Contests, Holidays and Seasons

ATL Holiday Card Contest: The Finalists!

Which of these law firm holiday cards is the best of 2014?

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An inverse relationship apparently exists between law firm bonuses and holiday card quality. In this year of generally robust bonuses, the submissions to our sixth annual holiday card contest were surprisingly weak. Perhaps law firms were too busy handling client work — the work that boosts profits per partner and associate bonuses — to get that into the Christmas spirit.

In fact, some of the most clever cards we’ve seen came from outside the law firm world — like this one, from financial firm Houlihan Lokey, or this one, from Fix the Court. But our card contest is all about law firms. And on the law firm front, the pickings were slim. Last year we named eight finalists; this year we’re going with a mere six (and some readers will surely complain that we were too generous).

This year, law firms played it too safe — including a number of firms that have made the finals or even won the contest in prior years. Here are a few firms we’ll name to the “honorable mention” list. Their cards were lovely and well produced, but lacked a certain extra spice. Click on each firm’s name to view their card (comments from nomination blurbs in parentheses):

  • Akin Gump
  • Davis Wright & Tremaine (“modern and energetic, festive vibe — mostly I like that this card is SHORT”)
  • Manatt (“we are turning 50, so we decided to look back at some of big moments in history and pop culture from the last 50 years and celebrate not just the holidays, but our upcoming anniversary as well”)
  • Meyers Nave (“cool and really different; congrats to small-firm ingenuity”)
  • Morrison & Foerster

Now, on to the actual finalists, listed in alphabetical order and accompanied by short blurbs. Please note that most of these cards have SOUND, so you might want to turn your sound off or down, or use headphones (depending on where you are; we decided to run this post late in the day so that more of you will be able to enjoy the music, either because you’re at home or because most of your colleagues have left the office already).

1. Cozen O’Connor: From Christopher Bitting, manager of technical marketing: “Clearly a firm not afraid to make fun of itself, we selected the tired trope of lawyer jokes to wish our friends, colleagues and clients happy holidays. However, in addition to a spin on an overused joke, we also offered recipients the chance to caption and send their own illustrated holiday greeting to friends and family. In addition to the joke and allowing them to try their hand at their own clever greeting — the hardest part of the holiday card was getting 500+ attorneys together for a two-second video clip. Of course, the promise of adult beverages after the filming helped the process.”

Offering viewers of the card the chance to make cards of their own cleverly turned the staid holiday card tradition into a form of social media. Check out Cozen’s card — and make your own card — here.

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2. Fenwick & West: Fenwick makes the finals for the fourth year in a row. One tipster felt their card was “too long for the 21st-century world of 140 characters,” but added that it’s “an interesting use of being creative with old style typewriter.” Fenwick itself, through chief marketing officer Robert Kahn, explained: “Here is Fenwick’s 2014 effort. I know you want an explanation, but the raison d’être every year is ultimately the same: create content that is compelling enough to share with clients and friends, something that inspires you to make a personal connection by adding a personal note (which we encourage over automated mass mailings), and something that is worthy enough to take 2 minutes of our clients’ time, which we don’t take for granted. We don’t always hit it out of the park every year, but that’s the heart and soul of what we bring to this yearly effort. Hope you enjoy it.”

We do indeed, and we think you’ll agree. View the Fenwick card here.

3. Haynes and Boone: The firm returns to the finals after a two-year absence with an offering that marketing director Kathy Gutierrez said “ventures back to the magical wonderland of the holiday season. Our last wonderland video took first place with ATL in 2011, and we wanted to return there (both the wonderland and the ATL contest winner)! We love unique and retro animation techniques like the stop-motion we did in 2011, so this year we built a surreal wonderland using a combination of 3D animation layered with 2D cutout figures. Our vibrant music is perfectly suited to this year’s fun winter ride! We hope you enjoy!”

It’s beautifully done — and it’s short. See for yourself here.

4. Larson King: A litigation boutique based in Saint Paul, Minnesota, Larson King is a newcomer to our contest. Designer Megan Junius of Peter Hill Design explained the concept: “The Larson • King characters go through a series of saving the day scenes that are winter- or holiday-inspired…. The attorney starts out as a regular person and suddenly switches into a superhero costume with the firm L•K on their outfits. The message is that L•K can save any problem. The animation is fun and light-hearted and brings together the holiday spirit with the work the attorneys do (solving problems!). The music pulls it all together — so far, there has been great feedback.”

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The great feedback is deserved. Enjoy the L•K card here.

5. Otten Johnson: The Denver-based firm makes the finals for a second year in a row. “In honor of our 30 year history as one of the most respected land use and real estate firms in the Rocky Mountain region, we decided to honor the ‘built’ environment. This video card is a compelling winner because it is different: no video of attorneys flipping through legal documents in the firm library, no collages of still shots of all the staff sitting at their desks, no flash presentations on the timeline of the history of the firm, and how to say ‘Peace on Earth’ in 34 languages. Just some good old fashioned dominos ‘building’ the landmarks of the great City of Denver. (And, if you want to see some skiing (again) and planes flying, visit our home page: www.ottenjohnson.com.)”

The dominos “falling in reverse” produce a very cool effect that you can and should check out here.

6. Proctor Heyman: This Delaware corporate-law boutique, a past winner of the contest, returns to the finals with another wonderful, musically themed entry. From founding partner Kurt Heyman: “We’re baaaaaack! I’ve always wondered why the Village People didn’t have a lawyer. Now I know. There goes the Village! Happy Holidays to all, from our Village to yours!”

If you enjoy “YMCA” by the Village People — I know I do! — then you’ll enjoy the Proctor Heyman holiday card. Close your office door, crank up your speakers, and dance in front of your desk after clicking here.

Okay folks, it’s time to vote. We’ll keep the polls open through SUNDAY, JANUARY 4, 2015, at 11:59 p.m. (Eastern time). This gives you ample time to campaign for your pick over the holidays (but please don’t cheat; you are officers of the court, after all).

Good luck, and happy holidays!

Which law firm has the best holiday card for 2014?

  • Haynes and Boone (33%, 1,060 Votes)
  • Proctor Heyman (29%, 912 Votes)
  • Otten Johnson (27%, 853 Votes)
  • Larson King (8%, 246 Votes)
  • Cozen O'Connor (2%, 68 Votes)
  • Fenwick & West (2%, 53 Votes)

Total Voters: 3,194

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