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Here are a few tips on how to reach your target audiences through special events. Please see some of our tips and tactics below.
Tip One: - Celebrate a holiday or anniversary.
- Conduct a poll or survey.
- Create a contest.
Tip Two: - In the current day and age, community relations are of growing importance to law firms. Because society expects corporations to be socially responsible, becoming active in the community is to everyone’s advantage.
- Community relations activities can include exhibitions, celebrations, ceremonies, speeches, sponsorship of nonprofit organizations, pro bono work, official representation at functions and participation in community activities.
For more important tips on using PR to reach your target audiences through special events, read Chapter 6 in Everyday Public Relations for Lawyers. Excerpt from Everyday Public Relations for Lawyers, Copyright 2007. Furia Rubel Communications, Inc. To purchase the book, click here.
Here are a few tips on speaking up and being heard. Please see some of our tips and tactics below. - In addition to getting published to establish credibility and generate awareness, you can feed your interests while generating potential business by speaking at business forums, industry conferences, bar association meetings, seminars, universities and continuing legal- education programs.
When you speak on a topic of interest, you are positioned as an expert in your field and can demonstrate rather than “sell” your knowledge, just like writing articles.
- Often attorneys are just as stumped for a speaking topic as they are for an article subject. If that is the case, Take what you’ve written about and use those same topics to create something valuable to say. For every article you write, you can create a topic to speak about and vice versa.
For more important tips on using PR by speaking up and being heard, read Chapter 5 in Everyday Public Relations for Lawyers. Excerpt from Everyday Public Relations for Lawyers, Copyright 2007. Furia Rubel Communications, Inc. To purchase the book, click here.
It is just about every day that I tell an attorney that he or she should track what’s being said on the Internet with regard to him/herself, their law firm, their main clients, their competition, etc. It’s really easy, I tell them. Just set up a Google Alert. And then I get the blank stare. So today, I sent a client a link to an excellent article by Adam McFarland on Pandia called Using Google Alerts for Intelligence Gathering. It’s easy to read, easy to follow, and provides the why and how for setting up Google Alerts.
Here are a few tips on making your tip sheets valuable. Please see some of our tips and tactics below.
Tip sheets don’t always need to be produced in lists of 10. It’s acceptable to have less or more, but when you exceed 19, think about breaking the list into two lists of 10. If you surpass 25, then move to the section in this chapter that addresses writing a book.
Tactics that will help add value to your tips sheet:
1. Make tips available on your Web site.
2. Include tips in your corporate leave-behind.
3. Send tips to customers and prospects via e-mail.
4. Include tips in your corporate newsletter.
5. Create a tips postcard that can be sent to prospective clients.
6. Leave a copy of the tips in your lobby.
For more important tips on using PR when creating effective tip sheets, read Chapter 4 in Everyday Public Relations for Lawyers. Excerpt from Everyday Public Relations for Lawyers, Copyright 2007. Furia Rubel Communications, Inc. To purchase the book, click here.
Here are some forms of public relations writing that you can use to generate a buzz about you and your business.
- The Authoritative Article - When an article is published and you haven’t paid for the space (as opposed to placing an advertisement), you immediately establish credibility with your target audiences.
- The FAQ Response Method - keep a notebook next to the telephone and keep a log of topics such as client management, legal issues, etc. and write down every question you are asked by a prospective or current client.
- The TOC Review Method - review the table of contents (TOC) of the last six issues of a publication that your audiences read and keep note of trends and reoccurring themes.
For more important tips on using PR writing to create a buzz, read Chapter 4 in Everyday Public Relations for Lawyers. Excerpt from Everyday Public Relations for Lawyers, Copyright 2007. Furia Rubel Communications, Inc. To purchase the book, click here.
Here is a recap of the last Everyday Public Relations for Lawyers Weekly Tip:
Writing an authoritative article to garner positive publicity: Writing authoritative articles is one of the easiest and most effective ways to garner valuable publicity—especially if you like to write. When an article is published and you haven’t paid for the space (as opposed to placing an advertisement), you immediately establish credibility with your target audiences. It positions you as an expert without you saying, “Hey, look at me, I’m an expert on this topic.” When you read Chapter 11 on ethics, you will see that calling an attorney an expert can get you into hot water.
And now here are some quick tips for crafting effective article language that is clear and concise:
- Define legal and technical jargon in easy-to-understand language
- Your readers would rather read a short, to-the-point piece than a long, drawn-out piece
- Paragraph length is among the most important, if your paragraphs are too thick, the information looks slow and uninviting
For more important tips to understand when crafting article language, read Chapter 4 in Everyday Public Relations for Lawyers. Excerpt from Everyday Public Relations for Lawyers, Copyright 2007. Furia Rubel Communications, Inc. To purchase the book, click here.
My Father, Richard F. Furia, Esquire, is one of the best sources of blog ideas. He’s always sending me great material. This morning, he sent me a few articles regarding U.S. District Judge Eduardo C. Robreno’s 44-page opinion in the GMAC Bank v. HTFC Corp. case. (Opinion: http://online.wsj.com/public/resources/documents/Robreno.pdf)
In this case, Judge Robreno levied sanctions of more than $29,000 on a lawyer and his client after finding that a deposition was a "spectacular failure" because of the Aaron Wider, the CEO of HTFC’s, hostile and abusive conduct during a 12 hour deposition. The CEO dropped the F-bomb73 times, interrupted counsel, gave unnecessarily protracted answers, interposed his own objections and wrongfully refused to answer questions. His attorney, Joseph R. Ziccardi of Chicago, did nothing to stop his client's conduct, and in fact, snickered at his client's behavior.
There’s a great article in The Legal Intelligencer by Shannon Duffy titled Lawyer and Client Sanctioned Over Client's Outbursts that goes into the details of the opinion.
Attorneys need to counsel their clients (and themselves) from the very start of a case that anything can become fodder for media coverage. It is imperative to remember everyday public relations includes the way you dress, the way you speak, and even the way you react when even one other person in public is watching.
Gina F. Rubel, Esq.
Author: Everyday Public Relations for Lawyers
http://www.furiarubel.com/
Chapter 4:
Tip Two:
Here are some quick tips for crafting copy that is clear and concise: - Define legal and technical jargon in easy-to-understand language
- Your readers would rather read a short, to-the-point piece than a long, drawn-out piece
- Paragraph length is among the most important, if your paragraphs are too thick, the information looks slow and uninviting
Stay tuned for more tips!
In a Law.com article titled, Legal Directories: Valuable Resource or Waste of Time?, Michelle Madsen of Legal Week looks the corporate counsel’s view of directories. Do in-house attorneys use directories such as Chambers and Partners, the Legal 500 and Lawdragon or are they “a self-perpetuating marketing arena for law firms, or a useful tool for clients?”
Madsen concludes that “A sensible attitude to the directories would seem to be to regard them as a resource, a tool to be drawn upon and, compared with other sources of information, not as a substitute to personal contact or knowledge. As such, they need to be judged critically but, on balance, it would seem they have earned their place on the shelves of most general counsel.”
In my latest book, Everyday Public Relations for Lawyers, I provide a short list of such directories which also includes:
• American Lawyer AMLaw 200
• Best Lawyers in America
• Euromoney Expert Guides
• Global 100
• Leading Lawyers
• Legal Experts
• Martindale-Hubbell
• Multicultural Law Top 100
• National Law Journal 250
• Of Counsel 700
• PLC Which Lawyer? Yearbook
• SuperLawyers
• The Vault
• Who’s Who Legal
You can find more comprehensive lists in Leigh Dance’s Global Guide to Law Firm and Lawyer Directories and the companion book compiled by Deborah McMurray, North American Guide to Law Firm and Lawyer Directories.
Chapter 4 - Tip One
Writing an authoritative article to garner positive publicity:
Writing authoritative articles is one of the easiest and most effective ways to garner valuable publicity—especially if you like to write. When an article is published and you haven’t paid for the space (as opposed to placing an advertisement), you immediately establish credibility with your target audiences. It positions you as an expert without you saying, “Hey, look at me, I’m an expert on this topic.”
Keep tuned for more information on how to garner positive publicity along with rules of ethics where you will see that calling an attorney an expert can get you into hot water.
I just received the most wonderful compliments from my friend and PR mentor, Dan Cirucci, regarding my latest book, Everyday Public Relations for Lawyers. I can't help but be proud and share his comments: http://dancirucci.blogspot.com/2008/03/great-resource.html. If you don't already subscribe to Dan's blog, it's a must read!
With a media relations campaign, you don’t control the final message the way you do with a paid advertisement.
In order to maximize the value of your media relationships, take heed of the following tips:
- Determine your primary geographic market
- Create your general media list
- Double-check your contact file
For more information and tips from Everyday Public Relations for Lawyers, stay tuned!
To recap on why we encourage every firm, no matter how big or small, to have a written media policy, is because law firms and their attorneys can and should control all messages provided to the media. Several reasons include managing your messages, ethics and, in the cases of trial publicity, to protect the clients’ best interests.
The following media policy tips are issues that your firm’s media policy should address:
- How you handle calls about specific firm clients and/or cases
- How you handle calls for third-party commentary on specific cases or legal issues
- Crisis communications procedures
- The ethics of dealing with the media
For more tips and advice from the Everyday Public Relations for Lawyers guide, stay tuned!
I encourage every firm, no matter how big or small, to have a written media policy. Simply put, law firms and their attorneys can and should control all messages provided to the media for reasons of message management, ethics and, in the cases of trial publicity, to protect the clients’ best interests.
Your firm’s media policy should address: part 1
• Who may speak with the media on the firm’s behalf
• The procedures that members of your firm must follow when the media calls
• Record-keeping procedures for media calls and interviews
I recently began contributing to The Legal Intelligencer online. I'm blogging on Lawyers and the Media . My most recent post addresses when the media receives an unintended email and media policies.
While you're there, check out my post in memory of Judge Cipriani.
Thank you, Cole Silver for the wonderful accolades on my book, Everyday Public Relations for Lawyers, which by the way, is now available via direct order, PayPal or via Amazon.
Cole says, "Gina Furia Rubel, Esquire, one of the nation's most distinquished PR experts for lawyers and law firms has just written a electrifying book entitled "Everyday Public Relations for Lawyers", which is absolutely wonderful and packed full of great advice and powerful ideas to promote your firm and practice
in a highly effective and cost efficient manner. If you want to build a
brand, create the visibility you deserve, and not spend an arm and a leg on
traditional advertising...you have got to get her book, which can be found
at: http://www.furiarubel.com/
I've also had the opportunity to read Cole's book: How
to Create Wealth and Freedom in your Law Practice, 101 Powerful Client
Development & Retention Strategies for Attorneys. It's a compendium of
information that no attorney should be without.
Great public relations can substantially accelerate business development cycles, increase audience awareness and help promote rapid growth. Harnessing this power can be a terrific boost—if you proceed with clear objectives and remain true to your core business goals. You therefore need to ask yourself, “Will public relations help our firm achieve the goals we have set out in our business plan?” This is a good time to review or articulate your firm’s core business goals. Understanding your business or performance goals is the first step in defining measurable objectives for a public relations program. When you measure the value of your public relations program, you need to substantiate that public relations has furthered your aspirations. So go back and ask yourself: What are my / my firm’s core business goals?
For the next step in your public relations planning, check back next Monday for The PR Lawyer’s Tip #3.
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Excerpt from Everyday Public Relations for Lawyers, Copyright 2007. Furia Rubel Communications, Inc. To purchase book, click here.
Public relations is the art and science of proactive advocacy on the part of acompany, individual or brand. It requires strategic management of your positionstatement and key messages in order to reach your target audiences, andthrough various tactics, establish good will and a mutual understanding. In short, effective use of public relations tools allows us to shape public opinion, attitudes and beliefs. Utilizing public relations is much like crafting an openingstatement for a jury trial: you will painstakingly strategize about which facts youshould initially reveal to the jury, which heartstrings (if any) you want to tug,the tempo and timing of your delivery, and the information you deliver last inorder to achieve a long-term impact.
In the big scheme of legal communications, “marketing” is the overall umbrella term under which many forms of communications fall. The “marketing” of a law firm often entails:
-Advertising
-Business Development
-Client Services
-Marketing (brochures, Web sites, direct mail, etc.)
-Sponsorships
-Public Relations
The public relations portion of your firm’s marketing must be a strategic part of a carefully considered marketing plan so that it complements the branding,advertising, business development, client services, sponsorships and othercommunication initiatives. The role of public relations is to help build thefirm’s brand equity by delivering key messages to target audiences to elicit aparticular response and thus shape public opinion, attitudes and beliefs. Inother words, PR is the method by which we communicate messages about ourselves, our firms, and our understanding of the law and the cases we handle onan everyday basis.
 The practice of public relations differs from marketing andadvertising. PR promotes and builds awareness and acceptance; the immediategoal is often based in the positioning of the firm; you have less control over themedia placements; and the messages tend to be viewed as more credible.
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Excerpt from Everyday Public Relations for Lawyers, Copyright 2007. Furia Rubel Communications, Inc. To purchase book, click here.
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