It is the second of the four steps behind our services for law firms. Think of it less as a tone memo and more as a build sheet: detailed enough that a paralegal, a contract writer or an associate working from it turns out copy the attorney would recognize as their own.
Where tone memos fall short
Firm style memos tend to list aspirations: trustworthy, warm, authoritative. Give that memo to three different writers and three different firms come back, and probably none of them sounds like the partner who takes the consultations.
A Voice DNA profile records behavior instead. It might note that your attorney says "the judge" where other firms write "the tribunal," or that they cover fees before procedure when a caller is anxious. Readers recognize habits like those. Template legal copy has none.
Six of the 21 dimensions
Each dimension is scored against a generic baseline, which separates what is distinctive about your attorney from what any lawyer in the practice area would write. A sample:
- Word choicethe terms your attorney reaches for, and the ones they avoid.
- Rhythmhow long the sentences run, how much they vary, and where a short one lands for effect.
- Explanation stylethe comparisons your attorney returns to when walking a client through probate, discovery or a hearing.
- Objectionsthe reply given when a prospect questions the fee, the timeline, or whether they need a lawyer.
- Openings and closingshow a first message to a stranger begins, and how it wraps up with no pressure.
- Pace with anxious clientswhere the attorney slows down for a person facing a frightening decision.
Each pattern comes with a count and the passages behind it, so the profile reports frequency rather than mere presence.
Inputs and deliverables
We start from material your firm has already made public, such as practice pages, articles and newsletters, and add a written questionnaire your attorney answers in their own words. Published writing carries more weight than self-description, so the more of it you share, the more the profile reflects real habits.
Your firm receives and keeps three documents:
- The full profileall 21 dimensions, each with the evidence that supports it.
- A one-page quick referencehabits to follow, habits to skip, and signature phrases, for whoever is drafting this week.
- The metrics ledgerthe raw counts behind every finding, so your team can audit our conclusions.
The documents stay valid after an engagement ends and survive staff turnover. For a short version, read what a voice profile for attorneys is.
A profile per lawyer, or one for the firm
At many small practices the attorney is the brand; clients book a consultation with a person. There we build the profile around how that lawyer talks a new client through their matter. Larger firms often prefer a single house voice, assembled from their best approved work and the people who wrote it.
Partners in different practice groups seldom sound alike. A divorce lawyer who reassures and a trial lawyer who speaks bluntly have separate voices, and one blended profile serves neither. Each profile captures one voice; a firm that wants several is quoted for that work on its own.
A borrowed voice never shifts responsibility. ABA Model Rule 7.2(d) calls for advertising under that rule to identify at least one lawyer or firm answerable for what it says, with contact details. A page drafted in a partner's voice still names who stands behind it, and that attorney approves it before publication.
The profile by itself
Bought on its own, Voice DNA costs $2,500, paid once. Firms that already employ writers or use an outside agency buy it for the spec alone. One run covers a single attorney or a single firm voice, drawing on an agreed set of your published material and the questionnaire, and includes two revision rounds. Begin a full engagement within 90 days and we credit that fee toward it. Every starting price is on our pricing page.
A standalone profile does not include market exclusivity. You own it outright and can run your own content from it, and we remain free to take on a competing firm in your area.
Common questions
Can our staff work from it without Smart Chimp?
Yes. The profile is a document your firm owns, written for any drafter to follow, whether that is your marketing coordinator or the writer on a Content Intelligence plan.
How is it different from our style manual?
A style manual settles mechanics: citation format, capitalization, how the firm name appears. The profile documents how your attorney reasons and explains on the page. Most firms keep both.
What happens when our voice shifts?
Voices drift over time as partners join or the firm adds a practice group. We update the existing profile instead of starting over, and the ledger shows which counts moved.
Can we test the approach before paying?
Use the free page rewrite: send one page and we email back a rewritten version, with an optional call. If you continue, the profile drives our law firm content work, and our GEO guide explains why distinctive passages matter to AI assistants.
Keep reading
Sources
- American Bar Association, Model Rules of Professional Conduct, Rule 7.2(d), Advertising (linked above)