Giving law a public face

Law is a profession, not a trade, so it’s little wonder that many senior partners have felt uncomfortable in the past about adopting the methods of the tradesman and stridently hawking their wares in public. Robert Fenner, director at Grayling Public Relations, explores how many law firms have, however, changed their attitudes to become more open and competitive.

Law firms traditionally marketed their services through word of mouth; they expected the right people to know them, or to know of them, and to find them on the basis of recommendation.

This lack of openness may have had some dignity, but it also bred suspicion or downright distrust. Why were lawyers so damned secretive? What were they keeping up in those ivory towers, and why was it costing their clients so much money? And what was the value in all that mystique anyway, when so many foreign law firms seemed to do so well without it?

The profession has recognised the need for change, and has developed a public face. Firms are now much more open about who they are, and what they do. However, even now, there is some residual resistance to the logical extension of openness, which is public relations. To some, PR really is the province of vulgar trade. It is seen as the domain of mindless publicity stunts and chequebook journalism.

Fortunately, the slick image of PR is as clichéd as the dusty and secretive image of lawyers. Firms are beginning to recognise the potential of public relations to shape perceptions of their practice in highly-competitive markets.

Competition requires firms to develop, horrors, a marketing strategy, and marketing in turn means that the firm is communicating a perception of itself, a perception that it hopes will distinguish it from its rivals.

Firms can distinguish themselves by specialism: they may be strong in particular areas of law such as asset finance, insolvency or IT, and have the Chambers listing to prove it. Alternatively, they may have a geographical specialism as one of the leading firms in their region.

Firms can distinguish themselves in other ways. They can trade on their sheer size, and on the fact that the breadth of their portfolios means that they never need call in external expertise – that they are, in short, “one-stop-shops”. They might also trade on the reputations of some of their senior partners.

In short, law firms recognise that they need to identify and communicate their strengths, whatever they might be. This is where public relations comes in.

Any marketing strategy, and any public relations programme, needs to define not only a firm’s distinguishing characteristics – or its brand value – but also the public to which these messages should be communicated. The firm then needs to use the most appropriate means at its disposal to deliver those messages in a way that engages with the audiences.

For a law firm, the public is likely to consist of a number of target groups, some of them obvious, some of them perhaps less so; and what the firm says to each of these groups is likely to differ. After all, brand value is unlikely to consist of just one proposition, such as: “We’re the biggest,” or, “We’re the best in intellectual property.”

Below are some examples of typical audiences for law firms, and possible messages that firms might wish to deliver to them. What emerges is a matrix of communication that in turn, suggests the best means to achieving each end.

Clients - “We are leaders in the discipline for which you retain us – but we have other strengths you may wish to exploit”
Prospective clients - “We have achieved notable successes for companies or individuals just like you”
Long-term prospective clients - “We are leaders in our discipline. We anticipate and respond quickly to its trends. We should be on any shortlist in this area”
Competitors - “We are successful and growing, and we reward achievement. Aren’t you working for the wrong firm?”
Employees - “We are leaders in our field, and we look after our people. You made the right choice in choosing us, and in sticking with us”
Relevant associations (eg. industry associations, organisations of professional bodies, Chambers of Commerce) - “We have a profound understanding of product liability / EU tax laws / business in the North-West. Your members will find us useful interlocutors”

Means to ends

It is possible to employ media relations techniques to deliver most of these messages to most of these audiences – but the appropriate medium is likely to differ from one case to another. The Financial Times may be a highly desirable vehicle for positive press coverage, but if you specialise in shipping law, Lloyd’s List may have as much or more long-term value.

The type of media relations differs, too. You may wish to write an article to display knowledge and understanding to your long-term prospective clients. However, not all magazines accept contributed material of this kind; and so you may instead need to persuade a journalist to write the article himself or herself, using you for source information. This will mean an interview – which, to be successful, requires its own set of skills.

You may wish to see a positive media story about a case you have successfully handled. Again, you are unlikely to be asked to write the article; but, moreover, the magazine may wish to interview your client instead of, or as well as, you. You will need to ensure that your client is happy to be referenced in this way, and that the client can be relied upon to say the right thing.

Also, you may wish to issue press releases announcing your successes, or new partnerships, or victories in industry or professional awards. This is a standard and obvious media relations technique; but you should be aware, first, that coverage is not automatic, and second, that any coverage that does result will only achieve a degree of the brand understanding you desire. “XYZ appoints three new partners” may tell the world that you are growing, but it won’t necessarily communicate your strengths.

However, public relations isn’t just about media relations. The grid of audiences and messages may suggest other means of communicating with your chosen publics. For example, it may be worth a regional law firm starting a charm offensive with its local Chamber of Commerce, in the hope of securing opportunities to speak at its conferences. This might be a perfect way to demonstrate your knowledge and authority directly to prospective clients, long-term or otherwise.

Similarly, speaker opportunities can be sought at industry conferences. A law firm specialising in IT might aim to speak at an event about the pitfalls of supplier contracts. Again, if the profile of the event is right, the speaker is directly addressing a number of prospective clients, and is building the brand of the firm in the process.

Firms can also demonstrate their leadership in a discipline by holding their own seminars, and inviting clients and prospective clients to attend. They can consider sponsoring an appropriate award, to associate the name of the firm with the market or discipline involved and to create an opportunity for corporate hospitality at the awards dinner. A firm might also consider sponsoring some research, or conducting some of its own. The resulting document – for instance: “European patent law – are British businesses ready for harmonisation?” – can be used not just as a theme for a seminar, but as a topic for an industry conference, as a theme for a series of media interviews, and even as a piece of direct marketing to the firm’s database of prospective clients.

Having a point

Of course, there is no point in adopting any of these approaches for its own sake. A public relations programme needs to be strategically aligned with the firm’s business objectives. It needs to “deliver”, whether it is the securing of a new and lucrative client, or something less tangible, such as the creation of a favourable understanding of the firm and its strengths.

Law firms are beginning to understand public relations. Some of them retain the services of PR consultancies; others employ in-house specialists; some do both, and give PR responsibilities to a partner or two, as well.

They do these things because they realise that, uncomfortable as the notion of marketing may be, they need to be seen, heard and understood.

Times have changed. Law is no longer a closed book. Its value can no longer be assumed. Public relations is a principal means of defining and distinguishing that value.

Robert Fenner is a director of Grayling Public Relations. He can be contacted at: robert.fenner@grayling.co.uk