The trouble with a crisis is that, even with planning and a prior understanding of the potential issues that could cause you a whole world of trouble, whenever a problem unrolls, you can never fully foresee how things will pan out. To be clear though this isn’t your excuse to avoid planning for crisis situations, your cue to put away your disaster recovery plans or sack your IT support desk. No, it’s just your handy reminder that you simply can’t plan for every eventuality. The point of this blog isn’t to give you a cookie cutter template to build your own crisis plan (those blogs do exist elsewhere though, and they are worth taking a look at), nor is it a step-by-step guide to managing a crisis comms situation. Instead, it’s my thoughts around how I tend to approach the specifics of a crisis situation when the subject is a law firm. Much like a lawyer would give a disclaimer that a blog doesn’t constitute legal advice, I’m going do the same and suggest that this isn’t strategic PR advice, it’s simply a series of considerations and an approach that I consider to be best practice. Identify what is happening Such an obvious thing to say, but when a crisis unfolds, make sure you understand exactly what has happened and what is continuing to happen. Speak to the source or get as close as you can. Speak to several sources if you can and maintain the lines of communication. Be a conduit for information as well as a sponge. Find your crisis plan / crisis communication plan And then check that it still works for the current situation. Ideally the plan will outline many of the things I discuss here and later on such as target audiences, crisis roles and contact details, responsibilities, messaging and potential scenarios. Even if the plan feels outdated, there should still be practical information such as roles, contact details and media lists, so consider using it as a working document. Strip out the useless bits. Try to think about what could happen next If a situation is unfolding, try and identify what else could happen and what the potential outcomes could look like. Also remember though that you may need to act quickly to manage or contain a situation. Think about who you need to think about… or your target audiences Whenever a crisis arises, one my first steps is always to stop and think about the parties that are going to be affected by the unravelling situation. They may include staff, clients, referrers and influencers in the regional or immediate market. They may, however, also include those not immediately within our circle of influence or immediate awareness, such as the family members of staff. Journalists may also be important as may regulators, insurers or others with an interest or role in the law firm. Remember your internal and external comms are likely to be very different Another seemingly (to me at least) obvious point but a necessary one nonetheless. The reason for thinking about your audiences is to craft messages that are relevant and which do the trick. Once you’ve identified the audiences, plan which channels you need to use to engage them (and don’t forget about traditional routes such as face-to-face meeting or the phone), and work out what you need to say to them. Remember that it may be necessary to update them to ensure they have the most up to date information available at key points during the crisis. Understand how quickly (or otherwise) the crisis is moving Do you need to do anything? Or can you wait a little bit to see what happens next. Sometimes you can avoid jumping on a bomb by giving things a little time. I almost feel like I need to type the above sentence twice because it can honestly make the difference between a well-executed crisis response and a terrible one. Clearly, some crises are so urgent that you need to act without delay. Others burn more slowly, and in those cases, stopping to watch and think and plan can be the best course of action. Make a plan Depending on how quickly the crisis is developing, you may have time only to decide what exactly you are going to do in the next 30 minutes, along with who is going to do it and your immediate next steps. Zoom out… if you can. If you have a little more time, just stop and revisit the advice around what could happen next and your target audiences. Think about the reputational issues that are arising, and the potential knock-on effects of doing something now versus doing nothing or doing nothing right now but planning to do something later. Consider the bigger picture, such as the firm’s strategy (if it has one), positioning, clients and current reputation. Try to think strategically by working out the likely outcomes of each potential next step (including the doing nothing one). Try to place each potential next step into a mental framework of the ‘bigger picture’ as it will help you to make decisions that align with the firm’s strategy. Why is it important to zoom out? Because if you can still think strategically, even in the midst of a disaster, you can already start to think ahead as to how you can start to repair or enhance any reputational damage cause by the immediate crisis, once things have calmed down. If you can do this, and stay calm, your advice and actions are likely to have positive longer-term effects, and hopefully avoid you having to dig yourself and the firm out of a deeper hole in the future. If in doubt, bring an expert in. Because I’m a marketer, I obviously need to include a call to action. So here it is… if you ever find yourself facing a crisis situation and you need advice and support quickly, do get in touch. Alternatively, if you don’t have a
How to win a law firm award? LexRex MD and founder Victoria Moffatt’s top tips for winning legal awards Awards season is very much upon us and if you have ‘win an award’ on your to do list, but you’re not quite sure what to do next, read on for our top tips for bagging a gong. Only enter ethical and fairly-judged awards This is a bit of a crusade for me – I actively dislike awards that are either pay-to-play or that boil down to popularity contests. They give properly judged and considered awards a bad name and are, quite simply, a bad idea. If you genuinely think your work is good enough to be celebrated, do it the courtesy of entering it into a proper set of awards. Don’t fall in with a bad awards crowd – in my opinion, if you enter this type of award, you undermine the quality of what you do and put your reputation at risk. People are not daft and they can work out that this type of award is poor quality at best and a scam at worst. Research the categories and check out the previous winners. This is an obvious step but one that is often over-looked. It’s likely that you will be eligible for several different categories – firm-wide (Firm of the Year), team or specialism (Employment Team of the Year) or on a personal basis (Partner of the Year). But which are you most likely to be shortlisted for or win? The best way to try and gauge this is by looking at two things initially; the criteria for each submission and the previous winners. If the categories have previously been won by firms, teams or individuals that have some similarities with your practice, team or you individually (in terms of experience, profile and achievements – for example), then you may stand a good chance. However, if they are nothing like you and their achievements are greater than yours, perhaps consider a different category. Consider your achievements against those of other potential entrants. This is a bit tricky, but if you know that your competitors always submit AND they have had a particularly strong year – for example, high profile litigation, merger, very strong financials; then again just stop to consider how your own achievements measure up. Read and understand the requirements for each submission. This is an obvious one and it always feels a bit like I’m advising students to read the exam question. However, experience has taught me that it’s sensible to have this conversation early in the process. Ensure that you meet the requirements for the submission you are considering preparing, and that you can meet the deadline. Check in advance the format required for the submission – is it a written submission, do you need to complete an online form, is there a registration process and / or is there a cost for which you will need prior sign-off? Also consider additional steps you may need to take – does the submission requires onerous supporting information, a video or client testimonials? And are these things that you can easily supply, and if so, will they be of a good enough quality? “If you genuinely think your work is good enough to be celebrated, do it the courtesy of entering it into a proper set of awards. Don’t fall in with a bad awards crowd.” Mark up the criteria and ensure you meet 80% of them. Another simple piece of advice and again one that feels a little bit like exam advice. In addition to checking that the entrant meets most of the criteria, I go a step further and print them, then handwrite in bullets the key supporting information I want to include for each criterion heading. Doing this helps to focus the mind on the previous year’s successes, but also helps to ensure that judges can literally tick the answers off against their criteria list. Stick to the word count. Again, this sounds likely noddy advice, but experience shows that it’s still good advice. Word counts are typically limited to 750 – 1000 per submission, so don’t waste your words. Ensure that anything you mention is relevant to the criteria and nothing else. A strong submission is a clear and focussed one. Provide what you’re asked to provide. Submission calls for testimonials? Include them. A video? Record one. ‘Up to 3 pages of supporting evidence’, for example, can be more tricky – but again refer back to the individual criteria and ask yourself what evidence you can provide to meet these whilst also tying in with what you’ve written. Treat a shortlisting like a win. Being shortlisted is a huge achievement, and we always advise clients to celebrate as though they have won. This goes for any PR activity as well – don’t waste the opportunity to shout about being shortlisted, because if you don’t win – that chance can never be recouped. Further, a shortlisting is a win, and by that point, you’ve done absolutely everything you can. So you may as well bask in the glory. And if you do win, shout even more loudly! What do we mean by ‘shouting loudly’? Get your socials in order – great imagery, quotes from judges if any are available, video content. These are just a few examples of content you could create. You can also tag your fellow shortlisted firms / teams / individuals / the organisers in order to start to generate likes, comments and shares. Blog and newsletter content – share the good news internally and externally. Email signatures – use the official logos (review the usage policy first to see what you’re permitted to do) Consider whether you can use the result in signage – perhaps as decals in a prominent window or door. Celebrate internally – print and display posters or create something a bit daft in celebration, or even something as simple as celebratory cakes. Whatever
Courtesy of Barclays, on Thursday 19th January in Manchester and Wednesday 22nd February in Liverpool, I’ll be speaking to lawyers about why I think strong and effective PR can support the HR function in its role, specifically when it comes to recruitment and retention. These events run monthly, each time with a different specialist in the legal sector. They are great – so drop me a line if you’d like to know more. Having been an employment lawyer in a previous life, I’m comfortable in my knowledge of the needs, requirements, likes and dislikes of a typical HR manager. LexisNexis’ 2022 Bellwether Report found that the top challenge for small law firms last year was attracting and retaining good lawyers. With the rise of the consultancy model and freelance lawyers, there is a definite challenge for law firms who want to attract and retain talent at the career point between associate and partner. For individuals who can drive their own business, there’s a clear opportunity to make more money and avoid having to invest in a model with potentially limited opportunities, the requirement to share profits with poorly performing partners and the potential to end up in business with people you dislike. But for now – back to PR. I know when I looked for lawyer jobs (a long time ago admittedly), one of the first things I’d do if I spotted a role I thought I might apply for was Google the firm and see what came up. This search would sometimes point me to a website, but just as often to press coverage – typically ‘good news’ announcements about new starters, new offices and CSR initiatives. I would sometimes see lawyers speaking in the press or on the news about their areas of expertise. At that time lawyers didn’t really use LinkedIn, so I definitely didn’t tend to go there. Twitter existed but again there weren’t that many lawyers on there (and I knew them all anyway). Facebook was a definite ‘no-no’. Times have changed. What hasn’t though is candidates continuing to use Search to carry out desk research on firms. In addition to Google, they look at the firm’s social media channels and those of their potential colleagues and managers. They almost certainly also check out places like Roll on Friday and GlassDoor to see what current and former employees have to say and whether there have been any cringeworthy stories (we’ve all seen them). A more detailed search might take them into Chambers and Partners and Legal 500 territory, along with other kitemarks such as the Investor in People scheme and The Times Best Law Firms. As a more junior lawyer I was drawn to the individuals and firms that had the media coverage, the kitemarks and other indicators of quality and success. My feeling was that I wanted to be in a firm that was proud of its achievements and which employed real experts who were trusted – by the media and recognised as industry experts. Already you can see how having a good profile in the media, in legal directories and online could help your firm to attract new talent. If nothing else consider this – if a potential employee can’t find you online or isn’t impressed by what they see, what does this mean for potential clients doing the same research? Be truthful and mislead at your peril Before I continue, I need to include a disclaimer here: your PR and culture must be aligned and you must tell the truth. Repeat: your PR activity and culture must be aligned and you must tell the truth. Why? If you decide to start pushing out positive news stories that don’t align with either the client experience or the experience of your team, or yet worse you don’t tell the truth; you will create problems for now and the longer term. Why? To be successful, PR activity has to both reflect the truth and be truthful. What I mean by this is that it must both reflect reality, i.e. the situation on the ground and it must go no further than the truth. The above might sound strange coming from a ‘spin doctor’ (please don’t ever call me a spin doctor, it’s almost as bad as ‘PR girl’) but in actual fact, there’s a lot of common sense to be applied when it comes to good PR practice. It can be easy to think that PR is all about fluff and inflating the truth or spinning yarns but actually it’s not. Ethical PR and the type of work that we do (I’m chartered by the CIPR) is, yes, about influencing and encouraging people to, for example, join your firm or instruct you, but it can and should only emphasise or reflect the truth. If it lies or seeks to distort or inflate, then you start to stray into unethical practice. Everybody should avoid unethical practice, and law firms must be particularly careful to deal properly, fairly, ethically and truthfully in the messaging it uses to promote itself. In essence then, PR must reflect reality. If it doesn’t, and people find out that the truth is something else entirely, you do two things. The first is that you make the person who believed your spin feel stupid. Nobody ever likes or wants to feel stupid, it is a truly horrible feeling. Accordingly, whoever has discovered your cover up will hate you for creating these feelings for them and will almost certainly go out of their way to tell everybody how terrible you are. Imagine this person is an employee, or worse a former employee, and you can imagine the damage being done to your firm’s brand. Secondly you lose trust. Trust is so important for all businesses, but particularly law firms – you are trusted by people to handle divorce and other relationship challenges, you administer estates and draft wills. You manage redundances for people who own businesses, and settlement agreements for those being relieved
