Five minutes with James Withey and Joel Biswas

Transform sits down with James Withey, global executive strategy director at Landor, and Joel Biswas, global head of brand at law firm A&O Shearman. The pair discuss their rebranding project, which scooped up two Gold and two Bronze trophies at the Transform Awards Europe 2026.

What was the internal response at A&O Shearman to the new brand by Landor?

Joel: It's been nearly two years since we launched, and I would say the response was overwhelmingly positive. Because the rebrand coming about as a result of a merger, it was quite a profound break with the past for both firms, which was applauded and created a good deal of excitement and speculation. There was certainly an element of ‘shock of the new,’ and there was understandably also an element of people being sad to lose the previous brand identities, which I think was linked to the change of the name above the door – but retaining the heritage and equity of our two legacy firms was an essential part of the approach.

In terms of laying down a marker for the ambition of the new firm post-merger, the rebrand was overwhelmingly recognised as a success. In particular, the marketplace and partnership felt it successfully balanced heritage while appearing more innovative and forward-leaning. So, the identity was very well realised by Landor and that was very much recognised.

 

And how was the redesign recognised within the wider legal sector?

Joel: The legal press doesn't typically view firms through a brand marketing lens; instead, they view it in terms of the movement of partners and big deals, and how the industry or a given firm is changing structurally. Essentially, the merger was the biggest transatlantic tie-up in two decades – it was a huge deal – so the speculation and the noteworthiness of our activity began with our announcement – and this spoke for itself in terms of marketing. We monopolised that news cycle for a good eighteen months.

What was the biggest challenge Landor had to overcome in successfully creating a new brand for this law firm?

James: What’s interesting about the legal sector from a brand point of view is there are a few really significant global players, of which A&O Shearman is one. Then there are a whole set of mid-tier players, followed by lots of market-specific law firm brands that specialise in particular types of law. This means it's an incredibly competitive marketplace where differentiation is difficult. So, the biggest challenge in general, when building a proposition for a law firm, is finding something that is differentiating and authentic to that firm.

But with A&O Shearman, we were very fortunate when we started working with them, because actually they have a number of things that genuinely make them different. Part of it is the global platform and the depth they offer in different jurisdictions and different types of law. Another part is their culture; they have a very distinctive culture that’s collegiate and collaborative across different offices and different practices. They also have an incredibly strong track record in innovation and technology, really pushing the boundaries of AI.

When you put those things together, you have clear differentiators, which allowed us to overcome the challenge.

What's on the cards next for A&O Shearman post-rebrand?

Joel: There are lots of things on the cards. We are now two years post-merger, and so a lot of what we're doing is moving from a statement of intent, which is what a rebrand is, to creating a new kind of global challenger that is hugely influential in the category and rewrites client expectations. We're now trying to realise that vision.

That means, at an organisation as big as ours, implementing that at every level from operational and resource synergies to our use of technology to the way we collaborate. We're very much in the focused on delivering that promise for clients globally and making that strategy absolutely real with the visibility and relevance that the new identity has given us.

What would you say to someone considering working with Landor?

James: At Landor, our core belief is that brand and business are intrinsically linked: brand is a driver of business value. So, when you are looking at a business like A&O Shearman, which emerged for a very specific set of business goals, it has a clear way of thinking about its business and measuring its success. What's really critical is to understand the role that brand can and should play in achieving those business goals, and to identify the right brand positioning to unlock business value.

That's what we aim to bring to every engagement. How that plays out varies significantly according to what the business goals are and how the business is organised. But with A&O Shearman, the clarity of its business objectives and the clarity around its business structure made it easier to identity the right strategic route for brand.