Does Your Law Firm Need a Logo?

You never get a second chance to make a first impression. And in these days of increasingly short attention spans, the opportunity to make that first impression is often only a few seconds. During those fleeting moments, your law firm logo does some heavy lifting. Yet many law firms give little attention to the image that introduces, and represents, them to the world. That’s a lost opportunity.

What a Law Firm Logo Is (and Isn’t)

A law firm logo is more than just decoration; it’s communication. In a sense, it is your firm’s signature, a consistent, recognizable endorsement. In law, even more than other professions, clients choose firms they trust. Your firm’s logo is a visual signal of your law firm’s credibility, trustworthiness, and reputation.

Your logo is an important component of your branding, but it is not your brand. The logo is a symbol, while the brand is the meaning that the symbol evokes: your law firm’s values and culture, and the emotional response that people have to the firm. In short, your law firm logo is a visual anchor, calling to mind what your firm means to people every time they see it. 

A logo is the nucleus of the visual representation of your brand. As such, it’s a springboard for other elements of your visual brand, including color palette and typography. When it comes to designing a law firm website, a strong logo is like a painter having a full set of brushes at their disposal, opening up a world of possibilities for expression. A weak, bland, or uninspiring logo is like having a single broken brush: it’s possible to create with, but that creativity will be constrained. 

Given the importance of a logo to the development of a visual brand, it’s important to understand just what goes into an effective logo.

Anatomy of a Law Firm Logo

Logotype/Wordmark

Unless you're a mega-brand like Apple or Nike, your law firm’s name generally needs to appear in your logo. When the name is included in your logo, this is often referred to as the logotype, or wordmark. 

The logo designer will select a font that evokes your firm’s brand, or perhaps a combination of fonts, for your firm name. Once you have a font selected for your logo, you'll be able to reuse that font across all of your written communications. For your website, we'll use that font and find complementary fonts that match it.

Many law firm logos consist only of the logotype. This can work well if you're an established name in your field, have a unique firm name, or otherwise are less concerned with marketing for your firm.

Logomark

A logo often has an illustrated or designed visual element, called a symbol or logomark. In addition to giving the logo visual interest, the logomark can hint at the firm's personality. 

Perhaps the logomark is an abstract design. Or maybe it's a bold way of framing the partners' initials. Some law firms include an image in their logomark that serves as a metaphor for the firm's approach to practice, like a lighthouse that shows the firm can help a client navigate through the storm of a lawsuit. No matter what the final look is, it should be consistent with the image the firm wants to present.

Tagline

A tagline might appear in a logo to provide an additional text description of the firm. A tagline could simply state the focus of your practice ("Real Estate Attorneys"), or it might be a more marketing-heavy phrase that highlights your firm’s values ("Client-Focused Advocacy"). For newer law firms, or firms that are focused on marketing, we recommend having a tagline along with the logo to make it clear to potential clients that they're in the right place.

Logo Variations

It’s likely that one iteration of your logo isn’t going to meet all your needs. Depending on how much active marketing your firm is involved in, you might need horizontally- and vertically-oriented versions of your logo. You may want a black and white rendering, one that can work on light backgrounds or dark backgrounds, resized versions for social media, etc. 

While they won’t be identical to one another, they should be similar enough that someone seeing any variation of your logo will instantly understand its connection to your firm. There are innumerable ways variants of your logo might be reused, including: 

• Website
• Email signatures
• Zoom/Teams backgrounds and virtual meeting assets
• Letterhead and envelopes
• Proposals, pitch decks, and presentations
• Informational brochures
• Newsletters and firm announcements
• Exterior and interior office signage
• Client portals and document management systems
• Merchandise and promotional items
• Event materials 

Having a clear idea of the components of the logo, as well as having the design files on hand, will allow your designer to quickly create what you need. The repetition of your logo on various media creates a cohesive, professional image for your firm.

Every Law Firm has a Logo (Intentionally or Not)

Fun fact: just because you didn't design a logo doesn't mean you don't have one!

If you think your law firm doesn't have a logo, here’s some unfortunate news: as soon as you picked the font for your letterhead or business cards, you also took the first step to designing your firm's visual identity. 

Like it or not, using Word's default font constitutes a decision on how you want to present your firm to the world. Since clients, colleagues, and the public are going to form a visual impression of your firm no matter what you do (or don’t do), you might as well purposefully shape that impression.

If you’d prefer not to have a logo-by-default, it might be time to contact a logo designer!

Do I Really Need a Logo Designer?

You don’t technically need a design professional to create your logo, in much the way you don’t technically need a barber to cut your hair: you can do it yourself, but you might not like what the result says about you.

There are three primary reasons we recommend that attorneys work with a professional designer on their logo: 

Cost-Effectiveness

Almost always, your time is better spent on billable work than design work. If you don’t have experience in this area, you could lose valuable time wading through options and jargon, not to mention learning the software and file types needed to create a professional-looking image that’s usable on the web.

A professionally-designed logo also ages better and requires fewer redesigns. It makes future marketing easier, and reduces your costs in the long term.

Intentional, Strategic Design

A professional designer doesn’t begin with visuals; they work to understand your practice area, client profile, tone, and style. They take into account your preferences and build from there. An experienced designer also understands how a logo will appear in print versus digitally; how to make a logo legible at all sizes, and how to use typography  to signal trust, sophistication, or other traits. In short, they’ll ensure that your logo looks right and truly represents your firm’s brand.

Consistency

When you work with someone to design a logo, the goal is to be able to use that logo for many years, and for many needs. When you work with a skilled designer, especially one associated with an agency, you get a system, not just an image. There are color rules and font standards that prevent “drift” in your logo image over time. If you discover a new need or use for your logo, your designer will have the files on hand to make it happen.

Remember the purpose of your logo: to create a positive impression of your firm in the eyes of those who encounter it. Working with a professional designer on your logo is an investment in your firm’s image and brand.