Marketing and Branding a Law Firm: The Indian Perspective

Lawyers in India must grapple with regulations that greatly restrict their ability to market their services. Accordingly, business development in India must rely on longstanding marketing and branding principles that also apply equally well to non-Indian lawyers.

To appreciate the challenges facing law firm marketers in India today, consider the following March 2010 directive from Ved Prakash Sharma, a member and former chair of the Delhi Bar Council, on the subject of law firm websites.

“If the intention is to attract more and more work and use it for commercial pur- poses or professional enhancement, it is not permitted. Law firms carrying public- ity material on their websites is not permitted. Regulation only allows them to mention if they are involved in civil, criminal or corporate or some other area.”