Vol 14 (2017) - Issue 4

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How to Support Litigation with Strategic Communications

Lawyers have for many years prided themselves on being commercial and fully attuned with their clients’ needs and businesses. However, apart from those engaged in defamation or reputation protection, few lawyers regularly give much thought to how the media might affect their work. More importantly, they rarely consider how external communications might be used to proactively support the work they are engaged in. By giving this more frequent consideration, lawyers might more easily claim to be attuned. At the very least they will be able to demonstrate a deeper awareness of some of the other issues affecting their clients’ businesses.

Why a media strategy matters
For certain types of legal transaction – where there are legal and/or business issues which are likely to attract media attention – a communications strategy is vital. The strategy should address when and how and what key messages need to be delivered. It will be determined and driven by the legal process and key events, but should identify the key media threats and how these should be negotiated. This type of communications strategy should be aligned with a businesses’ long-term corporate PR strategy, albeit dealing with unique circumstances and pressures.
It will often be the case that a different type of strategy needs to be developed where there is potential litigation. From the red tops to the pink pages, as soon as there is litigation the media see it as an opportunity to re-run historical negative information about the litigant. Even before any guilt has been proven or dismissed the media can deliver a damning verdict, which hurts brands and individuals.
The well-advised client should try to get on the front foot, dictate the story and manage the information flow. A commercially-minded lawyer should want to assist. Lawyers and their clients may need to develop a much more dynamic strategy: pro-active, focussed on key objectives and targeted at key journalists and publications identified in advance.
A communications team should also advise on the litigation proceedings, identifying the occasions when the media will be interested: when proceedings are being issued, during the disclosure exercise, when witness evidence is being exchanged and during any court hearings. A litigation communications strategy should recognise all the possible threats and risks, as well as the opportunities which might arise on each of these occasions and plan for them. The effective legal team will buy into and help shape the communications strategy, which will be aligned with the legal strategy but always with the client’s business objective in mind.
The main objective must be the proactive use of media to obtain leverage and to help clients achieve their business goals. Lawyers are, after all, engaged to advise their clients and a legal team should consider all the tools at a client’s disposal every time that they are engaged. This is one way of differentiating themselves from their competitors.