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Schillings was founded as a law firm in 1984. It became famous for its legal successes in protecting the reputations and privacy of high-profile people. It is often characterised by the media as the aggressive go-to law firm for celebrities and the rich when they’re under pressure.
The truth is more interesting. Schillings hasn’t just been a law firm for years. Over a decade ago it secured an alternative business licence. This enabled it to become a multidisciplinary organisation with partners who are not lawyers, while remaining regulated as a law firm.
Why the change? Schillings read the runes. The idea of using the law alone – or any other tool in isolation – to protect someone’s reputation, privacy and security looked increasingly outdated. The internet, globalisation of information and more scrutiny with less deference were changing the environment in which these assets – reputation, privacy and security – could thrive or be destroyed.
So the idea of using a multidisciplinary approach was born, Schillings built its own intelligence and investigations unit; then bought a cyber security business that has grown into a full spectrum critical risks consultancy. This year the firm launched its own communications agency, Schillings Communications. Global partnerships and plans to launch new capabilities will further strengthen Schillings’ position as the only one-stop shop in the world for protecting reputation, privacy and security. If a client has an issue, they can employ one company to deal with it, rather than three or four. Way more effective, more nuanced and better value.
In its 40th year, Schillings now consolidates that unique development with a new brand. The firm appreciates that the skills that go into dealing with threats can be deployed to create opportunities: responsive services provided as part of a client’s business as usual, not only in crises.
Increasingly, that clientele recognises the value of avoiding problems in the first place, contingency planning and getting ahead of the risks. What Schillings is good at goes beyond reputation, privacy and security to any high stakes situation of pivotal or even existential importance. The firm will help its clients handle these high stakes, to minimise the threats and maximise the opportunities, using a unique blend of multidisciplinary capabilities. That is the offer that underpins the visual branding you see before you.
