An interesting question that I’ve been posing myself over the past few days, how would I manage the Dominic Cummings issue if I advised government? Before I start down that route – some housekeeping, as it were. Firstly I’d like to congratulate the UK media on their coverage and investigations into this issue. I think the press has broadly come down on the right side here. There will be some who disagree over the issue of ‘trial by media’ however others no doubt feel that invasive questioning of Mr Cummings – an individual who appears to have huge power in government, but limited culpability – is entirely appropriate. Secondly I feel duty bound to share my political leanings. Although I will try to be neutral as ever, it’s true that I didn’t vote Conservative at the last election and my views, while pro-business, tend to lean slightly to the left of the centre. So, what would I do about the ‘Dominic situation’? The first step I would take as an advisor to government on the current issue would be to try to look at both the short and long-term risks arising out of the issue. Strategically, it is important to try to look beyond what is happening right now and to seek to understand the outcomes of both action and inaction. Action for Boris looks like sacking Mr Cummings, inaction like trying to front it out. The lightening rod issue We all know the details and the rebuttals put forward now by both Mr Cummings and the Prime Minister, so I won’t repeat them here. The standout or lightening rod issue here is the feeling by many people – including some in government and others in leadership roles – that Mr Cummings either interpreted the rules generously in his and his families’ favour or simply ignored them because he could; when others chose not to do the same, or were prevented from doing so by the government advised by Mr Cummings at the highest level. This feels, on a very basic level, unfair. And this is making people angry. Mr Cummings’ reasoning for his actions was that he was taking steps to protect his family. Protecting one’s family is, of course, hugely important. However – and I believe this is what sticks in the craw – the vast majority of the public has made sacrifices in which they actively chose not to put themselves and families ahead of what the government, of which Mr Cummings is an unelected part of, told them to do or not do. Often the sacrifices made were forced upon those making them – the lonely deaths, the funerals missed, the suicides that perhaps feel avoidable. Poorly family members alone without the comfort of loved ones, the elderly forced to self-isolate for almost three months now, entire families locked into apartments with no outside space, ability to exercise and perhaps even without access to sunlight. People have suffered greatly and made huge sacrifices, and to see the rules not being followed by the spirit in which they were written, by one of their architects, creates a lack of trust but also of credible authority. Many families with suspected Covid have simply ‘cracked on’. Visiting family to support with childcare wasn’t sold as an option. Looking at the macro issues In normal circumstances, I feel certain that Mr Cummings would have either resigned or been sacked. However, these are not normal times and Boris’ government does not feel normal. The Conservatives have a large majority in parliament, giving them a lot of freedom to deliver their agenda. We also have Trump in power over in America. A man who we have seen use ‘fake news’ as his answer to any challenge over the truth of his statements. Interestingly the ‘fake news’ claim has been used a lot over the past few days by our own government and indeed, Boris at times applies certain other Trumpian methods – such as seeking to exclude the journalists or publications that don’t support his policies or political leanings Perhaps emboldened by Trump’s actions, it appears that the decision not to sack Mr Cummings is a strategic one. I suspect that Boris is planning to simply front it out. After all, what has he really got to lose? So far, only one minister has resigned. I suspect unless there is a mass Conservative walk-out (unlikely), Mr Cummings will remain in government. Boris believes that all he has to do is wait. Turning then to the macro issues this creates. By enabling Mr Cummings to stay on as an advisor, Boris creates the following problems: Immediate problem 1: the country decides to ignore lockdown. After all, if Dominic can drive nearly 300 miles with suspected Coronavirus, the public can do the same. Immediate problem 2: a leap in cases, NHS hospitals are overwhelmed. More deaths. Longer term problem 1: failure to sack Dominic means in the future, unelected advisors amass huge power in central government, and thanks to Boris’ precedent, are untouchable. What does that say about democracy here? Longer term problem 2: the UK government is already largely filled with middle aged, white, privately educated males – two of whom seem unable to accept a) culpability and b) consequences. Who represents everybody else? And if those in government protect each other, where does the accountability lie? Who is ultimately responsible for upholding democracy if we don’t have ‘gentlemanly’ behaviour – i.e. recognising when the time has come to remove somebody from their post The PR View There’s a saying that goes along the lines that once an advisor / MP becomes the story, it’s time for them to go – did Alistair Campbell say that? There’s usually a tipping point at which their position becomes untenable and they either fall upon their sword or they are given the boot. If I was advising a government that wanted to the public to continue to heed the messages around self-isolation and social
Our latest initiative; LexRex: Trusted Partner is providing law firm leaders with genuinely useful and informative content to support them through lockdown and during the ongoing Coronavirus outbreak. Our initial research showed that the biggest issue for law firms in mid-April through to mid-May 2020 was access to cash. Our first webinar helped lawyers to access cash via the government’s Coronavirus business interruption loan scheme, also known as CBILS or the government backed loan scheme. Our latest webinar with Barry Wilkinson, founder and managing director of Wilkinson Read followed on from the CBILS content with a detailed session on cash flow. The session covered the basics – from understanding how much cash you need and have through to the more technical elements of creating a realistic cash flow forecast to see firms through the next weeks and monhts. We are delighted to now share the webinar below:
What is LexRex Trusted Partner? A couple of weeks ago, when panic buying loo roll was still very much a ‘thing’ and our heads were all spinning; I sat down to try to work through all the mind bending Coronavirus effects on both LexRex and our partner law firms. One thing was obvious to me very quickly; lockdown was going to have a catastrophic effect on a number of areas; straight-away and with long-term effect. Property, M&A and other transactional areas would be the first hit. Others perhaps deemed ‘non-essential for right now’ such as family law, immigration, PI and clinical negligence would be affected. Some, such as wills and probate and employment would probably do well in the immediate term but could well suffer once those crisis transactions had completed. I think broadly what I’d anticipated is now playing out in firms across the UK. Clearly communications and media relations would continue to be important for the leaders starting to look beyond and plan for the post-Coronavirus world, but survival would be very much the order of the day for the majority. To this end, and throughout the period that lockdown continues to provide such challenging trading conditions (maybe even beyond); LexRex will create and share content that goes above and beyond communications and marketing consultancy. We are calling this initiative LexRex: Trusted Partner. The plan is to work closely with external organisations, usually people we have longstanding relationships with (so we know they are good at what they do) to create useful, relevant and highly applicable content and advice to try to support law firm leaders during these strange times. You may have attended our first LexRex: Trusted Partner webinar on Thursday 23rd April. If not, during this session, Sara Hutton of Sara Hutton Consulting walked us through the requirements of the government backed loan / Coronavirus business interruption loan scheme / CBILS; providing great detail on the evidence required for a successful application, timeframes, short-cuts, the nuances between the different bank application schemes and lots, lots more. We’ll be releasing a video of the session very soon (it will be hosted on the LexRex blog). We will try to create at least one piece of content per week. Webinars are likely to feature heavily, but we are also looking into white papers, checklists, advisory blogs and more. LexRex: Trusted Partner represents what we strive to achieve for our clients. We want to be the partner they turn to in difficult times and accordingly this current initiative is simply an extension of that aim. I really hope that the content we share will help not only our clients (who will naturally be receiving more than those of you who aren’t (yet) on the books) but also provides a voice of reason and leadership for a wide range of law firms for the foreseeable future. I’ll finish on that note by simply saying that my advice currently is to maintain, and be ready to grow. And look out for more from LexRex: Trusted Partner over the following weeks.
As the news broke yesterday evening that Boris Johnson had been transferred to intensive care ‘as a precaution’, it very quickly became clear that earlier media reports downplaying his condition were either ill-informed, over-optimistic, or that the PM’s condition had rapidly worsened. Now I’m no doctor, so of course, it could simply be the latter. The other thing that immediately became clear (or at least to a number of journalists) is that government is now significantly disrupted. Now before I continue down this very sensitive topic I should say – I am not a Boris fan politically speaking, and it would’t be difficult to find social media posts from me criticising his politics. However, I very much hope that he recovers speedily and bounces back as his usual wont. I also send my particular sympathies to his partner Carrie and his wider family. I know from experience that illness during pregnancy is absolutely terrifying, so I cannot start to imagine the trauma of this ongoing situation. Media management is important So why do I think is it important to comment on the government’s approach to managing the media reporting around the PM’s illness? We are living through unprecedented times (and that’s not even a cliche in these circumstances), and each day more bad, unsettling and frightening news threatens to overwhelm us. We need truth and reassurance – and unfortunately sometimes to two can appear to be mutually exclusive. Maintaining trust is fundamental Of course Boris and the government have sought to reassure us that the leader of the UK will be fine, will recover and will continue as normal. However, in that route there was always the danger of the opposite being true. This is important because at some point there is a ‘tip’ at which trust becomes eroded. And once that happens, it is very difficult to recover. What the government must do now is ensure that Dominic Raab, Boris’ stand in, is positioned strongly as the new leader (for now) and Boris must be left alone to get better. Of course Dominic must also be seen to avoid profiting politically from Boris’ situation; so he also has a very careful line to tread. What we must not now be left with is a vacuum. Assuming Boris does recover, there will be further challenges down the line for managing the transition of power back from Dominic, and again government should be planning for all contingencies and starting to map out how each scenario ‘looks’ and could be managed reputationally. My suggestions for government communications For now, my action plan for government would be: 1. Drawing attention away from Boris (it’s the human and right thing to do) 2. Putting all government attention on Dominic 3. Getting Dominic ‘out there’ being seen to lead, confidently and with the full support of Cabinet 4. I would also be banging heads together to get those bloody testing kits out and focusing laser sharp on delivering what was promised by the Health Secretary last week. On a side note, this is a challenge unprecedented in recent years and the government will make missteps. I’m not here to particularly criticise them, more to look at things from a balanced communications perspective. Clearly there has been some thought as to what would happen if Boris became incapacitated, hence Dominic’s move to centre-ground. However, there is another learning here for all of us in business – contingency or disaster planning. Planning is key Contingency / disaster / recovery planning – whatever you call it, it needs to be done. And it’s also worthwhile noting that it should consider the most unthinkable outcomes possible. Now having done this recently, I can confirm that it’s a really, really difficult thing to do. Everybody thinks they are entirely untouchable and they couldn’t possibly be struck down and unable to work. Clearly the current situation illustrates that this simply isn’t true. My take-aways So my take-aways today are that businesses need to have communications strategies front of mind throughout this outbreak. Easy for the PR to say, I know. But even those of us who don’t have any understanding of PR, marketing, communications have the ability to sit down and consider – what is the right thing to be saying right now (and this recent blog may help).
As a communicator, something I find really interesting to observe is how communications can change over time, or during a particular period. Looking at the interactions that I’m seeing across social media and IRL this week there are definite trends appearing as people continue to talk to each other during the current coronavirus situation. Authentic communications or ‘authentic me’ I would never have expected to see pictures of lawyers’ kids, dogs, cats, kitchens and home work spaces pre-lockdown. Now they are so commonplace as to be barely worth noting. However, the increase in these images, and conversations around what we would previously have called our ‘private lives’ are worth commenting upon because they have gone from being extraordinary to completely normal, in the space of less than a week. If you stop for a moment and consider what I’ve just said – isn’t that bonkers? And isn’t it also a slightly negative reflection on our society. Many of us have kids – why have we felt that we’ve had to hide them away until now? Or do I simply feel this more keenly as a business person AND a mother – has it only become acceptable now that the dads have joined in and started to run with it? *Controversial statement alert* I think the movement towards openness is broadly a good thing. Showing a bit of your personality, private life and interests away from work can only make you appear more human. And at the moment, when so many of us feel vulnerable, scared and uncertain about the future, it’s our relationships that will help to see us through the next few weeks and months. Recognition that the tough times are coming Having tracked Italy’s coronavirus trajectory and now watching Spain’s struggles with great sadness, it’ is clear what will hit the UK in probably around a week’s time. As a family (oh there I go again, talking about my double life as a wife and mother) we have been on lock-down since the schools closed on Friday 20th. It has just seemed like the right thing to do. Last week it felt dirty or inappropriate to even consider business, or selling or marketing, or anything other than just panic buying loo roll. However, that immediate panic and inability to make strategic decisions has now passed. I’m now seeing a cool-headed logic with clients and others that I’m speaking to, who are: a) recognising and accepting that tough times are en route for business and more importantly for people, as this huge tragedy grows and grows both globally and here in our hospitals and homes. b) acceptance though that for many, if not most of us, life will go on c) planning – for the times when things do start to get back to something resembling what we knew before. For me, a relentlessly and annoyingly optimistic person (yes I’ve had a lot of wobbles though recently), a through to c is the only approach to take. We could catastrophise and worry, but ultimately – how does that help? Recognition, acceptance and planing is currently my mantra and it feels good to feel at least feel in control of how I approach the days and weeks ahead. Sensitivity and appropriateness Although my personal view is that it’s fine to be preparing for the future and, where possible, to exercise a ‘business as usual’ headspace, I’m also very conscious of the need to be sensitive and appropriate. As somebody who runs a business, I’m naturally always looking for new product lines, different ideas for courses, or novel ways to do things. And whilst I wouldn’t say I’m permanently on ‘the hustle’, I do like good ideas and exciting projects where I can see how these will benefit our clients and the business. However, at the moment, when our amazing NHS and key workers are doing such a sterling job, I recognise that not everybody has the same mindset, and that for some, even thinking in terms of sales pipelines, profit and loss and cashflow is simply wrong and distateful. So I suppose my point here really is that in my opinion, it’s fine to start to plan ahead and it’s probably sensible to review your marketing, and definitely consider how you are going to hit the ground running when all of this passes – but just be considerate, and remember that not everybody is in that mindset yet, or indeed ever. LexRex Communications is a specialist PR and communications consultancy serving the UK legal market. LexRex works with boutique law firms, challenger businesses and legal innovators across the UK. Victoria Moffatt is the founder and managing director of LexRex Communications, and a former solicitor. To find out more about our services, please visit: https://www.lexrexcommunications.com/ You can also contact us on 0161 393 6121 or email us on info@lexrexcommunications.com Connect with Victoria on Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn
The law firm brand – is it important? Now, first things first, I’m blogging about it, so that probably means that yes, I think it’s important. And it is. In this context though, I’m talking less about physical branding – the logo, pantones etc. and about that classic phrase: “your brand is what people say about you when you’re not in the room” (thank you, Jeff Bezos). So what does your law firm brand have to do with legal PR? Everything, duh. When you engage in PR, you are often essentially paying to have your brand amplified to your target audiences, as identified by your key messages (what you want those target audiences to have in mind when they think about you – or indeed what they say about you – thanks again Mr B). So your law firm brand is super-important, and also quite a slippery fish to grapple with. Here are some things to consider with regards to your law firm’s brand, which may lead you to consider whether there are steps you need to take to define, refine or significantly overhaul it. 1. You want people to say nice things about you when you aren’t there Many law firms rely upon referrals and word of mouth recommendations to generate new business. If people are saying negative things about you, this spells bad news for the future. Branding runs throughout every element of your business, so you need to work hard to try to understand what your law firm brand is, what it isn’t, and how you can ensure your team, surroundings, marketing and PR are all ‘on brand’. Examples of where your brand says powerful things about you include: The reception to your offices – is it clean, tidy, welcoming? Is your receptionist friendly? Your toilets – genuinely. What does a 1970s avocado suite with scratchy loo roll, cheap hand soap and a damp smelly hand towel say about you? Your staff and their manner – are they friendly, knowledgeable? Do they do what they say they will, and within any agreed time-frame? Also your senior staff and partners if you have them? If you have any male, pale, stale dinosaurs lurking – what are they doing to your brand? This also cuts both ways so think about how all staff, young to nearing retirement, are representing your firm’s brand. We realise this is all REALLY OBVIOUS stuff. But the above are all things we that see far too often in real life (not generally with our clients though, it has to be said). Still, if you’re getting the basics right, well done and let’s move on to the slightly less obvious stuff… 2. You want people to send clients your way Linked but slightly different to point 1 – not only do you want people to say positive things about you, you also want them to actively recognise and refer potential clients to you. For boutique firms, this element of branding shouldn’t be a difficult one. The boutique nature of your work should speak for itself (along with your marketing strategy and PR of course) and people should understand what you do, and be able to refer excellent prospects your way. And if you aren’t driving these sorts of referrals – why is this? (Btw **shameless plug warning** we can obviously help you to answer this question.) For high street firms, this may be a different story, and accordingly it is worthwhile having a think about what you are known for, and what you want to be known for; as these may be very different things. Again, if you’re firm isn’t getting a steady flow of referrals – why not? 3. Your brand doesn’t necessarily have to be positive (to everyone) Some practitioners won’t want or indeed need a ‘positive’ brand. Some lawyers are simply ‘marmite’ and as long as they own that fact, they can certainly use the love:hate reaction they garner to their absolute benefit. Examples of marmite people include Nigel Farage and Dominic Cummings, Tony Blair (and indeed Cherie Blair) and Judge Rinder (love or or hate him…) These individuals tend to attract either super-fans, or real haters. For those leading a boutique, sole practitioners, or barristers for example, being a ‘marmite’ enables you to build a really strong brand, create a super-fan audience and often become very successful in the process. It may be slightly trickier to work out where a ‘marmite’ employee fits alongside a firm’s brand and indeed whether the two can ever be truly compatible in the longer term. 4. You want to distinguish yourself A lot of law firms say and do exactly the same as every other firm in the vicinity or their area of specialism. This means they can simply fade into the background as nobody really understands what they are about (or has any reason to care). The firms that really stand out are those that know and understand where they are going, what they stand for, and what they want to be known for. My advice is always try to be in the second group – don’t accept vanilla. But do understand that not everybody will like your brand, or buy into it. That’s ok – work out who your target audience is, and go and thrill it. Don’t be a people pleaser – be outstanding. We are lucky enough to work with a number of rockstar law firms – they include; Latitude Law, Maguire Family Law, Hugh Jones Solicitors and Ratio Law . The leadership team in each of these firms know exactly what their business stands for, what it does, where it’s going, and how it’s going to get there. And it shows! In brief then – your law firm’s brand is very important and neglect it at your peril. By understanding and owning your brand, you can utilise it very powerfully to attract new business, and stand out from the crowd. LexRex Communications is a specialist PR and communications consultancy serving the
As the festive season draws near we’re pretty amazed by the year that we’ve had – celebrating 7 years in business, new team members and record breaking year of PR coverage for our clients and more. We’re looking forward to an exciting 2020 and in true PR style we couldn’t leave 2019 without sharing some of our highlights. 7 years in business LexRex Communication celebrated seven years in business this year and it has been fantastic to look back over the growth of the business with such fantastic clients and some pretty impressive milestones achieved. We celebrated and the LexRex family came together at Grand Pacific on Thursday 10 October to raise a glass and of course a selfie frame. Founded In 2012 by Managing Director and founder, Victoria Moffatt we are the only specialist legal communications agency outside of London, and over the past 7 years LexRex has built a roster of specialist and award-winning law firms. That is certainly a highlight worth celebrating. Amazing new clients We continued to expand our reach across the boutique law firm market this year with new clients, firstly we were appointed by Court of Protection specialist Hugh Jones Solicitors early this year. Hugh Jones Solicitors is the biggest firm of independent Court of Protection solicitors in the country and throughout this year we have landed some fantastic coverage across specialist press, with comments and interviews. We were also delighted to welcome our new client, employment law experts Robinson Ralph last month and landed employment solicitor and founder, Simon Robinson an interview on BBC Radio Stoke to comment on the latest employment law issues in the national news – not a bad way to welcome a client on board. Launch of a new legal sector event series For some time we have wanted to do series of events that could add value to our clients and others in the northern legal market; this year we hosted our first panel event with Chambers and Partners. We invited the Chambers and Partners Guide editors up to Manchester to share their insights into how the Guides are prepared, the rankings decided and how law firms can create submissions that stand out from the crowd. Not only was it of huge value to attendees, we will be creating video content and expert guides to roll out in the new year. Specialist media training We delivered expert media training and created the next round of legal PR superstars. Whether it is challenging questions on the court steps at the right hand of a key client or an interview on a breaking news topic on the breakfast TV couch, we have created specialist Media Training for Lawyers and have delivered it throughout this year to some amazing candidates. It is a course that is in demand and we’re lining up dates for 2020 as we speak. Growing the team We welcomed new team members into the LexRex family this year, expanding the reach of our talented PR expertise. PR specialist Sophie Chadwick and marketing specialist Sarah Wilde joined us this year and we have hosted our strategy days as a team throughout the year enabling us to build even more value for our clients and the northern legal market. We continue to scale the business and we are proud to grow a specialist team of PR, media, communications marketing and social media experts that can deliver outstanding results for the legal sector. We also have exciting plans for expansion in 2020 so watch this space, Award worthy PR coverage We delivered record breaking and award-worthy coverage. Over the summer we created the Pet-nups media campaign with Maguire Family Law and, amongst national press and radio coverage including The Guardian, The BBC and The New York Post, we even saw the campaign feature on BBC’s long-standing panel show, Have I Got News For You. As we head into 2020, not only is the press interest in this still buzzing, we also saw the campaign shortlisted for a prestigious Chartered Institute of PR Award. As the year draws to a close we saw a record-breaking volume of coverage over the past couple of months and throughout the year we seen media highlights in The Times, The Guardian, The Telegraph, Marie Claire, LadBible. The Mirror, BBC, Fox News and The New York Post to name but a few. Here’s to even more amazing media highlights and headline grabbing press for LexRex clients in 2020.
We have been threatening a series of events for the legal sector for quite a while now, and earlier in the year we actually started planning how these might look, and the value they could deliver to our clients and others in northern legal market. As the only specialist legal communications agency outside of London, we decided to invite the Chambers and Partners Guide editors up to Manchester to share their insights into how the Guides are prepared, the rankings decided and how law firms can create submissions that stand out from the crowd. The panel interview was hosted by our very own Victoria Moffatt, welcoming Chambers Guide and Chambers High Net Worth Guide editors to share insights, tips and know-how. The event took place on 3rd December at the NatWest Entrepreneur Accelerator Hub and we were delighted to welcome clients and contacts from across the region’s legal sector. Split into two sections, our questions covered the actual submissions process and content and the handling of referees and data, before moving on to cover Chambers’ place in law firms’ marketing strategies and the value it brings to listed teams and individuals. “Excellent guests – really useful to get a real insight into the subject matter.” Our top three takeaways from the event were: 1. Be really clear about what makes a work highlight: When including new work highlights it isn’t necessarily the deal’s value that makes it interesting to the research team. If you are a team that handles mostly mid-market deals – include these as they showcase where your true expertise lies. And if, say, you have only handled one high-value deal, that is also absolutely fine to include. Be honest though – the research team will see through any attempts to inflate or overstate your expertise or specialisms. 2. Showcase your team not your hierarchy: Make sure Chambers get feel for your team and who is actually doing the majority of work on the matter. The editors don’t want to see just lead partner on every highlight when others in team really drove the work. 3. Keep communicating with your referees: Manage the communications with your referees and keep them engaged. It is sometimes difficult do avoid referrer fatigue however, where you have certain clients that you need to put forward for several submissions, explain the process to them and keep them up to date on who will be getting in touch and when. This will help to keep clients engaged. Because we want our events to be inclusive, we also filmed the panel session; and will be creating a video summary and an event report sharing the highlights and key points of the discussion. If you’re on our mailing list, we’ll be in touch to let you know how to get your hands on both the video and the report. If you’re not on the mailing list, please do add your name now by emailing info@lexrexcommunications.com The feedback we received from the event showed there’s a real desire for practical, hands-on support for getting the directory submissions process right. For that reason, we are currently working on an exclusive LexRex guide to creating stand-out directory submissions. Please email info@lexrexcommunications.com to pre-register your interest. Of course, we can also just pick up the process for you in its entirety. If that’s something you’d like to discuss – drop us a line on info@lexrexcommunications.com Chambers and Partners has been the leading source of legal market intelligence for over 30 years. Their 85 experienced researchers annually rank law firms and solicitors in the UK, providing a wealth of localised knowledge and trusted market insight. With the latest figures standing at over 10,000 individual UK solicitors and over 5,000 law firm departments ranked each year – just what can firms do to ensure their submissions get noticed? And how is the market currently using the Chambers and Partners Guide? Meet the panel: Steven Preston Deputy Editor UK Guide (currently Acting Editor) Steven became a Deputy Editor on the UK Guide having started at the company as a researcher. He studied undergraduate Law at UCL followed by a Masters in Human Rights Law at the same university. Simon Christian Editor HNW Guide Simon was a researcher and later a deputy editor on the Chambers UK team, before becoming editor of the Chambers High Net Worth guide. He has an LLB in Laws from University College London. He also studied for the BPTC at City Law School and was called to the Bar at Middle Temple. Lydia Burt Deputy Editor UK Guide Lydia started at Chambers as a researcher on the UK and USA guides, before being promoted to Deputy Editor on the UK Guide. She graduated from the University of East Anglia with a BA in American and English Literature, before studying for an MA in Film Studies at UCL. Victoria Moffatt Managing Director LexRex Communications LexRex a specialist PR and communications consultancy serving the UK legal sector. Victoria was previously a practising solicitor and has many years’ experience of working with Top 100, multi-disciplinary and niche law firms; both in practice and during her communications career. Future events and panel guests This event is the first in a series where we plan to bring you access to sector experts and promote discussion and knowledge sharing across the UK’s northern legal market. If you would like suggest topics or legal thought leaders that you would like to see on one of our panels contact us on info@lexrexcommunications.com Lex Rex Communications is a boutique PR and communications consultancy for the legal services industry with unique expert knowledge and understanding of the legal marketplace. Founded by Victoria Moffatt; an former lawyer with several years’ experience in high-street and commercial firms, followed by time at two of the UK’s leading PR agencies, LexRex is the only specialist legal communications agency outside of London, having built a roster of specialist and award-winning law firms.
This month LexRex Communications is celebrating seven years in business and we were delighted to welcome so many of our amazing clients, partners and the LexRex team to an evening of drinks last week. The LexRex family came together at Grand Pacific on Thursday 10 October to raise a glass and of course a selfie frame. It has been fantastic to look back over the growth of the business with such fantastic clients and we would like to thank everyone who was able to join us. In 2012, LexRex was created by founder Victoria Moffatt; an ex-lawyer with several years’ experience in high-street and commercial firms, followed by time at two of the UK’s leading PR agencies. As the only specialist legal communications agency outside of London, LexRex has built a roster of specialist and award-winning law firms. Victoria comments “I founded LexRex, with one aim – to help lawyers communicate. And our unique combination of legal and communications experience has enabled us to grow a business that does just this. “We have recently started to scale the business, and our specialist team of PR, media, communications, marketing and social media experts places us in a strong position to deliver outstanding results. As a team, we have exceptional insight into the legal profession and a unique understanding of how to position and promote lawyers and their services. You can read more about our scaling project here and here. “From client engagement through to sweeping changes in the law and new regulations, we understand the needs of and issues facing law firms in the 21st century. “I am so excited about what we have achieved during the past seven years at LexRex Communications and I can’t wait to announce yet more exciting plans for the future.” LexRex Communications is a specialist PR and communications consultancy serving the UK legal market. LexRex works with boutique law firms, challenger businesses and legal innovators across the UK. Victoria Moffatt is the founder and managing director of LexRex Communications, and a former solicitor. To find out more about our services click here. You can also contact us on 0161 393 6121 or email us on info@lexrexcommunications.com
Congratulations to our clients Latitude Law and Maguire Family Law in their latest rankings as Top Tier firms in the Legal 500 United Kingdom 2020 rankings. The Legal 500 United Kingdom is one of the leading guide to law firms and solicitors in the UK. Visited by more than four million users each year, the guide provides reliable and up-to-date information on law firms with rankings reflect detailed analysis of law firm submissions and thousands of interviews conducted by a team of experienced researchers. Every firm ranked – and individual mentioned – in the UK Legal 500 UK Solicitors guide is ‘recommended’. What Legal 500 say about Latitude Law: Led by ‘first rate lawyer’ Gary McIndoe, Latitude Law covers the full gambit of immigration law. The immigration specialist firm has recently experienced an uptick in instructions in sponsor licensing for religious orders and pre-emptive Tier 1 applications. Clients comprise charities, education providers, and private individuals across the north west, the UK and globally. Solicitor Shara Pledger is recommended. What Legal 500 say about Maguire Family Law: The team at Maguire Family Law are ‘highly experienced’ and regularly act for well-known clients on high value financial remedy matters as well as complex pre-and post-nuptial agreements. ‘Extremely knowledgeable’ practice head James Maguire, who founded the firm in 2010, is regarded as ‘a superb lawyer and a superb leader’, while another name to note is Denise Moran, who was promoted to partner in 2018 and is known for her expertise in divorce cases. Top Tips for ranking in the Legal 500 LexRex Communciations’ Managing Director Victoria Moffatt shares her top tips for improving your Legal 500 rankings and getting the recognition you and your team deserve each year. 1. Understand what sets your firm apart and articulate it With years of reviewing, researching and benchmarking thousands of law firms it is highly likely that the Legal 500 have heard it all before. They are looking for the things that truly make you stand out. A significant increase in turnover, a break through into an exciting new sector, development of a new specialism or some significant new clients and household names. Even with one or more of these in your arsenal, it is important that you can articulate why this sets you apart, the work you have carried out to achieve it, the wider impact on the firm, the clients, the future and the legal sector. 2. Build your bank of examples throughout the year Don’t wait until you need to pull your Legal 500 submission together to capture and share your notable matters and client successes. Build a bank of examples and case studies – and not just for your submission. Using these throughout the year for pitches, presentations, website content and more means that your are getting so much profile out of your work and makes your submission seamless. If you really want to up your game, proactively engaging in media relations and taking forward PR opportunities for the relevant notable matters can make your submission just that more compelling, not to mention the positive impact the PR coverage has on your firm’s profile throughout the year. 3. Put the work into your client referees Firms can fall into the trap of submitting the same names and familiar faces each year for their referees. Now where there is a good reason year on year for a particular client to be recommended to be contacted for interview then they of course should be included. However take time to review your list, understanding why they should be put forward and how you have been engaging with them. Make sure you let the client know that they will be contacted and that they are happy to speak. Again putting the processes in place throughout the year to capture feedback, testimonials and engage with clients will mean you have a bank of prepped and willing referees. 4. Be organised and don’t leave it to the last minute The deadlines for Legal 500 submissions have a long lead in time and come around every year however many firms find themselves so busy that pulling their submission together becomes a last-minute affair. What’s more, with different teams and departments contributing it gets lost, disorganised and can end up only part done. Appoint a lead for your submission and set clear roles and deadlines – and stick to them. 5. Get help Of course, you can remove a huge part of this headache and engage an expert to co-ordinate and draft your submission. LexRex Communications have years of experience not only keeping your submission co-ordinated and to deadline but, as importantly, creating the wording and content that best articulates your standout features and successes. And as you have seen, the clients that have benefited from our support are successfully ranked as Top Tier. To speak to the LexRex Communications team about submissions or tender support contact us here or call 0161 393 6121 LexRex Communications is a boutique PR agency serving the legal services market. Working in partnership with boutique law firms and businesses that serve the legal profession, our team is passionate about the law and its practice. Managing director and founder of LexRex Communications Ltd, Victoria Moffatt is a former solicitor turned legal PR specialist. She practised in South Yorkshire and Leeds over the course of her 6 year legal career. Victoria honed her PR skills at some of the UK’s leading and award-winning PR agencies in Manchester; working across a variety of prestigious law firm accounts including regional big-hitters and Top 100 firms. Driven by great communications and measurable results, Victoria loves creating and implementing bespoke campaigns. Her strengths include understanding exactly what clients want to achieve, and creating strategies that meet their objectives. LexRex is singularly focused on helping the legal services industry stay in the news, for the right reasons. To find out more about our services, please visit: https://www.lexrexcommunications.com/ You can also contact us on 0161 393 6121 or email us on info@lexrexcommunications.com Connect with
