Purpose, messaging and brand strategy

How to design your reputation strategy

Co-authored by Melissa Davis, CEO, MD Communications and Chris Scott, Senior Partner, Slateford.  Now, more than ever, reputation and crisis dominate the global headlines. Here, in the UK, Johnny Depp is now facing a career on the cusp of disaster after...


Can lawyers really change?

Stephen Revell is a member of the MD Communications Advisory board, until this year he was a lawyer at Freshfields for 41 years and currently a global consultant having recently launched Making Change Happen, a law firm management consultancy to...


Cool Britannia: the UK is having a cultural ‘moment’ – so how can we capitalise on this success?

The Golden Globes was another big night for British talent, and we’re getting used to receiving accolades for series including Fleabag and The Crown, which have been hoovering up awards for months on end. Sunday night’s 77th Golden Globes show also...


Greta Thunberg: a lesson in personal branding

Like the rest of the world, I am having a serious fan-girl moment over teenage activist Greta Thunberg, who has just been announced as Time's Person of the Year 2019 - the youngest in its history. Here are five reasons...


Are Christmas cards still in line with your brand?

It’s interesting to see some law firms are using social media posts as an environmentally conscious alternative to Christmas cards. People are urged to ‘like’ the post, with a promise to donate a small amount to charity for every like...


Has the drive for billable hours replaced our sense of purpose and vocation?

Can you keep your staff and lawyers safe? Of course, you might say. The days when a highly flammable cast-off sofa sat in the staff kitchen area are long gone. We even have ‘mind your head’ signs up on the...


Is it time we were all a bit more vulnerable?

I've spent the last few months heading weekly back and forth to Darlington, my home town where my parents still live. My lovely Mum is in the late stages of alzheimers. It’s been almost 10 years to get us where we...


How to grow your brand at the IBA conference 2019 in Seoul

The International Bar Association’s annual conference is fast approaching in the diaries of members and non-members alike. This year, lawyers, academics and all other professionals involved in the legal sector will meet in Seoul, Korea; with the 2020 conference then due to take place in Miami,...


Do you need a nickname?

The Times carried an article last week by Nick Freeman, the lawyer known as ‘Mr Loophole’, whose stock in trade is representing clients facing charges related to motoring offences. Freeman noted that in a crowded legal market "branding and marketing are...


Pro bono week: something to shout about

It’s National Pro Bono Week – a chance to celebrate the breadth and impact of pro bono work undertaken by the legal profession across the year. The debate around whether or not lawyers should publicise their pro bono work is...