One of my favorite pastimes is watching lawyer commercials.

These advertisements run the spectrum from the buttoned-up lawyer standing in front of a bookcase speaking in a deep, somnolent voice about getting you “fair compensation for your injuries” to the cherry-faced, about-to-pop-a-blood-vessel lawyer threatening to "punish them, pound them." And who can forget that lawyer who bought a Super Bowl ad that had something to do with bullies, his late brother, tombstones, fire, and some bird?

All of these are examples of branding. Your firm can be many things, but if you want your marketing strategy to be effective, your firm has to be something:

• The aggressive firm
• The caring, nurturing firm
• The boutique, high-quality firm
• The flat-rate, “fair pricing” firm
• The old-fashioned town lawyer with a rocking chair on his front porch
• The kickass female "think pink" firm

You get the point. Think about who you are as a person and who you want your clients to see. Authenticity is important: if you try to portray the friendly, fun lawyer and invite clients into an office that looks like a 1970s courtroom, the branding whiplash is going to make closing prospective clients difficult.

Branding extends to every part of your marketing and business. It dictates your color scheme (see “think pink”), your website content, and yes, if you decide to go there, your television commercials. That’s why, if you are about to embark upon the launch of a firm or a revamp of your digital marketing efforts, branding must come first. It guides everything.

When brainstorming your brand, consider everything from your ideal clients to your competition and place in the market to the legal services you want to offer. Use the following checklist to get an idea of where your brand fits in the marketplace:

Law firm branding checklist

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