How to get on journalists’ call lists
When it comes to legal commentators it’s common to see the same lawyers appearing regularly in the media.
It may not be immediately obvious why or how some lawyers become the go to legal commentators in their practice area. Yet with focused effort, most lawyers can establish themselves as trusted media experts.
What journalists need
When a story breaks and a reporter needs reaction, or if they need an expert to comment on a story they are working on, they will do one of four things. They will look on the news wires such as the Press Association for good comments that slip into their story seamlessly.
Secondly, they keep an eye on their emails for decent and timely reactive comments. Failing that they contact legal PR agencies who have access to multiple lawyers across various firms. Finally, they will search Google for any lawyers who had been quoted on the issue in the past.
Positioning yourself as a commentator
To get the attention of journalists, lawyers need to put themselves out in the market by offering quality content that reporters can use. There are some tools lawyers can use to achieve this.
The first is by reacting to the news agenda by issuing quotes. Sounds easy right? Well, you’d be surprised at how crowded the market is.
A recent example was the Supreme Court ruling on car finance mis selling. One journalist told us that he was sent over 20 comments when he could use four at the most. So getting quotes used isn’t simple, but there is an art to getting heard. Firstly, be quick – send quotes to reporters within an hour of a story breaking. Yes, an hour. The reason for this is that once the story is published they aren’t going to add further quotes unless you are the lawyer acting in the case.
Secondly, be punchy, pithy, don’t sit on the fence, avoid technical jargon or legalese and explain what the story means and what might happen next. Oh, and don’t repeat the story or say you welcome whatever has happened. Journalist will press delete straight away.
However, lawyers also need to be realistic about their chances. If you’re commenting on the budget, then politicians and business leaders are more likely to be quoted ahead of law firms. A judgment? Then you have more relevance and consequently a greater chance.
Get stories in the press
Each time you are quoted in a published story, you strengthen your online presence – making it easier for journalists to find you online. So, how do you get quoted? Well, it depends on your practice area. So, for example, if you work in residential conveyancing, highlight market trends or developments such as a spate of gazundering. In banking, work with your clients to get your name and quote included in their deal press releases. In personal injury, use client cases such as road traffic accidents, with their consent and involvement of course, to draft a press release on the human impact for the national or local press.
Depending on the subject matter, press releases and thought leadership articles are excellent ways of getting content published in news or trade outlets. Apart from raising your profile you are also increasing your chances of being seen when journalists, and potential clients, are searching for an expert. This is even more worthwhile if you can get into titles that rank highly on generative engine optimisation (GEO) – titles that are referenced by AI in searches.
Even if the press release you send is not published immediately, many journalists retain all releases and subsequently use their inbox as another search engine to look for experts. We have had calls from reporters two years after sending a press release when they wanted to speak to a lawyer on that topic.
Other considerations
Blogs on the firm’s website also add value beyond SEO, as journalists do get in touch if you have written about a topic they are looking at. Fresh, original content is also prioritised by Google, helping to boost visibility.
Being broadcast trained is a big feather to a lawyer’s bow. Being ready to appear on news channels at a moment’s notice puts you ahead of the crowd, and once you have appeared you are more likely to be asked again.
Engaging directly with journalists who cover your practice area puts you at the front of the queue as reporters are much more likely to approach somebody they already have a relationship with. Lunches are a bit passe these days, and don’t guarantee reporters will use your quotes, but they do help relationship building. However, journalists rarely go out of the office because of time pressures. It’s often better to offer briefings to relevant journalists on cases they might be interested in or offer things like breakfast briefings at your firm. The drill for the latter is to invite journalists from a relevant publication – usually trade – in for an off the record chat with partners about what they are seeing in the market. This gives journalists context and ideas for content, which is agreed by all parties afterwards before publication, and makes the firm their go to source of experts. In our experience this approach is hugely successful and results in a stream of regular coverage for the firm.
Overall, putting yourself out there with the tactics outlined will slowly build your profile and make you a legal commentator the media want to use.
This article first appeared on New Law Journal
