Founding a law firm: How to create your appearance

1. Clear Positioning: What does your law firm stand for?

Before you think about a design for your law firm, you should clarify your strategic basis. The appearance of your law firm is really nothing more than the visual translation of your company's strategy and the identity of your brand. You should be able to answer these questions reliably when you set up your law firm:

• Who are your target groups?
• How do you differentiate yourself from other law firms?
• What areas of law do you offer? 
• How do you want your target groups to perceive your brand? 

Clear positioning is essential. This is the only way your clients will understand what problems you can help them with and what they should instruct you with.

2. Concise Law Firm Name

The name of your law firm should be memorable and fit your brand identity. Many lawyers still choose their own name when founding a law firm. However, fantasy names are on the rise. These have the practical advantage that they remain valid even if the partnership changes (e.g. due to growth). Whether you are using your own name or building up a law firm brand – make sure you are recognisable and avoid unwanted meanings or associations (e.g. in other languages).

Tip: Test your ideas on different people.

3. Does my law firm need a logo?

Yes and no. Logos are often confused with lettering. By ‘logo’, lawyers usually mean a graphic file of the full name of the law firm, which can be used on various communication media. However, a logo is something different: the logo is an abbreviated version of the brand in a highly recognisable signet – the single ‘H’ of Homburger, for example.

Not every law firm needs such a logo right from the start. The creation of a logo is very time-consuming and – if it is to be done well - incurs corresponding costs.

What is needed for an effective appearance, however, is a strong corporate design. A logo can be part of this. However, how a brand is effectively perceived depends only to a small extent on the logo. The overall composition of the elements of a corporate design is decisive (see below).

4. Visual Identity (Corporate Design)

Colours, fonts, imagery – your entire law firm image should be coherent and effectively implemented. It's worth investing in the basics of a corporate design system right from the start. This will ensure that your business cards, stationery, social media posts and presentations are standardised.

Investing in a real corporate design will save you money in the short term when implementing these communication media.

Which happens very often: People cut corners at the beginning and there are hardly any rules: A bit of red here, a font there, slightly different font sizes and image elements everywhere. The result? The overall composition doesn't fit together. 

This is not nice and hardly has any effect on the target groups. The communication is not recognised and the associated investment is wasted without results. These law firms soon have to invest in their image again and this often generates additional costs.

5. A Convincing Law Firm Website

Of course, every newly founded law firm also needs a modern, responsive and search engine-optimised lawyer website. It's an important point of contact for both your existing contacts and new clients – and it needs to impress right from the start. To keep your budget under control, you can limit yourself to the following pages:

• Home page with an overview of the content that directly conveys your positioning
• Profile page(s) so that your background and expertise as well as the skills of your team are directly visible
• Overview of your areas of law (e.g. family law, tenancy law, criminal law)
• Contact page with your firm's address, telephone number and email address
• Optional - but incredibly valuable right from the start: Blog with information on the questions of your target groups for SEO and digital acquisition of new leads

Three further points are important: (1) Your website should work flawlessly on all devices (desktop, tablet, smartphone). (2) Integrate analytics tools to analyse the use of your website (tip: use a different tool instead of Google Analytics) (3) Use legally compliant imprint and data protection declarations.

6. Google Business Profile and Online Visibility

Create a free Google profile for your law firm and fill it with the most important information. This way, you will appear in local searches (‘lawyer Zurich’, ‘legal advice Basel’) with your address, opening hours and reviews. Entries on portals such as local.ch, anwaltvergleich.ch or jurata.ch also increase your visibility and can generate valuable backlinks for your website.

Increase your visibility with the Google Business Profile.

7. Social Media as a Strategic Channel

Today, an active LinkedIn profile is an enormous asset for all lawyers in business development. If used correctly, hardly any other channel can provide as much visibility within a short period of time as social media. On LinkedIn, you can quickly expand your network and develop a clear profile through skilful communication.

Here you can showcase your expertise, give tips, present your law firm culture and build your network. Important: Choose content that is useful for your target group and stay active on a regular basis.

8. Prints and Presentations

There's a lot to do when starting your own law firm – and it all costs money. When it comes to communication, you should think about what you need right from the start. That way you can manage your costs. In the beginning, business cards and stationery are probably more important than a brochure or the right PowerPoint slides. Consult with your agency about the planning.

When setting up a new business, the important thing is what supports you in acquiring business.

Conclusion: A strong law firm image builds trust

Your appearance as a lawyer is more than just an outward appearance – it is an expression of the way you work, your standards, the quality of your work and your values. A well thought-out law firm brand and a consistent image help you to build trust and position yourself in the market. Start smart – with clarity, quality and personality.

Bonus tip: If you would like support in building your law firm brand – from logo and website to strategic advice - please get in touch with us. We will accompany you on your path to successful self-employment.