Be More Than A
Great Law Firm In Your Community. Be A Good
Neighbor, Too.

People want to do business with people they like, but they also want to feel good about doing business with people who do good. And that provides an opportunity for law firms to differentiate themselves in the legal marketplace.

Let’s face it. Lawyers get a bad rap, and that undeserved reputation can often be hard to dispel. By being a good corporate citizen, actively supporting charities, and promoting volunteerism among attorneys and staff, law firms can enhance their brands and alter public perception.

The Time is Now

In 2019, the Business Roundtable – comprised of nearly 200 CEOs from many of the country’s best-known companies – revised its longstanding statement of corporate purpose. Besides delivering value to customers and clients, the group redefined the fundamental corporate purpose to include a responsibility to the communities in which they work, essentially making those communities stakeholders in their businesses. The change in the Roundtable’s statement reflects a larger movement, one that encourages outreach, stewardship, and kindness.

For lawyers, standing out from the competition requires more than touting accomplishments or demonstrating practical expertise. Increasingly, buyers of legal services – individuals and institutions – are retaining law firms whose attorneys will not only solve their problems but also show a commitment to social, environmental, and economic issues.

What Does Corporate Social Responsibility Marketing Look Like?

Law firm community engagement can take many forms beyond handling pro bono cases, such as:

• Creative charitable giving and donor-matching campaigns
• Food drive competitions between a firm’s offices or practice groups
• Firmwide, all-hands volunteering at fundraisers, neighborhood projects, rallies, and charitable or community activities
• Attorney participation on non-profit boards
• Outward commitment to diversity and inclusion programs
• Funding of college, law school, summer camp, and other scholarships
• Promotion of access to justice initiatives
• Activism and advocacy for causes close to the firm and its people
• Sponsorship of clients’ charities and causes
• Hosting school groups onsite for “law day” events

By sharing stories about your firm’s efforts to foster human connections and affect positive change, you communicate that the causes and issues you support are reflections of your business. 

Whether you want to explore corporate social responsibility opportunities, deepen existing community engagement activities, or publicly share your good works, Rain BDM can help. Using a variety of marketing and public relations platforms, we will work with you to create strategic messaging to communicate your firm’s social responsibility commitments and spotlight the passionate people in your organization who give their time and talents.

"Show Cause"

We value our outstanding people, and as a way to honor them and the charities close to their hearts, we created “Show Cause” – Rain BDM’s community engagement program.

Our team members are scattered across the country. As a meaningful way to support their local causes, we pledge money throughout the year for each person to use as they see fit. Some of the worthy causes we back include:

• Mobility and guide-dog training for the visually impaired
• Home delivery of meals to the elderly
• Breast cancer awareness
• A domestic violence shelter
• Mental health services
• Childhood retinal disease research
• Animal rescue and rehabilitation

What’s good for the soul is good for us and our business. If we can demonstrate the importance of corporate social responsibility to our law firm clients, it’s a win-win-win-win proposition.