How A Legal Communications Plan Can Strengthen A Litigation Strategy
By Andrew Frank, Founder and President, KARV for Forbes
Not so long ago, the extent of communications surrounding a lawsuit or trial was minimal. There would be occasional press releases announcing significant decisions. Sometimes, if a trial really garnered significant media attention, the leading attorney would answer questions from reporters outside the courthouse.
In today’s tumultuous business and political environment, however, that is no longer the case. The 24/7 news cycle, coupled with the influx of social media platforms, means that, for better or worse, any piece of information—from a court filing, a judge’s interim ruling, evidence or remarks in the courtroom—can instantly go viral, reaching a company’s most important stakeholders and millions of others. This dynamic frequently makes a communications strategy exceedingly necessary.
The Role Of A (Preemptive) Litigation Communications Strategy
Too often, I’ve seen attorneys pull in a communications team only after things have reached a crisis point. In this case, while a communications team can certainly help, it’s usually too late to significantly and quickly impact a narrative that has already been set in traditional and social media coverage.
The most successful communications campaigns I’ve worked on surrounding legal proceedings have involved preemptive planning to ensure the communications efforts seamlessly support and advance the litigation strategy. Only then can we work in tandem with the legal team from the jump to craft an ideal strategy for the situation—one that effectively communicates the client’s views and messages to all relevant stakeholders, while aligning with the overall legal strategy.
And as the situation develops, we keep these audiences informed with updates that resonate and ensure the twists and turns of the legal process are understood in the intended context. Based on the strategy developed, this can be either on the record or off the record conversations.
Effective—And Pithy—Statements
Press releases are, of course, an effective method to reach a wide number of reporters and must be drafted with precision. But the media landscape’s consolidation means that while there are fewer legal reporters, they are often covering these cases more in depth, and are likely to seek out the actual filing.
Consequently, these filings should be drafted in a way that is compelling and accessible to reporters. This could mean including a summary of relevant points in the filing or highlighting resonant quotes that are emblematic of your broader objective directly with key reporters.
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