Law firm branding is a major business and top concern for most law firms, particularly big law names like Freshfields which are dropping the ‘Bruckhaus Deringer’ to become a simpler, cleaner “Fresher” Freshfields.
The rebranding effort included a modernized wordmark and was designed to reflect the firm’s dynamic culture and forward-looking vision, the firm says.
There’s a broader trend among law firms to embrace shortened names and remove ampersands, particularly with the often long-named US law firms. For example:
- Quarles & Brady became simply “Quarles”
- Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel shortened to “Kramer Levin”
- Stroock & Stroock & Lavan rebranded as “Stroock”
The shift towards abbreviated names reflects firms’ efforts to modernize their brands and adapt to digital platforms and easier, more readily identifying branding initiatives as they expand their global footprint.
See the full Freshfields media release below –
In a period of significant transformation across the legal sector and rapid growth of its business, global law firm Freshfields today announces a brand refresh. Designed to reflect the firm today and its ambitions for the future, the firm’s legal name will be shortened to Freshfields and have a new wordmark.
Commenting on the launch, Freshfields Senior Partner Georgia Dawson said: “Our refreshed brand is dynamic and bold, reflecting the entrepreneurial spirit of Freshfields today and our momentum as a firm. With our 280-year history, we continue to operate at the forefront of law, setting new standards, giving our clients the edge in achieving their objectives, and attracting the best talent across the world.”
“We want our brand to reflect who we are wherever people encounter us and bring our strategy to life as we continue our next chapter of growth. One reflection of that is our shortened name that embraces the reality of what people call us in the market and how we refer to ourselves.”
The refreshed brand will start to be rolled out from October, with the firm undergoing a formal name change. A sustainable and phased implementation of the new brand identity will be implemented globally over the coming months.
