfarth Logo

Milbank. Mintz. Katten. Bartlit Beck. There has been no shortage of rebrandings in the legal industry lately, including revamped law firm logos, new websites and a continuing trend toward shorter firm names. Chicago-founded Seyfarth Shaw—newly branded as simply Seyfarth—is the latest Am Law 100 firm to update its image and streamline its shingle. 

"Our new brand and website proudly capture the collective culture and energy of Seyfarth, while showcasing the leadership and diversity of our teams," Dawn Orel, Seyfarth's chief marketing and business development officer, said in a statement. "It reflects who we are today, and where we want to go in the future."

The American Lawyer caught up with Molly Porter, Seyfarth's director of marketing and one of the primary architects behind the firm's makeover, to discuss how and why the rebrand came about, what the firm hopes to accomplish through the effort, and why it seems there have been so many firms looking to sharpen their image lately. 

This conversation has been edited for clarity and length.

What was the impetus for the rebrand? Why now? 

We started this process a couple of years ago. You need a lot of lead time. Developing a case and finding a provider takes time. A lot of things can drive the need for a rebrand. Ours was the story. The firm had grown from us being a U.S.- based labor and employment firm to being an international, full service firm. I heard on multiple occasions that our website, for example, did not reflect that.

What sort of process did you go through for the rebrand? Who was involved? 

We established the brand and digital groups: about 50 people from across the firm, representatives from every legal services department, office managing partners and executive committee members. We wanted to make sure that from the beginning we had the right voices at the table. These groups played a signature role. They were able to bring in points of view where we were able to understand issues in each marketplace and use that as sort of a 'sensible practice' for how we move forward.

We began with the end in mind. We feel that within the firm our people are our biggest stakeholders. We want the people that work here to be attached to the brand and have it resonate with them. What do we want those people to hear and see? Experience? That was a significant piece of work. Brand you can work on with an agency. But the ground game (rallying your internal people to buy into the change) is on you and the people in your firm.

Also, we knew we wanted to keep it under wraps for as long as we could—have this big unveiling. But we also knew we had to bring people in to see it, so ultimately we decided to have an unveiling at the partner meeting in September of this year. The response from the partnership was really positive.

It seems there have been a lot of law firm rebrands recently. Why do you think that is? 

I've been doing work for law firms since 2003, and it is cyclical, where you get a burst of activity. That could be one reason. Also, I think it reflects the importance of brand to law firms. As they become more sophisticated with their marketing efforts, their desire to invest in something to help them stand out from the sea of sameness is stronger.

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