Bottom line: Location matters when holding a press conference. When attorneys plan a press conference, the location of the press conference will go a long way in determining how effective the press conference will be—and how well-attended it will be by reporters. My number one rule for a press conference in terms of location is never… Read More Planning a press conference? The WHERE is almost as important as the WHAT
Bottom line: When attorneys hold press conferences regarding their clients’ legal disputes, they need not only be persuasive. They must be ethical and avoid defaming others. When attorneys hold a press conference regarding a client’s legal dispute, they are rightly focused on being persuasive and presenting their client’s story in a way that will help influence… Read More The ethics and defamation concerns attorneys need to think about when holding a press conference
Bottom line: To maximize your odds of media attendance at a press conference, you must schedule your press conference at the right time. Thinking about holding a press conference to help tell your client’s side of the story of a legal dispute that he or she is involved in? You’re going to want to pick the… Read More This is the best time to hold a press conference
Bottom line: Don’t send multiple email attachments to reporters. Use shared folders instead. WHOA! You weren’t really going to just email a reporter and attach a dozen documents to that email, were you? Seventeen long years ago when I first started talking to reporters and working in public relations, there was a mindset that we really… Read More This is the best way for attorneys to share documents with reporters
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
Bottom line: In certain instances, a “press embargo” or “media embargo” can be a useful tool for lawyers when dealing with upcoming developments in high-profile legal disputes, including the filing of a new lawsuit. Last week, I had sole responsibility for generating media coverage of a press conference announcing a federal civil rights lawsuit filed… Read More “What’s a press embargo?” What lawyers and law firms need to know about press/media embargoes
Bottom line: When a reporter calls, an attorney will almost certainly not be in a position to immediately provide the reporter with a meaningful response. Asking three specific questions will help attorneys get the information they need to develop such a response. “What are you working on?” “How can I help you?”“When is your deadline?” Reporters… Read More The Three Questions Attorneys MUST Ask Reporters When They Call
Bottom Line: The litigation privilege may not protect attorneys’ out-of-court statements against claims of defamation made by adversaries in litigation. An attorneys sits down to type out a statement to the press concerning one of the lawsuits she’s litigating on behalf of a client. As she thinks about the statement, she looks through the complaint… Read More Defamation and the Limits of the Litigation Privilege
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