How Legal PR Pros Can Help Lawyers with Media

If you are a busy lawyer swamped with the demands of a heavy caseload, it’s understandable why a call from the media might be the last thing you want to address. It makes sense to be wary of reporters, but it is also important to understand how media coverage can help.

Getting your client’s side of the story out first in the way you want their story told can be a huge advantage instead of having to respond to someone else’s version of the facts. However, many law firms are simply too busy or don’t know how to get this done.

Legal PR and crisis communications experts like those at Red Banyan can help.

Legal PR professionals who specialize in crisis communications have the skills and expertise to help a law firm shape the narrative, so it is most beneficial to their client. Red Banyan’s crisis PR and legal PR consultants also have the experience to handle a law firm’s media outreach and handle media inquiries.

7 Reasons Why Law Firms Should Consider Hiring Legal PR Professionals:

• A skilled legal PR expert can work successfully with the media without ever jeopardizing the outcome of a law firm’s case. Legal PR professionals work in lockstep with counsel and never do anything that could harm the outcome of a case. Because they work in collaboration with counsel, they know what to say and what not to say.
• Legal PR experts can serve as intermediaries between lawyers and the press to make misinformation does not proliferate. Not all information that is out in the public arena is accurate. Legal PR pros like the ones at Red Banyan will make sure all facts are correct and refuse falsehoods, so they do not become part of narrative.
• Experienced legal public relations and crisis communications experts have established media relationships and can help facilitate news coverage. Red Banyan’s seasoned team of legal PR professionals know reporters think and have existing media contacts they can call upon because many of them are former journalists.
• Legal PR firms comprised of former journalists have a personal understanding of media outreach. Knowing how reporters think and how they view stories can be key to obtaining or avoiding coverage. The legal PR and crisis communications experts are media savvy because many of them hail from the media. All have spent years developing media contacts and are considered reliable sources who know the value of news.
• A strategic communications firm can handle media relations for a law firm so the legal team can focus on casework. Finding time to answer a barrage of media calls can be off-putting for lawyers who are busy preparing a case for court. But ignoring those calls is not a good solution either. A legal PR firm with media relations experience like Red Banyan can handle all media outreach for a busy law firm so counsel can focus on client work.
• Legal PR experts know when to contact the media and when to avoid the media. Let’s face it, all press is not good press and the legal PR professionals at Red Banyan know when news coverage is helpful and when it is not. Red Banyan’s team of PR professionals never ignore the media but know when extended commentary will help in the court of public opinion and when it will hurt, something busy lawyers are not always aware of.
• Collaboration is the key to a successful relationship between law firms and strategic communications experts. Experienced legal PR professionals understand that every action they take must first be approved by counsel to make sure nothing is said that could harm the legal strategy.
• Legal PR firms like Red Banyan work in lockstep with law firms to help lawyers share necessary information with the media when it benefits a client. Red Banyan’s team of legal PR and crisis communications experts know that cases play out both in the courtroom and the court of public opinion. Strategic communications experts have the skills and background to shine a light on relevant narratives that may get overlooked or lost in the shuffle, so the client gets the benefit of the doubt.

Need a legal PR professional? Contact Red Banyan to find out what our legal PR professionals can do for your law firm and clients.

Frequently Asked Questions:

• Why is PR important to law firms?

Legal PR can help facilitate an unbiased viewpoint from trusted media sources. To help law firms, talented PR experts have the expertise to develop key messaging for a law firm and strategize the best communications channels.

• What is the difference between a PR professional’s responsibility and a lawyer’s responsibility?

Lawyers advise clients on what they must do, within the letter of legal requirements, to defend themselves in a court of law. Legal PR experts help clients defend themselves in the court of public opinion.

• What is the primary objective of legal PR?

The main objective of public relations is to maintain a client’s positive reputation as well as establish a strategic relationship with the public and other stakeholders.