If you are looking to secure some media coverage for your law firm, a press release announcing a piece of firm news or one that provides expert comment by one of your fee-earners on a ground-breaking case is a tried and tested method. But many firms fail to get to grips with things by failing to understand that a press release is not an advertisement.
Issuing a press release which promotes your services and comes across as “salesy” will be ignored and/or deleted by the journalists and the editors that receive it. Equally, recycling news about a piece of legislation which has been in the public domain for some time will be ignored. Even worse, you risk being blocked permanently by the recipient so as well as wasting time, a press release could jeopardise future coverage when you do have a genuine piece of news to announce.
Fortunately, there are many occasions when a law firm will have a legitimate reason to issue a press release to the media, be it the legal press, the local press, trade press or even the nationals.
Here are some suggested angles to get you started:
- New faces: Lateral hires and team moves are always of interest to the legal press and warrant a press release as do annual partnerships and other promotions.To stand out from the crowd try and focus on the personal story, is there anything particularly interesting or unusual about these individuals you can include?
- New buildings: This won’t happen as often as a change of personnel, but the opening of an office in a new location will be of interest to the legal and local press. Equally, if you are taking on new offices because your firm is expanding and employing more people, this is a good news story and should be of interest at least to the local press.
- New service: This is often tied in with new faces but any new service which your firm is starting to offer could justify a press release. However, be careful not to make it sound too salesy!
- An anniversary: While your firm may not be able to compete with Boodle Hatfield who celebrated their 300th anniversary last year, key milestones should be celebrated and announced to the press.
- A successful tender or deal: If your firm has been successful in winning a tender or completed an interesting deal, this could be relevant news for sector publications but make sure you seek the clients’ permission.
- Branding refresh: A change of logo, colours or even name is not an everyday occurrence so worth a press release when it does happen. Try and be creative about how you communicate this – use high quality images and look for more human details around the thinking behind the change.
- Firm events: A lot of internal resources go into organising conferences, seminars, round-table events or dinners so don’t be shy about putting the word out. It may work better to issue the press release after the event so you can report on who attended, key themes that came out of discussions together with some fun photos.
- Award success: If you have won or been short listed or even just been nominated for an award, this is a great way to tell the world that your firm and those within it are being recognised for the quality of their work.
- Financial (and other internal) reporting: Annual reporting of financial results is clearly newsworthy but there may be other data which are even more interesting. For example, any voluntary reporting such as gender pay gap or diversity figures stand a high chance of getting picked up.
- Pro bono work – your pro bono work, particularly if this involves supporting a local charity or the local community will often merit a press release.
- Judgments: If your firm has been involved in an important case which has changed the law and has wide implications, then a press release is certainly justified. Even if you haven’t been involved in the case, a press release providing comment on the ramifications may well be picked up by the media providing you are quick off the mark.
Finally, remember to repurpose the content of a press release on social media and on your firm’s website. If you looking for guidance on how to draft a press release, this blog will provide some ideas, 10 key ingredients for a successful law firm press release.
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