About Callagy Law’s Logo Part I

The Corporate Identity: A Law Firm’s Story

In Romeo and Juliet, William Shakespeare famously penned, “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose, by any other word would smell as sweet.”  It would seem that our perceptions can in fact be overly influenced by the names we assign to people, places, products, and even corporate entities, without giving a full measure of consideration to the true essence and characteristics of those things.  Clearly, Romeo – by that or any other name – was dear to the heart of Juliet because of who and what he was.

That said, when in July, 2013, the Law Offices of Sean R. Callagy, LLC changed its name to simply Callagy Law, the change was more than cosmetic.  It was, in fact, a statement intended to call attention to what is a very different kind of law firm, and coinciding with that change came a dedication to establishing a corporate identity that also embodies those distinctions.

While effective “branding” has become in modern America a means of raising the consciousness of a company’s targeted marketplace, it is best achieved when it communicates its core values and competencies, personality, mission, and culture in an honest, relevant, and impactful manner.  And because the logo of a company resides at the very center of its corporate identity, Callagy Law simultaneously unveiled its new logo and is in the process of launching its new website to underscore what sets it apart among New Jersey law firms.

When looking to develop its corporate identity in a visual representation, the challenge was to isolate a concept for a logo to which Callagy Law’s employees and clients could readily relate.  Is the logo per se of importance?  To the extent that it succeeds in its mission, yes, though logos do not win law suits, do not visit retribution on wrongdoers, and cannot calm the anxieties with which clients typically arrive at the firm.  People do.  And here is where Callagy Law, its people, and its corporate identity synergize in ways that unashamedly say, “We are different, and that difference does matter.”

The Callagy Law logo is, intentionally, one that incorporates a very significant amount of symbolism in its attempt to embody all of the characteristics and qualities that the firm’s clients value so highly, and future articles will address each of those symbols.  However, there can be no question that most prominent of all is the head of a lion, perhaps raising the question, “What does a lion have in common with a law firm?”  Consider, then, that the question cannot be answered apart from its natural predecessor, “For what attributes is the lion known, whether symbolically or otherwise?”

What is commonly known, or at least commonly perceived, is that the lion – the “King of Beasts” or “King of the Jungle” – has no natural predators and therefore, knows no fear.  Without conscious awareness of concepts like confidence, pride, courage, power, or strength the lion nevertheless embodies all of those qualities.  And while it is a supremely effective killing machine when it needs to be, it takes no more than it needs and in fact is widely and positively depicted in popular culture as a creature that appears strong, but gentle at the same time.

Thus, it should perhaps come as no surprise that a law firm, whose very work requires that it confront a variety of contentious, ill-intended and often evil adversarial forces on a daily basis, and which has a responsibility to its clients to emerge a victor would select as the symbolic centerpiece to its identity the one creature that, were we to choose any such animal to defend us against others, would give us the best chance of survival.  The lion is Callagy Law, and Callagy Law is the lion.

What carries this identity from the realms of presumption and wishful thinking to a comparison far more legitimate is, of course, results, for if one doesn’t live it, one cannot profess to be it.  When prospective clients inquire as to whether and how the actual Callagy Law experience relates to their own hopes, needs, and expectations, as they are encouraged to do, those clients quickly learn that they have arrived at a place that has separated itself from the detached, self-important and self-serving caricature of law firms that has given rise to that unique body of contemporary comedy known collectively as “lawyer jokes.”  But the law firm of a lion takes no more than it needs.  It fears nothing.  It believes that all things are possible, for it has no reason to believe otherwise.  It is tenacious in its pursuits, chillingly effective in its mission, and fiercely loyal to those it protects.  In ancient tradition, lions were believed to sleep with their eyes open.  Egyptians saw them as representing the powerful heat from the sun.  They are the worst enemy one can make, and the strongest defender that one could hope for. Learn more about Callagy Law logo here, in Part II.

About Callagy Law’s Logo Part I #CallagyLaw, #Lion, #Logo, #SeanRCallagy