Ropes & Gray
Unified Brand System for an Elite Global Leader
Role: Global Creative Director
(Leading a creative team of 15 in New York, London, & Tokyo)
The Mission: To modernize a century-old heritage brand by bridging the gap between traditional legal excellence and modern digital engagement.
The Vision: Transforming intangible legal expertise into a tangible, high-impact visual brand system that scales across global markets and digital platforms.
Guided by user research, we re-architected the legacy platform to align navigation with business goals. I led the visual design, creating a modular component system that scaled to unify internal tools. This established a cohesive digital ecosystem that significantly increased engagement with practice areas and accelerated client conversion.
Applying the new modular component system, I led the UI/UX design for the internal billing dashboard. We replaced fragmented Excel processes with a streamlined digital workflow. This shift in usability increased billing completion from 55% to 87%, significantly accelerating global revenue flow and firm-wide operational efficiency.
I developed a unified system where structural verticality subtly echoes the firm’s tall logotype. This brought cohesion to diverse practice areas, ensuring bold, intuitive layouts reinforced the firm’s authority.
This cohesion is rooted in the system’s verticality, which intentionally mirrors the tall standing typeface of the firm's logo. By utilizing the proportions of the 'R' as a blueprint for the layout's grid, we created a visual shorthand for the brand’s equity. This ensures that even in the absence of a logo, the 'stature' of the Ropes & Gray identity is felt through the very rhythm and composition of the page.
To scale a firm delivering 2,800+ annual projects, I modernized operations by integrating a global visual toolkit into a new DAM and Adobe Workfront ecosystem. By standardizing guidelines, templates, and patterns, I built a 'create once, publish everywhere' engine that transformed single-day shoots into weeks of high-impact, multi-channel content.
We moved beyond the traditional "client memo" to adopt a multi-format video and podcast strategy that frames partners as accessible experts. To scale social impact, we established an AI-driven workflow that accelerated image production and aligned visual quality with performance metrics, maximizing organic reach through strategic attorney resharing.
To drive growth, we engineered a strategy to accelerate the client acquisition funnel through a multi-touch engagement journey. We leveraged the J.P. Morgan Dealmaking with AI & Big Data event as a catalyst, linking it to our IPO Summits in New York and Boston. This integrated approach, paired with targeted post-event follow-ups, yielded a 10% conversion rate of attendees into qualified leads.
We revitalized the employer brand to resonate with a new generation of legal talent, positioning the firm as an aspirational leader. By showcasing work at the intersection of AI and cancer research, we bridged technical expertise with societal purpose.
Brand Visual System | Marketing Activations | Content Marketing | Social Media | Email Comms | Integrated Campaigns | UI / UX design | Operational Systems
Situation
Ropes & Gray, an elite Big Law firm founded in 1864, faced the challenge of modernizing a decade-old brand to remain competitive in a digital-first global market. The firm needed to bridge the gap between its heritage of traditional legal excellence and the necessity for modern digital engagement, all while unifying fragmented workflows across offices in New York, London, and Tokyo.
Task
Ropes & Gray, an elite Big Law firm founded in 1864, faced the challenge of modernizing a decade-old brand to remain competitive in a digital-first global market. The firm needed to bridge the gap between its heritage of traditional legal excellence and the necessity for modern digital engagement, all while unifying fragmented workflows across offices in New York, London, and Tokyo.
Action
I developed a brand system rooted in "verticality," using the proportions of the firm’s logo as a structural blueprint for a unified layout grid that signaled authority and "stature." To modernize operations, I implemented Adobe Workfront and a DAM to manage high-volume global output and launched a "create once, publish everywhere" content engine. This system translated complex, "thorny" legal matters into accessible, multi-format assets, including "snack-size" masterclasses and video explainers. Finally, I led the UI/UX redesign of the internal billing dashboard, moving the firm from the "dark ages" of fragmented Excel sheets to a streamlined digital workflow through a structured design-systems approach.
Result
The modernization of Ropes & Gray’s brand and operations yielded measurable success across financial, digital, and cultural dimensions by shifting the firm into a modern "Emergent" visual code:
Financial Performance & Billing Efficiency: By redesigning the internal billing dashboard, we raised completion rates from 55% to 87%. This transformation significantly accelerated global revenue flow and provided the firm with real-time operational clarity.
High-Impact Client Acquisition: Our integrated strategy for flagship events like the J.P. Morgan and IPO Summits created a seamless engagement funnel. Paired with targeted post-event follow-ups, this approach yielded a 10% conversion rate of attendees into qualified leads.
Digital Authority & Thought Leadership: The transition to approachable, multi-format content led to the highest organic reach and engagement numbers in the firm’s history. We successfully grew the firm's share of voice in high-stakes areas like AI-privacy and Private Equity, framing partners as plain-spoken experts.
Operational Scale & Systemic Migration: I successfully transitioned the global workforce from manual, non-Mac servers to a centralized Adobe Workfront and DAM ecosystem, enabling the team to manage a high-production output of 2,800+ assets annually with zero loss in quality.
Cultural Alignment & Talent Attraction: The grid-based visual system gave partners a renewed sense of pride and brand "stature." By bridging technical expertise with societal purpose, showcasing work in AI and cancer research, we revitalized the employer brand, positioning the firm as a destination for the next generation of top-tier legal talent.