Every business operating in the realm of public relations (PR) understands the importance of hiring a publicist who can meet the needs of their clients, regardless of which fields those clients operate in. For PR firms whose clients include attorneys and other professionals in the realm of law, being able to help meet those clients’ goals can be tricky without the assistance of a publicist familiar with the ways legal news and events are circulated in the media.
Luckily, this is one area that Orlando, Florida-based PR firm Otter PR doesn’t have many challenges with. Despite only having been in operation for less than two years, the firm has grown into a successful business boasting a seven-figure annual revenue with thousands of clients across global markets and industries. But as the company began taking on an increasing number of clients who specialize in various areas of law, they knew they had to hire a subject matter expert (SME) who could double as a publicist in order to best meet those clients’ PR goals.
This realization is what ultimately spurred Otter PR to bring on Katie Larch as the firm’s Legal PR Specialist. Due to Larch’s blended background in political science, law, and PR communications, her experience grants her unique insight into the inner workings of legal news carousels, positioning her as the company’s go-to publicist and SME for each of their clients operating in the legal field.
The value of a legal specialist in PR
Generating PR is essential for the marketing and business development initiatives of any business, brand, or organization. It is a crucial function that allows companies to better position themselves against competitors, create a greater number of organic leads that can be converted into clients, as well as mitigate against the impact of any potential future crisis.
In this sense, the function of generating PR is not unlike that of a lawyer or law firm.
“A publicist’s role is primarily to build trust with their clients and pursue ethical means of creating value for them,” said Larch. “As Otter PR’s Legal Specialist, it is my responsibility to perform this role and its functions for the benefit of our clients who come from the world of law, be they individual attorneys or entire firms. Just as their duty is to navigate the intricacies of the legal system and provide value for their clients, a Legal Specialist in PR has to create value for them by helping them navigate the news and media cycles that are of particular importance to them and other professionals in their industry.”
As Larch describes it, a Legal Specialist brings a unique perspective to a lawyer or law firm’s communications strategies. In being able to best understand the needs of these clients, as well as how to meet those needs by navigating the news and media cycles pertaining to the legal industry as a whole, a PR firm’s Legal Specialist is better poised to generate positive publicity for their clients in law.
An expert counsel for decision-making in crisis management
There are a number of possible reasons why a lawyer or law firm may seek the expertise of PR professionals to meet their goals. Perhaps a lawyer is looking to improve their online exposure and rankings through generating positive PR in order to build their own base of clients; maybe a firm is seeking ways to create a well-rounded crisis management plan. Whatever the case, involving an experienced Legal Specialist from a PR firm in the decision-making process can mitigate — if not outright eliminate — the mess of having to put out fires at the 11th-hour.
“Publicists and legal professionals both know that one wrong move can spur unwanted viral attention,” Larch added. “In these events, lawyers and law firms tend to focus on following legal protocol and best practices. That’s where a Legal Specialist in PR comes into play. Our job is to make sure that nothing the client produces or distributes will contribute to negatively to their online reputation, while also working to create positive stories for these clients that can be picked up by legal news cycles and media outlets.”
According to Larch, both a Legal PR Specialist and their clients in law can best work together to prevent a crisis before it hits, especially in today’s age of hyper-digitization and social media, a crisis management plan is a must. This, again, comes from the ability to best understand that particular client’s current standing, their PR needs and goals, and their priorities in meeting those goals.
“Neither the legal client nor their Legal Specialist as the client’s PR representative should be the final decision maker in the event of managing — or planning to eventually manage — a crisis, Larch said. “Both parties must work together in alignment with the client’s needs in regards to how they should best approach handling the client’s publicity and reputation, depending on the circumstances at hand.”
Concluding remarks
As Larch tells us, one of the most interesting aspects of working with Otter PR as the company’s Legal Specialist is the diverse array of legal clients she works with and for as their publicist. Though there has historically been a divide between the realms of legal and PR, her experience and expertise help shed light that this no longer need be the case.
Indeed, Larch’s experience in political science, law, as well as B2B and interpersonal communications enables her to best understand what the legal community finds noteworthy.
“Thanks to my experience in the legal field, my strongest skills are my ability to work well under pressure, manage multiple projects at once, and write persuasively for a target audience,” Larch continues, “all of which are vital skills to have in PR as a publicist.”
