I don’t often write legal PR content aimed at high street firms, as until recently, our focus has been boutiques.
However, things have changed and we’re now pleased to be working with those behemoths of the British legal market, and accordingly, I’d like to share some of my expertise in these PR tips.
1. Access to the boss
Decisions in PR need to be made quickly, and without fear of come-back. So be available when necessary, and be happy to provide sign-off for quotes, bylined articles and award entries. If your PR partner is constantly banging on your door (physically or metaphorically), that’s a good sign. It means we’re busy delivering against your requirements.
2. Knowledge about the firm
Your PR partner needs the down and dirty on the business. If they don’t know about the skeleton in the third floor stationery room, this could cause trouble for you in the future. Ensure you trust your PR fully and that they are fully briefed on anything that could cause issues for the firm or any of its staff in the media. Tell them about financial problems, redundancy, harassment claims or any disastrous ongoing matters. They can’t protect you from negative news if they don’t have the full picture. Also, rest assured; this information is in very safe hands – we are the keepers of bad news.
3. Ability to speak freely
Your PR partner may occasionally be the bearer of negative news, but let them be honest with you. Don’t be the shouty managing partner who thinks nothing of bullying staff or contractors. Be professional and trust our expertise – you’ll get much better results.
4. An understanding of what you are trying to achieve
Ensure your firm has a business plan, along with some key deliverables, and know what ‘success’, and indeed failure look like. Then tell us about it! We can then create a strategy to dovetail with yours, and ensure that what we deliver supports your business goals. Bringing somebody in to ‘do’ PR without any plan is unlikely to make much of a difference to your bottom line (or indeed any other business aim if not profit-related).
5. Autonomy and respect
We won’t come in and tell your staff what to do. Of course not – they are experts in their roles. However, quid pro quo and all that… don’t demand a press release for a new website, and don’t tell us that a case you won 6 months ago is a great news story. We understand the media inside out. We also know what makes a great angle, and what will ensure an editor blocks our email address before you can say ‘I have a great story for you’.
So these are our 5 great PR tips for high street law firms. We hope you enjoyed them and please do leave a comment with your thoughts. You can find our more about how we work and our services here.
We are now providing online PR training for law firms and will shortly launch our first *free* course. If you’d like to sign up or know more about our PR courses, drop us a line info@lexrexcommunications.com
By Victoria Moffatt
LexRex Communications is a specialist consultancy providing strategic PR and marketing support to boutique law firms.
We help lawyers stand out from the crowd.
If you would like to know more about our services, please drop us an email on info@lexrexcommunications.com. You can also tweet us LexRexComms or @vicmoffatt. You can also connect with Victoria on LinkedIn.