Shearman & Sterling LLP has advised many of the world's leading corporations, financial institutions, and governments for over 130 years. With more than 1,000 attorneys, and offices located in 19 cities and all major regions of the world, Shearman & Sterling ranks in the top tier of virtually all major law firm listings.

With such an extensive reach and impressive track record, the firm sought to professionally brand itself. Shearman & Sterling's search resulted in engaging Charette Communication Design. It was our goal to create a unified, coherent identity that put forth the firm's strengths and values in a unique, elite and scaleable manner.

Charette has been a major influence in law firm marketing for more than 20 years. We provide design and marketing strategy for such clients as Skadden Arps, Orrick, Latham & Watkins, the ACLU, and Stanford University Law School. A team was assembled including research, strategy and brand positioning partners, and Shearman Chief Marketing Officer Jolene M. Overbeck (now of Zeughauser Group).

Aligned for Excellence

Charette worked closely with research partner Brand Research Company and strategic planning partners Norm Rubenstein of Zeughauser Group and Elonide Semmes, formerly of Partners + Simons now of Right Hat. The team prepared in-depth background evaluations and analysis identifying points of distinction and firmwide strengths.

Discovery identified that Shearman & Sterling is a law firm that, through its network of worldwide offices, is well suited to provide a high degree of expert legal services across borders, countries and jurisdictions. This finding is in step with clients who must shepherd matters through many countries. The team's research was presented to Shearman & Sterling's marketing and executive committees.

The next step was to create a tagline to capture these qualities. The branding team developed the tagline "Aligned for Excellence." According to its clients, Shearman & Sterling's consistent excellence differentiates it from other international firms. The uniform quality of its legal services—and of the ways in which they are delivered—is a function of the firm's long-standing commitment to aligning its diverse practice portfolio and its offices in such a way as to provide firm clients with unparalleled quality and value.

Namemark Heritage

Charette's design team was moving on a concurrent track to develop the new Shearman & Sterling namemark—a mark that would visually capture the firm's distinct characteristics and heritage. It was also crucial to visually reaffirm Shearman's leadership position within the worldwide marketplace. The namemark needed to be clear but also as function well within increasingly diverse worldwide reproduction techniques such as: web, email, pitch presentations, signage, engraving, thermography, digital copiers, offset, limited color uses and CD/DVD surfaces.

The design team created over a dozen preliminary logos and then the necessary design refinements. The final namemark was selected for its strength, grace and proportions.

Bridging Continents, Markets

Epiphanies happen. During the early branding and strategy sessions, Charette/NY Creative Director Pete Friedrich commented that what metaphorically tied Shearman & Sterling's global footprint, leadership and high degree of skill together are bridges. The construction of bridges requires every component, no matter how small, to work in concert with the whole. Bridges demand the highest degree of engineering and unite two distinct areas, whether they are practice groups or land masses. The concept garnered instant traction and the firm set off to visually distinguish itself with some of the world's greatest spans. Bridge imagery has been integrated into the firm's website and collateral.

Instructions Included

In addition to such brand building blocks as global stationery, brochures, pitch systems, such design elements as typography, color and paper specifications are documented in a sophisticated and user friendly style guide, Charette worked closely with the client at every stage to insure that design practices and products would be created with firmwide operability and sustainability. "We listened hard and checked all decisions, both design and strategy, with the Shearman & Sterling marketing team almost daily." commented project manager and strategist, Elonide Semmes.

"Shearman & Sterling has in-house designers worldwide," Charette/SF Creative Director Jeff Yerkey states. "We knew the new brand had to not only resonate but build out easily, and we've put a substantial amount of energy into documenting the brand internally.

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As anyone who has ever minted a new brand knows, the process can be challenging. With Shearman & Sterling's rebranding complete, the firm is well poised in the global marketplace to project its strengths as a true legal leader and grow an elegant, scaleable unique legal brand.

And having over 1,000 attorneys serving as new brand ambassadors isn't a bad thing either

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