Ten things every attorney should know about working with the press

As attorneys move beyond providing just legal advice to being a trusted advisor to their clients, an area where they can add great value is in another court: the court of public opinion.  According to the Wall Street Journal, a survey of CEOs found reputation damage as their number one strategic risk.

Attorneys have seen how a client’s reputation can be severely damaged long before setting foot inside a courtroom.  Arthur Andersen was recognized as the leading global accounting firm, the gold standard in the industry.  But three months after the onset of the Enron crisis, it was out of business. Not because of a legal proceeding or a trial -- that would come months later and ironically, clear them of charges -- but because of mass client defections driven by reputational damage from negative press coverage.
 
In working with the press, here are ten tips to follow:

1. Establish trusted relationships with the press before you need them  -- 100% of crisis communications management is the story you tell in your defense.  And though social media is an impactful communications tools, the majority of opinion forming is still carried out through traditional news outlets such as CNN, Reuters, the Wall Street Journal, CNBC, Bloomberg and the Associated Press.  Get to know journalists covering your clients before a crisis hits.
2. Utilize all the messaging tools -- The level of trust you have built by establishing journalist relationships will allow you to utilize two very powerful crisis messaging tools (if needed): working the story “on background” and “off the record.”
3. Develop talking points  -- These are your three main points that will serve as your defense in court and will be used in reputation management with the press, influencers, your client’s employees and your client’s clients.  Try to keep them to no more than three, given the attention span of the average person.
4. No comment means more space for other side -- Most journalists need 300 - 500 words to fill out a story.  If you don’t give them copy (or give them additional content “on background” or “off the record”) they will most likely fill that void with commentary from a less than friendly source.  At the very least, give them a reactive media statement that tracks with your defense strategy.
5. The first version reported by the press is the most important -- This is particularly true if the story is being reported by a news wire service such as Reuters, the Associated Press or Bloomberg.  Yes, these news wires will run follow up stories if you have not responded in the first story, but the press outlets that use their copy (Daily papers, TV news, web sites, etc.) will have run the first version they see.   Plus, public opinion starts to formulate and hardens quickly and it is harder to change sentiment later. 
6. Get it all out and make it a one day story -- Be truthful and get everything out and move on.  Don’t deceive the journalist (directly or indirectly) as you may win the battle, but will have lost the war in losing trust that you have been trying to build. If you don’t get it all out, you run the risk of further stories as issues are uncovered – remember, many times a plaintiff attorney or disgruntled party are actively feeding the journalist information.
7. Reactive media statements need to be short and to the point -- Try to keep them to one sentence to force the journalist to use the entire sentence.  Remember, the journalist does not have to run the entire reactive statement, so if you give them three or four rambling sentences, they could use only one and your overall messaging strategy would be weakened.
8. Don’t repeat the negative question --  Never repeat a reporter’s negative question in your response.  For example, if the reporter asks “Did Sam Brooks cook the books?” do not say “Sam Brooks did not cook the books,” because you will have a headline that reads: “Sam Brooks attorney denies that they cooked the books.” 
9. Don’t say your client's name --  Whereas we want their name out there as much as possible in a positive situation (using the actual name instead of “we” “us” etc). in a negative situation we want pronouns and no name usage.  Who wants their picture at the accident site?
10. Keep it simple – Keep your reactive statement, talking points and communications brief, simple and understandable to the common man.  It is not a legal pleading.

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