The NonBillable Hour

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Law Firm Naming (Again)

Wordlab has a great post on law firm naming. From the article:

As today's law firms grow or downsize, merge and emerge, keeping the letterhead, website, and collateral marketing materials current with the legal partnership name can be a regular challenge. And maintaining consistent brand awareness in a firm's marketplace can be frustrated by a naming strategy that is focussed on the partnership roster, and not on the firm's brand from the customer's point of view.

Business-minded lawyers name their law firms with their customers in mind--not to assuage the partners--and thereby protect their investments in the business. Better to have a partnership interest in a law firm with a strong brand than to have one's own name listed with many other partners on a "shingle" few customers can remember. The classic parody of traditional law firm naming is Jerry Seinfeld trying desperately to remember the name of the firm where the beautiful lawyer, Vanessa, works; repeating the mantra "Simon, Bennett, Robbins, Oppenheim & Taft" over and over.

Wordlab is a free naming thinktank that's worth a look. Some really fun things there, including my favorite, the Band Name Generator. Thanks to Abnu for the heads up.