The Media's Role in Law Firm Marketing

By Lisha Aquino.   Lisha is the Communications Coordinator at Jeffer, Mangels, Butler & Marmaro LLP and is a member of LMA-Los Angeles.

Reprinted with permisssion by The LawMarketing Portal.

How do reporters and editors prefer to be contacted? Should negative news be disclosed? What exactly does "off the record" mean? LMA-LA's program entitled "You've Met the Press, Now What?" which was held on March 21 at the Los Angeles offices of Mitchell, Silberberg & Knupp, answered those questions and more. 

Sponsored by  ALL-STATE LEGAL, the nation's leading provider of award-winning graphic design, client development materials, engraving and printing to the legal community, the presentation focused on the role of public relations and media relations in the overall legal marketing program, with specific emphasis on when, how, and why to contact the media.

Moderator Lisa Miller, Managing Editor of Verdicts & Settlements and a Contributing Editor for California Real Estate Journal, began by asking panelists what they felt was the most important issue, with regard to establishing a long-term relationship between a reporter or editor and a PR or media relations professional.

Ethyl Bennett, attorney and former reporter,  indicated that a mutual respect for each other's distinctive job was essential. Attesting to this was panelist Brenda McGann, Public Relations Manager at Manatt, Phelps & Phillips. Formerly an editor at the Los Angeles Daily Journal, McGann commented that, in researching publications and reporters before contacting them, she developed a file of reporters' and editors' preferences, with regard to how and when  they wanted to be contacted, whether by e-mail, phone  or fax, in the morning, afternoons or never on Tuesdays. McGann recommended subscribing to Media Map or Bacon's Media Directories, which contains this kind of information, as well as circulation, frequency of publication, contact information and a brief description of what the publication covers.

PR and media professionals should also know reporters' and editors' respective deadlines, advised panelist  Cheryl Meyer, Southern California Reporter for The Daily Deal. An 18-year professional journalist who has written for such publications as News Journal, Intelligencer Journal, Executive Update, Orange County Register, Los Angeles Times and Digital Coast Reporter, Meyer also relayed that she thinks a face-to-face meeting with the PR professional and the attorney is very valuable. Not only does this allow for matching a face to a name, but the PR professional can serve as the conduit between the reporter and the attorney.

How to handle bad news

And, if a firm is being sued, an attorney loses a significant case or associates are being laid off en masse, should the PR professional disclose such news to the media? Both Miller and Meyer said    that the PR professional should consider divulging such news, as it gives the firm a chance to tell their side of the story, as well as an opportunity to spin the story to make the firm look more favorable.

Meyer noted that she, along with other reporters she knows, accepts "embargoed stories," where a PR professional contacts her, discloses the news and asks that she not publish it  until given the go-ahead. This allows for the reporter or editor to research the topic, develop the story and begin writing it. McGann noted that she does not favor disclosing to the media what could be deemed as negative news.

An attendee asked whether, in having a discussion with a reporter or editor, one could disclose certain news, and classify other news as "off the record." The presenters' answers were consistent: it depends. If the PR professional has established a strong relationship with the reporter or editor, then it is likely that the comments made "off the record" will not be published. Ethyl Bennett  commented that, alternatively, if the PR professional or attorney tells the reporter that the information is "off the record" after divulging the information, the reporter does not have to honor this and is at will to publish any and all information stemming from the discussion. Regardless of whether one states the "off the record" disclaimer, if the matter is highly sensitive or personal, it is advised that the PR professional not disclose the information at all.

Is there anything else a PR professional should not do at all? Each presenter had items to add to  the "common mistakes" list. Meyer remarked that one should never ask to see or proof a story before it is published. Offering her unique perspective, having been on the editor side of the fence and now on the PR professional side of the fence, McGann commented that a PR professional should know the appropriate person at the publication to contact, fully develop the pitch before contacting the reporter or editor, be clear and detailed with a pitch, and be prepared to pitch more than one angle of a story.

Miller and Bennett  added that if a reporter or editor contacts the firm, call back as soon as possible. Never leave a reporter's or editor's call unanswered. They also advised the PR professional to follow-up with the reporter. Make sure he or she has all the information needed, including the correct spellings of both the attorney name and the firm name. Meyer expressed that it also never hurts to provide additional resources for the story.