When It Comes to Law Firm Names, Does Size Matter?
The Legal Intelligencer had a piece yesterday on the continuing debate over law firm names: to shorten or not to shorten? Gina Rubel says the debate has been raging for years, citing an article she wrote about it as early as 2003. She says most legal marketing experts agree that firms should keep their names snappy and provides eight reasons why:
1. Better branding;
2. More memorable;
3. Easier to say and repeat;
4. Easier to register Web site URLs;
5. More marketable;
6. Supports name recognition;
7. Works better with social media and emerging technologies;
8. Easier to say in media interviews.
One of the firms that has fully embraced the “shorter is better” approach is Morrison & Foerster. The firm is already just two names, but it has chopped it down even further, usually marketing itself as “MoFo.”
We love the simplicity and brazenness of a firm branding itself MoFo. Plus, it makes referring to acquaintances there more fun. E.g., “How’s Dave doing? You know, MoFo Dave?”
After the jump, we have some suggestions for other law firm name elisions. Would you rather work for ClearGo or Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton? We’ve also got a poll to find out whether “length matters.”
Rather than firms shortening to a couple names, perhaps they should shorten to a couple syllables. MoFo conveys a sense of personality — forceful — that “Morrison & Foerster” does not. What opportunities do other firms have to rebrand themselves by going short?
Here’s a few of our suggestions for Biglaw’s top firms:
We invite you to suggest other nicknames in the comments, and to take our poll:
Shorter Law Firm Names — the Debate Continues [Legal Intelligencer]
(143) 
Comments
Ola y'all :)
and
wait for it
FIRST!!!
SAMSF = Skarps
In David Lat's stinky bedroom, increased size means more pronounced slurping sounds from his derriere.
Size matters? Is this something I should be scared of?
Seton Hall summer at Orrick
Most consumers of BIGLAW legal services likely aren't the on the same wavelength as those with the idiot ad-agency mentality that brought us "JLo" or "Benifer."
That tool in the picture looks like he belongs at MoFo.
K&L Gates could be rebranded as KilL. Too soon?
How about fightbiglaw.com? A K&E Story.
If the name is already two syllables why make up a two syllable "short form" of the name, e.g. cleary to cleargo.
The best from a branding standpoint is, of course, the only firm with a one syllable name in the V10: WEIL. And no Kash, changing it to Weilgo is not an improvement.
S&C is already called "SullCrom" by everyone. They haven't made it official like MoFo though.
And that guy in the picture is kinda hot
If this post was any gayer, it would have been written by Lat.
As the general counsel of a fortune 100 company, I choose all my outside counsel based on the snapiness of their name, and whether they've branded themselves well, i.e., does the font used on their firm's website match the letterhead.
Let's be honest: the more money firms spend on crap like this, the less money there is to pay the people who have the clients and do the work. A lot of large law firms are looking at a lot of the things that they spend money on, and they're deciding that many of them, while part of the status quo, are just wasteful.
Without question, this examination of expenditures is going to hurt "legal marketing experts" a lot. Also, in my experience, these "experts" don't really know that much about the practice of law or the marketing of a law firm to existing or potential clients.
Anyway, I'm not sure if the reference article is really suggesting a "MoFo"-style shortening. (Also, back when I worked in California, they were called that because most of the lawyers there are, in fact, motherfuckers. It was not a compliment to call them that. MoFo was wise to seize that as their own brand, and turn it positive. Whichever "legal marketing expert" came up with that added some value.) Most well known law firms already have a brand: "Wachtell", "Cravath", "Skadden" "Kirkland" and "Sidley" are all well-known firms with a one word brand, and there are plenty of firms with two word brands: "Sullivan and Cromwell", "Paul Weiss", etc. Anything beyond that is unnecessary.
Firms which are really in the middle have to choose, though: Is it Mayer or Mayer Brown? Gibson or Gibson Dunn? Other than those specific issues, who cares what some former Philadelphia trial lawyer thinks about law firm branding? Her view is not relevant.
I call bs on 12 - based on your grammar and sophistication, you seem like the general counsel of a mom-and-pop store.
Is this a real article? A bullet on the Morning Docket I'd understand, but this?
Haynes & Boone = Hayboo = slightly racist
at firms like HARNESS DICKEY, and MoFo, do women feel comfortable, know working for the man at these firms?
Just what is MoFo short for anyway? Are they are real law firm to put such misogynistic gall into their name??
I suppose if partners names were Tea and Bagger, then TeaBag.com would be appropriate naming to, you know BEG the question?
the guy in the photo resembles the K&L shooter. Is that a picture from the "practice day" where he chickened out?
17, did you just get back from the bar? I don't think there was a coherent thought in there.
Two words - e.g. Cleary Gottleib - is short enough. Most firms are technically four or five words long (e.g. Akin Gump Strauss Hauer and Feld), and people just naturally shorten them (Akin Gump). No marketing necessary. If a firm wanted to go further - AkGu? - that is starting to get retarded. So, yes, I prefer short names, but that is a relative concept.
Sidley Austin = SiAus,
pro - sounds like a star trek character
con - sounds like something Elie puts on his eggs.
The name of my law firm is "Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton". There is no such thing as a "Cleary & Gottlieb". That's a pretty egregious and idiotic error.
10 -- maybe that's what they call it at your law school. But every practicing lawyer in NY calls S&C ... S&C. Never heard of SullCrom.
Better humor for Kirk-El being the cousin from Family Matters would be the cousin of Superman aka Kal-El.
Jones Day = Joda. "Solve your legal problems we will."
23 - Nice try. http://www.sullcrom.com/
Come on, who wouldn't want to bask in the presTTTige of a long ass name like Dibb Lupton Alsop Piper Rudnick Gray Cary?
25- the force is strong in you.
Is this MysTTTal pretending to be Kash? S&C is SullCrom, which you should probably know.
I agree with 5. Also, to say that a debate "has been raging" about this issue is gross hyperbole.
ATL, get some better stuff to report.
girls in my high school used to discuss size frequently....apparently it matters
Skadden Arps = SkAr: As in "we will SkAr you for life."
Paul Weiss = PaW: As in "get your PaWs off me."
Sullivan & Cromwell should change its name to "Sully".
It would make it sound more "heroic".
Whoa. There are some real good ones not mentioned yet
Goodwin procter = good pro
Fulbright & jaworski = full jaw
Years ago my firm, Hopkins & Sutter (long since merged away), considered a merger with another old-line Chicago firm, Bell Boyd & Lloyd. I was hoping for BellHop, at least for our URL.
#7- Comment of the year..lol
King & Spalding = KingS
(and only if there were just one more "L" in this one: Kilpatrick Stockton = Kils).
"Shearman & Sterling --> ShearSter. Upside: Nice alliteration. Downside: Has a vaguely negative connotation."
What? I fail to see one single example of alliteration in the name "ShearSter". The "Sh" sound is far different from the "S" sound that follows. I don't even start law school for another two weeks, but I'm feeling pretty confident about my chances in this profession based on the articles in this blog and the posts in the comments. If this is a BigLaw demographic, how incredibly telling about the actual quality of the worker bees that compose prestigous firms. I suppose the image of elitism is more important than actual intelligence. Of course, you all are the same people who place more value on a home in the Hamptons than developing healthy relationships with people who actually care whether you live or die.
14- you must be fun at parties.
"4. Easier to register Web site URLs;"
WTF? I presume this is a reference to a domain being available-- how is sjj.com or smithjones.com more likely to be available than smithjonesjohnson.com?
25- "Joda" FTW
Better than Elie the commenter is.
How about Greenberg Traurig, LLP:
GreeT
Makes perfect sense to me.
This is so strange - why doesn't ATL ever mention Davis Polk, even when relevant to the discussion... Sherman etc. but no DavisPolk come on....
DavisPolk has just changed its name for marketing purposes and has dropped wardwell out - mention of DPW should have been made in this article. I am disappointed.
Foley Hoag = FoHo
I like it.
All hail The Botts!
the previous discussion of abbreviating names is titillating, but it is of no help to me in my search for tips on getting an SA position in WILDMAN HARROLD's produce law practice group. should i mention my note on the tropical diseases afflicting southeast asian mangos that are dangerous to humans in my cover letter, or save that bombshell for the callback? please advise.
Baker Hostetler = Bake Hos
"MoFo" is how layers outside the firm had been calling it for years. At some point they just decided to go with it.
As far as I know, it is the only firm brand name with a double meaning--which sets it apart.
The lead photo for this article should instead have been used for the glued-penis article. That is, if they had also chopped off his manliness. Then it would have been 100000% funnier.
I agree - lopping off a few of the names is good. I.e. Jones Day. It's simple. But shortening down to syllables is a bit much. MoFo just kinda got lucky with their rebranding, I think they are the exception, not the rule.
Howrey did the same thing. It used to be H&S but now it's just plain Howrey.
Howrey sucks.
Guy in picture: "You shorten your name Lebowski, or I CUT OFF YOUR JOHNSON!"
"ScCro" sounds like something your balls are contained in.
It might work.
Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz. = Wallip
I always thought Goodwin Procter should re-brand as Goo-P (pronounced like "goopy"). Just Goop would work too, but it's not as good.
Also, there are some more natural ones, like Mayer Brown could be MayBro. There are probably others like this.
Finally, Wachtell Lipton should consider re-branding as WaLip, as in "We're going to WaLip you in court tomorrow."
Switching two names would change Skadden into ASSMF.
Not even MoFo is as cool as Payne & Fears.
38, you're right, but exactly how many examples were you expecting to find?
Dewey & LeBoeuf = DewB
as in, "since we might get laid off, let's smoke a doobie!" I know it's a stretch but would've been perfect before the merge.
Am I the only person that thinks "mother f**ker" every time they hear MoFo? I can never take them seriously.
I vote you don't always have to use the front of the names. For example, Ballard Spahr could become "Lard Spa." And if you've seen some of the people working there on Market Street, you'd know that's on point, sucka!
Cravath = AssCravath
38 = Future "public interest" lawyer.
Skadden could be shortened to "Damn this is an extremely boring and not funny fucking post"
What about the prestigious firm if Dewey Cheatem & Howe?
http://legalblogwatch.typepad.com/legal_blog_watch/2009/08/dewey-cheatem-and-howe-makes-appearance-in-fraud-case.html
DewCheHo might work...
Lat is a gay homosexual?
47... does anyone actually care about or know who Baker Hostetler is outside of Ohio? Go back to pretending to bill hours to your piss-ant clients, and leave this discussion to the big dogs at real firms.
DewBeef?
46, it would have mattered more if you were trying to score a position with Wild Dix.
FulJa FTW!
I concur with 24. Kirk-El is an obvious Superman character. That joke would have been funny and well-researched.
If Kash wanted to make a "sounds like a black guy on a black sitcom" joke, A Different World would have more been appropriate.
62 = dying alone.
I concur with 24. Kirk-El is an obvious Superman character. That joke would have been funny and well-researched.
If Kash wanted to make a "sounds like a black guy on a black sitcom" joke, A Different World would have more been appropriate.
Yeah 66 you tell him.
It's the Fried Frank et al's big moment: Fri-Fra-Ha-Shri-Ja . . . and you stealth fired out the door!!!
66 = IT Analyst for Baker Hostetler
Morgan Lewis = Mole, as in a dark raised mass on the rear end of the legal community.
71 = 38 = PE.
SkaddenDC = FuPa?
75 is all up in yo face 66!!!
38 - If you are looking to have people care whether you live or die, perhaps law school isn't the right choice for you.
Clifford Chance = Dumb Idiots
16 - I think HayBoo is pretty cute. It represents well the firm's slightly laidback/fun cullture.
Kash: "That's what she said."
Do you want to change your name to Homer Junior? The kids can call you Ho-Ju!
Those 8 reasons are more like 2 half-assed ideas repeated in marketing speak. Is this the quality of advice legal marketing experts are giving to firms?
Latham & Watkins should shorten its name to Latham Off.
I am 38 and 71 and I am not PE. These were my first comments to this blog. The idiocy displayed by those who are the supposed "success stories" of my chosen profession finally moved me to speak up. I am already a working professional who has chosen law because it is actually something that I want to do. The fact that the majority of commenters on this Blog derive happiness from petty competition and artificial distinctions in status is no indication of my own character. As I said before, you guys are the worker bees. You are widgets in a system that you have allowed yoursevles to buy into. That is fine. It is lucrative, as well. At the end of the day, you've got to be able to live with yourself. I could never be like you, but I promise you I will be successful.
Debevoise & Plimpton = DePlimp
Upside: Sounds like what Lat shrieks when he sees Elie from afar. Dowside: Reminds everyone that Herve Villechaize is dead.
If Mystal was a law firm, he would be DeBlimp.
23 = EPIC FAIL. (www.sullcrom.com) Good luck at OCI!
-10
23 -I am banging your mother with my sullcrom right now. Suck it, sugartits!
10, dude, seriously, S&C is what you hear (and say), not SullCrom, despite the fact you keep listing the website's address.
-Not 23
(can't believe I wasted my time responding to you as you obviously want listen to reason.)
This article and the suggestions in particular are at best idiotic. Kash I had higher hopes for you.
26 -- you're an even bigger idiot than I thought. You're relying on their URL? Did it ever occur to you than maybe someone took www.sandc.com before they did? Nobody -- including the firm itself -- calls them sullcrom. Enjoy your classes this year.
23
Haha, Mystal = DeBlimp!
10, my sincere apologies--meant 23 with his SullCrom as am tired of seeing S&C's website address being waved around as the smoking gun.
-92 (who admits the typo)
SullCROM, the Destroyer!
So by 10's reasoning, the colloquial name for "Baker & McKenzie" is "Bakernet," since that's their website address.
Blubberlover
66---
How is your paralegal-level work going? I suppose that reading e-mails for a prestigious bank is tough stuff, compared to what others do for "piss-ant" clients.
Who wants a Fresca?
Most people here would rather work in MidLaw than at Baker.
Regards,
v25 Ohio 3L
Most people would rather work for Thompson Hine than at Baker.
Regards,
v25 Ohio 2L
100 -- 66 here. Go back to whatever personal injury settlement negotiation you are working on, and I will go back to my Fortune 100 clients. You will never match my prestige, so don't try.
MI firm Dykema Gossett PLLC = Dyke
V25 Ohio 2L (or 3L?) - hmm, are you at a firm that rhymes with Stones Gay? Those documents wont review themselves. Get back to work!
LOL, 25!!!
WilCon is so much better than WilCo
Willkie Farr & Gallagher = WILF
Is there anything to be done with the Roanoke firm
Morgan, Inverness, Logan & Frank?
Hating on 38 obscures his/her first point. ShearSter is not alliterative. Elie covers the basic grammatical and spelling errors; Kash at least messes up only more "advanced" literary terms.
LOL, 25!!!
How are there 100+ posts and none of the Kash groupies have yet taken up the cause of Kash, doing a pole (poll) as to preferences between liking it long vs. short & sweet?!
Maybe the kids are on their bar trips.
I'm at a loss for a way to shorten the name of the Portland firm Butters, Funderson Clark and King...
Surprised no one has already suggested that Orrick, Herrington, and Sutcliffe re-brand itself as "O-Ring"
Debevoise = DePimp
Debevoise = DePimp
No, no, Debevoise is just DP.
Wilmer Hale = Whale?
110 - They are one HOT MAMA
#13 - Don't generalize about legal marketing experts.
Gina Rubel is one of the best at what she does and you might learn something if you actually paid attention to the content.
The good legal marketers -- inside and outside the firm -- are actually helping law firms increase revenues and teaching thousands of attorneys how to grow their practices. They rarely get enough credit for their contributions but don't underestimate their talents.
#13 - Don't generalize about legal marketing experts.
Gina Rubel is one of the best at what she does and you might learn something if you actually paid attention to the content.
The good legal marketers -- inside and outside the firm -- are actually helping law firms increase revenues and teaching thousands of attorneys how to grow their practices. They rarely get enough credit for their contributions but don't underestimate their talents.
In these trying economic times, DP has offered a two-for-one deal when staffing with new associates.
Augusta firm Asselman, Lobo & Sterling?
McGuireWoods = McG
Steptoe & Johnson --> Ouch!
Ted Kennedy's law firm is the BEST NAME EVER.
Weiner, Diner, Dicker & Dunker.
Dorsey & Whitney = "Do!" Homer could be their spokes"person".
Dear 65:
Might I respecfuly suggest not posting after smoking more than 2 joints or drinking more than six beers?
["I said gay homosexual, teehee.]
Dear 65:
Might I respecfuly suggest not posting after smoking more than 2 joints or drinking more than six beers?
["I said gay homosexual, teehee."]
Dear 65:
Might I respecfuly suggest not posting after smoking more than 2 joints or drinking more than six beers?
["I said gay homosexual, teehee."]
There is something to be said for the prestige of a long string of names. It sounds very old school, inspiring trust and conjuring images of "white shoes."
Payne & Fears.
Best. Name. Ever. I didn't believe it until I looked it up.
120/121 = Gina Rubel
33 - You should check your dictionary for the definition of "sully." Besides, I like SuCro because it reminds us that S&C does indeed suck.
123 - I see what you did there.....
104--
I wish I was negotiating personal injury settlements, because all of the halfway decent PI attorneys I know bank far more than you and I combined.
If prestige is what gets you off, so be it. The rest of us will keep laughing at you, because nobody cares.
66/104 = big dick with a small dick. What a loser.
114
ButtFuCKing?
Holy shit, it's a real firm. I'm laughing out loud at this.
92/94 - You are confused. Let me illustrate with examples:
"I work at S&C" = what someone at the firm says
"Yo, I know that douchebag, I think he works at SullCrom" = what someone not at the firm says
hth
98 - you are stupid and that was a terrible non-analogy. Obviously the url is evidence of a colloquial name (sullcrom, mofo) but is not alone conclusive.
It should be noted that our internal newsletter here at Cleary Gottlieb with articles written by associates is called "ClearGoLaw News."
Hey 136 - did it ever occur to you that 66 is not a guy? Or does it just bother you THAT MUCH that a woman is smarter than you - and smart enough to know better than to go to a crap regional firm (masquerading as biglaw)? Stop pretending. NO ONE cares about Baker Hostetler. You are midlevel, at best. Now stop your whining, and get back to pretending you graduated from a real law school. And while you're at it, take all of your friends from Thompson Hiney and Squire Sanders & Dipshit with you.
Stop talking, 138. Just stop.
Joda. Heh.
133 - No. I did not and would not respond to 13 - everyone is entitled to an opinion and our results in business speak for themselves. - Gina Rubel