PR in the Legal Field

Recently, practicing public relations in the legal field (also called “Litigation PR”) has sparked my interest. At first it just began with me reading an article in the newspaper about a law firm and thinking how great this front page coverage was for them. The focus of the article was on a law firm and their expertise handling a certain issue (in this case it was anti-bribery).

After doing some research, I learned that while the above coverage is great, one of the most important public relations strategies for law firms is to position themselves as a “thought leader” in one or more industries. The public relations practitioner should keep current on trends and stories in the media and have their attorneys available for insight on the topics in question. It’s not always about getting press on the winning case, but keeping the law firm in the news, even if it’s just a mention of the law firm’s name after the attorney’s quote.

While looking up some information about public relations in the legal field, I came across an article with these 5 tips:

Tip #1: Know your audience: It is essential that law firms identify the key spheres of referrals, relationships and prospective clients in their field of specialty. Each time the firm initiates a media outreach campaign, it should be sculpted to speak directly to one of a set of clearly-defined target client segments.

Tip #2: Intersect your firm's expertise with real pain points: Showcasing your firm's true talents and specialties entails first understanding the real pain points of your target client segment… If you are unclear as to which issues to specifically address with your target client group, ask yourself: what is an issue or cluster of related issues that are important to lives of my target client segment? How might the resolution of these issues increase their upside (e.g., income, happiness, peace of mind) or decrease their downside (e.g., expenses, stress, health problems, etc.)?

Tip #3: Understand current trends: Trend commentary is a frequently-employed method for generating visibility and increasing exposure for your firm. To generate trend commentary, PR practitioners collaborate with executives to identify key thought leadership platforms that traverse both current business trends and the law firm principals' own expertise. The platforms are then shaped to cater to the target segment and then pitched to the media.

Tip #4: Represent yourself to the media as a resource offering substantial, well-articulated insight: The final secret to success in media placements is approaching a topic with an insightful, well-articulated perspective. It is important to reach out to the right reporter(s) with relevant information… The law firm's presentation must be eloquent, refined and precise.

Tip #5: Author expert articles: Another facet of a thought-leadership campaign is the authoring of in-depth, by-lined, expert articles. These articles, often written in partnership with public relations professionals, have the power to go into specific details that highlight trends, problems and solutions. Expert articles can be developed for specific industry trade segments or for general business magazines… Articles and other literature often receive coverage in local publications such as newspapers, journals and newsletters, which in turn can create a potential gateway to national and possibly international exposure.


While it seems that many “legal marketers” and Litigation PR practitioners are trained lawyers, thankfully, it’s not required. I’m intrigued to learn more about this industry. Does anyone else have any specific industry interests they’d like to learn more about?