Messaging around “soft” topics—like a firm’s charitable efforts or its inclusive culture—has traditionally been an afterthought on most law firm websites. This content was typically relegated to a few neglected pages deep within the bowels of the firm’s website.

But times are changing. These days, the topics of values and culture are typically among the top communication priorities when law firms build a new website. 

Why the change? A more diverse and more socially conscious society is driving this shift. Specifically,

• The pool of potential lawyers, and clients, is becoming more diverse each day.
• Studies, like this one from Harvard Business School, show that people increasingly believe that businesses should seek to benefit the broader community.

To meet this moment, law firms are prioritizing messages that depict their organizations as socially responsible and welcoming to people of all backgrounds.

Presenting Your Values – The Challenge

The challenge in values-messaging is that it often rings hollow. Having a “positive, inclusive culture” is easy to claim, but difficult to express in a way that feels authentic, unless it appears to be firmly woven into a firm’s culture.

So, how can law firms achieve this? We have two main suggestions:

• Let your people share your message, and
• Make your content about values more visible.

Below are details and examples.

Suggestion 1: Let your people share your message.

One way to make your message feel “real” is to allow your people to use their own words to explain how the firm’s culture has made a positive impact on their lives (personally and professionally). Testimonials, Q&A-style interviews, podcasts, or videos are great ways to do this. Regardless of the medium, your message will appear more authentic if it comes directly from your people—especially if accompanied by each person's name and photo.

Polsinelli / Employee Testimonials
Polsinelli’s people speak to the inclusive nature of the firm in testimonials that appear throughout the Diversity section of the firm's website.

Morrison Foerster / Values Video
Morrison Foerster’s video entitled “Mofo Values” is an excellent example of how a firm’s people can help communicate its special culture. The video includes a variety of clips of the firm’s attorneys and uses related “Honors & Awards” and “Our Values” content to support its message.

Patterson Belknap / Q&A Interviews
The Patterson Belknap website features a series of highly readable Q&A interviews of its people on its affinity group pages Out at Patterson, Patterson Attorneys of Color, and Women Lawyers at Patterson.

Suggestion 2: Make your content about values more visible.

In addition to dedicating much more website real estate to values-related content (like diversity, pro bono, and CSR), many firms are signaling the importance of values-messaging by positioning it prominently in the top navigation of their sites—and even on their homepages.

Kirkland & Ellis / Pro Bono Achievements
Kirkland signals the importance of its “Social Commitment” by having it appear in its top-level navigation (alongside Professionals, Services, and Careers). Additionally, it has created a highly engaging section of its website called “Pro Bono Achievements,” which describes the breadth and impact of its pro bono work.

Hogan Lovells / ESG Practice
The Hogan Lovells website features top-level navigation that links to a robust section about the firm’s ESG practice (Environmental, Social and Governance practice). This section describes how the firm works with clients “to build a better world for all.”

Latham & Watkins / Global Citizenship
Latham & Watkins's top-level navigation features “Global Citizenship,” a section that spans Pro Bono & Community Service, Diversity Equity & Inclusion, Women Enriching Business, and Environmental Sustainability. Be sure to check out the fantastic videos on the Pro Bono page, including a short documentary about a case the firm handled on behalf of Cory Maples, a death row inmate from Alabama.

Sidley / Top-level Navigation
The Sidley website's navigation gives the firm's values-related content tremendous visibility. The top of each page of the site includes highly visible links to four sections: Diversity, Pro Bono, Social Responsibility, and Sustainability.

Additional Suggestions

Below are a few other ways that you can maximize the impact of your firm’s values-content that resides on your firm’s website.

• Lead with imagery. A picture can say a lot about what matters to the firm, especially when it’s accompanied by succinct descriptive text. 
• Keep it brief. Mission statements are not meant to be marketing copy. Your message will get lost if it’s buried within long blocks of text.
• Leadership statements. A statement from the firm’s Managing Partner (or other top brass) about the firm’s values and culture carries a lot of weight. People will take notice (inside and outside your organization). 

A Final Thought

Howard Schultz, former CEO of Starbucks, noted, “The companies that are lasting are those that are authentic.” And herein is the greatest challenge around values-messaging: it falls flat if it’s simply aspirational. To be perceived as authentic, it must reflect an existing truth about the firm.

For those firms that have developed positive, inclusive cultures, the subject of values has tremendous marketing potential. If presented properly, values can become central to a firm’s brand—and help meaningfully differentiate it from competitors. Furthermore, the subject of values offers a rare opportunity to make a deep and personal connection with your target audiences.