Public relations is a communications tool that many attorneys can use in their day-to-day practice to retain current and acquire new clients, create a niche, generate buzz and strengthen their name in the legal community. One example of effective public relations is to write and distribute targeted press releases announcing large nonconfidential verdicts or settlements, speaking engagements, community involvement, honors and awards, milestones, and the like. The press release is not only sent to the approrpiate media but it can be used as a marketing tool. Several basic ways to use the press release for marketing are to:

1. Send it to clients
2. Send to prospects
3. Send it to vendors
4. Send it to referring attorneys
5. Send it to trade associations
6. Put copies in the lobby
7. Put it on your Web site
8. Reference it in your newsletter
9. Send it to friends and family
10. Send it to employees.


Author Biography: Founder and president of Furia Rubel Communications, Inc. (www.furiarubel.com), Gina F. Rubel, Esq., is a Philadelphia lawyer with more than a decade of integrated communications experience in the legal industry. After practicing law for several years, Gina focused on her passion for proactive, integrated communication for the legal, healthcare, and nonprofit industries. Gina has developed and executed integrated strategic communications plans for large and small firms; supervised crisis communications, risk management and media relations for internationally publicized death penalty trials, planned events for major corporate, nonprofit, and philanthropic gatherings; and implemented programs that include corporate branding, publicity, special events, Web site development, and association relations.