A Dragon-Sized Lesson in Legal Marketing
Law firms face a real challenge trying to stand out in a crowded and competitive market. Marketing doesn’t have to be flashy or expensive, but it should be thoughtful. Bold ideas are welcome—but they should be grounded in strategy, not fantasy.
Take Jacob A. Perrone, the Michigan-based attorney behind DragonLawyersPC.com. Perrone is internet-famous at the moment thanks to his branding, which centers on a purple cartoon dragon in a business suit. He’s aggressive and “people like dragons,” he explained to The New York Times, adding that his inspiration came from the “Game of Thrones” era.
Lawyers often position themselves as bulldogs or sharks—so why not a dragon? But for Perrone, it was more than an immature logo and website URL. He ran with it and did things like watermarking every page of court filings with his suited dragon avatar. Judge Ray Kent rejected a recent filing, calling the watermarked pages “distracting, juvenile and impertinent,” adding, “The Court is not a cartoon.”
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Here’s how Above the Law jumped into its story: “Good lawyers leave their mark on legal communities. Dragon Lawyers get asked to stop leaving their mark on each damned page of the complaint.” And the snark continued from there with readers gleefully piling on.
But Dragon Lawyer’s branding blunders run deeper.
A visit to DragonLawyersPC.com reveals a website that appears to be built on an old and clunky e-commerce platform. It offers little useful information and a frustrating user experience. Key navigation elements don’t work, including a vertical “lawyers” button that leads nowhere. Meanwhile, the links at the bottom of the site are dead ends, and the firm’s logo is too small. And the contact email? A Yahoo.com email address.
There’s a lot to learn from Perrone and Dragon Lawyers.
Creativity in legal marketing is welcome. It’s great to show some personality, but context and execution matter. Branding is more than a boastful logo; it’s the entire user experience, from the look and feel of your website to how easy it is for clients to contact you.
Digital first impressions are lasting. Amateur design choices and nonfunctional websites send a loud message that you’re not serious or ready for business. Potential clients may never call simply because they couldn’t find the information they needed.
And little things like email matter. If your professional address ends in yahoo.com, it’s time for an upgrade.
Robert has decades of PR and marketing know-how. From big firms to startups, he dives deep into each client’s business to craft authentic stories. When he's not helping clients, you might find him cursing while renovating a vintage Airstream.
He can be reached at robert.tharp@muselegalpr.com or
214-458-4007.