The term ‘fat cat lawyer’ conjures images of a rich and greedy portly law man living off the wealth of others as he quaffs champagne in his London mansion. Any of us who work in the legal profession know this is a largely unfair tabloid term that has tarnished the reputation of the whole profession for decades. While the term is generally unrepresentative of a profession that does a lot of good for society, some of those in law don’t really help to eradicate the fat cat image sometimes
Author: Justin Penrose
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Expert pr advice for the legal sector
There’s little doubt that appearing on TV is potentially one of those important points in a lawyer’s career. Do it well and you will have come across as knowledgeable, professional and eloquent and receive pats on the back from the managing partner or CEO. Do it badly and you at best you come across as inept. At worst you risk damaging the reputation of the firm you work for and potentially losing your job.
People say a crisis brings out the very best and the very worst in people – but it has also been the case for brands. From 99-year-old Captain Tom Moore raising £27million (at the time of writing) by doing laps of his garden, to our NHS heroes risking their lives every day to save lives, there are people who are so brave you can’t help but marvel at them. Then there are the brands that get it so wrong that they have managed to turn the coronavirus crisis into their own crisis communications scenario.
PR is always about moulding how you are perceived and that is never more true than in a time of crisis. Unfortunately, if you get this wrong then the damage done to your brand can be long lasting. Away from the legal sector is anybody likely to forget how Sports Direct and Wetherspoons have handled their PR during the current crisis?
News is all around us yet one of the most common questions a PR or journalist gets is ‘what makes a story?’ There is no simple answer, more a litany of potential facts that make up the story jigsaw when dealing with legal and litigation PR.
For those unversed in journalism or legal PR the prospect of writing a legal press release can seem like a gargantuan task. But in reality, if you follow a few simple pointers you should be able to produce a press release that sends out the message you are looking to get across and get the coverage you desire.