Kean Miller LLP
Repositioning a Regional Powerhouse With National Energy Authority
Overview
Kean Miller LLP is one of the Gulf South’s largest law firms, with more than 225 attorneys across eight offices in Louisiana and Texas. While not national by footprint, the firm has earned national credibility in energy, petrochemical, and industrial matters—advising clients at a level that routinely competes with much larger firms.
Over time, however, Kean Miller’s brand and digital presence no longer reflected the sophistication, scale, or competitive arena in which the firm was operating. The firm had evolved. Its positioning had not.
The Strategic Challenge
Kean Miller faced a familiar but complex tension. Internally, the firm knew it delivered work on par with global competitors—particularly in energy. Externally, its brand is still read as regional and mid-market.
Legacy branding and a dated website failed to project the authority, polish, and confidence increasingly expected by energy clients, lateral candidates, and referral partners. At the same time, the firm needed to resolve a long-standing question of emphasis: how to foreground its defining strength in energy without narrowing its identity or losing the culture that distinguishes it.
The challenge was not reinvention for its own sake, but alignment—closing the gap between how the firm actually operates and how it is perceived.
Our Approach
ICVM Hawk began with a comprehensive brand study, engaging firm leadership, practice heads, staff, and—most importantly—clients. What emerged was a consistent and differentiated picture.
Clients described Kean Miller as technically elite yet unusually approachable: rigorous, practical, and deeply invested in long-term relationships. They valued not only the outcomes, but the way the work is delivered—collaborative, direct, and grounded in shared values.
From these insights, we developed a clear positioning and messaging framework that articulated the firm’s purpose, voice, and competitive distinction. That clarity made one conclusion unavoidable: the existing visual identity no longer reflected who Kean Miller had become. Mid-engagement, the firm expanded the scope to include a full identity reinvention.
Identity Reinvention
Working in close partnership with firm leadership, ICVM Hawk developed a new visual identity system designed to project authority without pretense. The system included:
- A modernized logo and avatar system
- New typography and hierarchy
- A refined color palette and graphic language
- A comprehensive style guide for consistent application across all touchpoints
Every design decision was grounded in research, ensuring the identity felt earned, authentic, and aligned with the firm’s culture. The rollout extended across offices, signage, stationery, collateral, and digital channels—giving Kean Miller a visual language commensurate with its ambition and caliber.
Website Transformation
With the new brand established, we rebuilt the firm’s website on ICVM Hawk’s LawCore platform—a highly customized WordPress-based system purpose-built for sophisticated law firms.
The site combines high-end design with enterprise-level functionality, including:
- Relational content connecting attorneys, practices, matters, and insights
- Strong internal search and intuitive discoverability
- SEO- and AI-optimized site architecture
- Full compliance with accessibility and privacy best practices
The result is a digital platform that functions simultaneously as a publishing engine, client resource, recruitment tool, and brand expression—executed with clarity, precision, and visual impact.
Post-Launch Optimization
Following launch, ICVM Hawk continued to strengthen the firm’s digital foundation. We refined content to improve search performance, while also restructuring key pages to align with AI-driven tools such as ChatGPT and Gemini surface information.
In parallel, we established a content governance framework to guide ongoing updates, ensuring consistency, relevance, and long-term durability. These efforts position Kean Miller not only for today’s search environment, but for the rapidly evolving landscape of AI-powered discovery.
Results
Kean Miller now enters the market with a sharpened identity and a level of digital authority that matches its real-world standing. The new brand and website do more than modernize appearances—they reposition the firm as a true peer to national and global competitors.
The identity confidently signals the firm’s leadership in energy while preserving the breadth of its full-service practice. Just as importantly, it brings forward the values-driven, people-first culture that clients consistently cite as a differentiator.
The result is a durable, future-ready platform—one that supports growth, recruitment, and visibility, and ensures Kean Miller competes at the level it has long earned.
