Member News
Square One Law, the north of England’s entrepreneurial law firm, has taken a unique approach to highlighting its differentiation with an innovative investment in the arts to develop its brand.
The firm, which has offices in Newcastle, Leeds and Darlington, went to creative agency The Traveller and the Bear for inspiration.
Ian Gilthorpe, senior partner explained: “We, like many of our clients, have successfully embraced change and pivoted quickly during the pandemic, so we wanted to communicate how we differentiate ourselves in a way that makes people think and take notice. All law firms say they are client focused and provide excellent service delivery, but few have developed their culture to think creatively, so we were very open to new ideas from the agency.”
Claire Knight, co-founder and Managing Director of The Traveller and the Bear said:
“We quickly understood that Square One Law was not like other law firms.
They care. They have people’s backs. They’re not afraid to do their own thing.
And they are interested in solving people’s problems, so in a way the ‘law’ bit is secondary. The important part is the fearless commitment to helping their clients.”
Antonio Bachini, co-founder and Creative Director added:
“For us, that was hugely rich territory in which to start to develop and tell a powerful story. We wanted to show the world just how fearless Square One Law are, so we looked for a fearless way to tell their story.
Jazz and spoken word poetry ticked all the boxes. Each takes a level of craft expertise, that allows riffing between the rules. And it’s that improvisation that we leveraged to tell the story in a powerful, compelling way. We immediately knew the artists we wanted to use and brought together leading drummer, Ed Smith, who has played with Geordie rock star Sam Fender, and local spoken poet performer, Lerato Azula.”
The centrepiece of the campaign is a striking film. Ed’s jazz-style drumming is blended with Lerato’s rhythmic spoken word delivery to tell an impactful story that being fearless is about breaking from tradition, standing apart and solving problems creatively. Encouraging your people to act with integrity, watch their clients’ backs and help drive the business forward.
Ian Gilthorpe said: “I was totally engaged when Antonio explained great musicians are talented but not all can play jazz, and in a similar way, there are many talented lawyers, but they don’t all think creatively or deliver the same bespoke service as Square One Law. I could see the connection that jazz players use their talent to improvise and what makes us distinctive is our ability to create opportunities for our clients as well as offering highly commercial advice.”
Gill Hunter, managing partner, added: “What struck me was the quality of the production of the film and how well it described why we are different. We could see how story telling through the arts would produce a very powerful message.
The arts are so important to our society, both culturally and economically, which became very obvious during the pandemic when live entertainment was put on hold and the industry was severely damaged, so we really liked the idea of supporting local artists through the development of our brand.
Creativity is vital in all businesses and this campaign has brought synergy with the arts to highlight our entrepreneurial approach in supporting our clients.”
