Category: Storytelling

Court papers need to be written differently in high-profile cases

Bottom line: In high-profile cases, introductory paragraphs and preliminary statements must be written for audiences OUTSIDE of court: the media and the public. Most attorneys are already using preliminary statements and introductory paragraphs in their court papers to provide a roadmap to the court and opposing counsel of the factual arguments and legal arguments that… Read More Court papers need to be written differently in high-profile cases

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How attorneys can use op-eds to shape the Court of Public Opinion

Bottom line: Op-eds are an underutilized tool that attorneys and their clients can use to tell their side of the story of their legal disputes to local audiences in order to persuade the Court of Public Opinion. If you’ve ever read a newspaper, you are familiar with an op-ed.  An op-ed is an opinion piece… Read More How attorneys can use op-eds to shape the Court of Public Opinion

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Why attorneys need to speak in sound bites (and how doing so can serve as a defense to a claim of a defamation).

Bottom line: Speaking in sound bites will help attorneys more persuasively advocate for their clients in the Court of Public Opinion. Are you working on a statement to a reporter about one of your clients’ cases? You better have a sound bite in there!  We all know what sound bites are.  Sound bites are those… Read More Why attorneys need to speak in sound bites (and how doing so can serve as a defense to a claim of a defamation).

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This is why attorneys have to beat their adversaries to the punch in the Court of Public Opinion

Bottom line: Thanks to “anchoring,” attorneys and clients who are able to engage the Court of Public Opinion before their adversaries do get to frame their legal disputes in ways that make it difficult for those adversaries to overcome. If you’ve done any reading and research about human psychology and persuasion, you’ve surely come across… Read More This is why attorneys have to beat their adversaries to the punch in the Court of Public Opinion

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What attorneys need to know about photos of their clients—including mugshots—and the Court of Public Opinion

Bottom line: Attorneys can help turn around negative media coverage of a client accused of wrongdoing by ensuring that photos of the client published by media outlets put the client in a favorable light (literally). Have you ever been retained by someone who has been accused of doing something wrong and who has already been… Read More What attorneys need to know about photos of their clients—including mugshots—and the Court of Public Opinion

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Attorneys cannot underestimate the power of video and photos when telling their clients’ stories

Bottom line: When appropriate, attorneys should consider using videos and photos to help their clients engage the Court of Public Opinion. Just like in advertising and just like in marketing, when it comes to the news media and attempts to secure publicity from the news media, videos and photos are visual components to a story… Read More Attorneys cannot underestimate the power of video and photos when telling their clients’ stories

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