“Build that credibility and trust”: How Brandsmiths uses Chambers for market positioning, strategy and growth

Matt Gale shares how Brandsmiths leverages Chambers recognition and market intelligence to strengthen positioning and support the firm's growth ambitions.

A firm built for brands

Matt Gale, Chief Marketing Officer at specialist intellectual property law firm Brandsmiths, describes the firm as “built for brands”. The firm’s key focus is on helping clients protect, manage and commercialise their most valuable assets – their intellectual property.

Brandsmiths works with a wide range of clients, from global brands to fast-growth businesses and individuals, united by one common thread: the central importance of brand value to their success.

Responding to changing client expectations

The role of the modern law firm is evolving rapidly, driven by shifting client expectations and broader changes in the legal landscape. According to Matt, in-house legal teams are under increasing pressure, balancing growth targets, tighter budgets, risk management and the impact of AI.

As a result, clients are looking for something different from their external counsel. They expect more responsive advice, clearer and more relevant guidance, and decisive recommendations they can act on with confidence.

Brandsmiths has adapted its model to meet these changing demands. The firm brought in a former general counsel to provide first-hand insight into the challenges faced by clients, enabling the team to deliver advice that is aligned to commercial realities. This is a key differentiator in an increasingly competitive market.

Chambers as a strategic benchmark

Brandsmiths views Chambers as a strategic benchmark for performance and positioning. Its recognition across both the UK and Global guides provides the firm with an independent and impartial assessment of its capabilities, a clear measure of progress over time and a validation of its expertise within the market.

Engagement with Chambers enables Brandsmiths to demonstrate its expertise to prospective clients with immediate impact, which is particularly important when building new relationships. In the same way consumers rely on independent reviews, clients turn to Chambers as a reliable source of insight when selecting legal advisers. As Matt notes, it serves as an objective point of reference, helping clients feel confident they are making the right choice.

“Rankings are an objective, impartial and fair representation of what we bring to the market, which helps to build that credibility and trust really quite quickly with clients.”

Matt Gale, CMO, Brandsmiths

The rankings process also provides a valuable year-on-year view of performance, allowing the firm to measure whether it is maintaining, strengthening or advancing its market position.

Maximising visibility through Profile Platform

Brandsmiths has taken a proactive approach to maximising its presence on Chambers through its profiles. For Matt, profiles on Chambers.com function as an extension of the firm’s own website. Beyond simply being listed, the firm uses its profiles to showcase expertise in depth and highlight independent client feedback.

Client quotes generated through Chambers play a central role in the firm’s market positioning strategy. Brandsmiths leverages testimonials across a wide range of touchpoints, including client pitches, website content, social media, and direct client communications. As they are objective, third-party endorsements, these quotes carry far greater weight than self-promotional messaging, helping to build trust for prospective clients.

Turning insight into action

Beyond rankings and profiles, Brandsmiths has found significant value in Chambers’ Client and Market Intelligence reports.

With a clear ambition to become the number one IP law firm, the firm views Chambers as a key platform in establishing itself as a credible and authoritative presence in the market. The Insight reports play an important role in this journey, helping Brandsmiths identify and address gaps highlighted in previous submissions.

Crucially, the value of these insights extends far beyond the submissions process. Brandsmiths uses the intelligence to inform its broader strategy throughout the year. The reports help the firm pinpoint where it needs to improve, where credibility must be strengthened, and how it is perceived in the market. In turn, this enables more focused prioritisation across marketing and business development, ensuring effort is directed towards the areas that will have the greatest impact.