Blog Post

Black Letter Communications Blog

Expert pr advice for the legal sector

Sue Carr


Former journalist Sue Carr is a consultant at Black Letter and has worked for the business for three years. Here she talks about how she enjoys helping people through PR work and her dream of writing a children’s book.

It may sound a little obvious, but for me there is nothing more satisfying than being able to help somebody. As a journalist my favourite stories and the ones I was most proud of was when I made a difference to somebody else’s life. On the surface the world of legal PR doesn’t necessarily seem to be a place where I could continue to do this, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. Giving people who have been through trauma a voice is a lot of what we do at Black Letter and is something we are very proud of.

English was always my favourite subject at school, although I was told if I pursued it that teaching or being a librarian would be the only careers open to me. Neither really appealed to me. I had always liked the idea of journalism, but my dad didn’t think I was tough enough. Luckily, I didn’t take his words to heart! I did work experience at the Sheffield Star and knew immediately it was the job for me.  I can still remember the buzz I got when I was given my first byline and it’s still a hard feeling to beat.

I was smitten from that point on. Getting your name in a paper never got boring for me. Getting stories in the nationals or writing a story that you are heavily invested in is difficult to beat. And then when you can help people have a voice or campaign for something that was the icing on the cake.

I joined the Tameside Advertiser as a general news reporter and covered some weird and wonderful stories. It’s a cliché but no two days were the same, from attending actress Kathy Staff’s funeral (readers of a certain age will remember her as the inimitable Nora Batty in Last of the Summer Wine) to interviewing 1966 World Cup legends Sir Bobby Charlton, Geoff Hirst and Nobby Stiles. I did a story on a man who had every inch of his body tattooed and another who made models out of cigarette packets. I covered the inquiry into GP Harold Shipman, Britain’s biggest serial killer. I helped several people who had lost loved ones in horrific circumstances launch charities in their names, most of which are still going strong.

It was a time when local newspapers were part of the fabric of the community and the Advertiser, which was part of the Manchester Evening News group, had a circulation of over 100,000. The phones rang off the hook and the newsroom was a fantastic place to work with great people. It didn’t feel like a job, more like hanging out with your mates every day whilst getting paid to do what you loved.

Unfortunately, newspapers were declining, and it became more about providing people with fluffy content that they wanted, rather than with the news. I was doing a lot of editing by that point, but it was always the writing that I really enjoyed. The turning point, however, was when I wrote a story about a boy who had a Crunchie biscuit that looked like Allah, even though he didn’t have the biscuit or even a picture of it. When the opportunity came up to take voluntary redundancy, I decided to make the leap, shortly afterwards landing a job in the media team for national law firm Slater and Gordon.

I had always been interested in the law and enjoyed reporting on court cases so moving into legal PR felt like a natural progression. As a former reporter of 12 years, I think one of the strengths that I brought to the job was my news judgement. As a reporter you always assume that people out of the industry know what a story is, but that isn’t the case a lot of the time.

It’s surprising just how many lawyers don’t realise how newsworthy their work is. Sometimes it can be a challenge getting stories out of some lawyers, but that’s when the skills of a journalist come in handy. It’s like trying to find stories but to repackage in a way that will catch the eye of journalists rather than writing them up for a newspaper.

As a reporter I would build contacts by getting people to trust me and legal PR is no different. It’s still about making contacts but in-house. It’s about engaging lawyers so that they understand the benefits of doing PR and it’s not just about helping them raise their profile or that of the firm. Many clients find it cathartic to share their story, often in the hope that speaking out will prevent it from happening to anyone else.

Another important skill that former journalists bring to legal PR is knowing what journalists want. This is crucial when ensuring clients’ stories or quotes are used. Being poacher turned gamekeeper has its benefits.

One of the things that I enjoy most at Black Letter is helping people have a voice. I’ve spoken to many clients who have lost loved ones due to negligence and would never normally speak to a journalist but want to raise awareness of how they died. Being the person that they trust to speak to and liaise with journalists on their behalf of a privilege. Without these brave people speaking out change would not happen.

I pride myself on getting our clients where they want to be seen, whether that’s in the nationals or the trade press. I regularly work with clients to develop and write thought leadership articles to raise their profile in the insurance, legal, property, HR and tech press.

Our main aim is always to find out where the client wants to be from a business perspective, find the relevant stories that we can provide to target publications and, through articles, comments and press releases, turn them into coverage. It’s a challenge I really enjoy.

In my personal life I am a proud mum to four-year-old Charlie who is by far my greatest achievement. Looking after him is a full-time job, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.

I would really like to take Charlie travelling around the world as I think the educational and social benefits from doing that would be wonderful. I’ve been fortunate to travel all over the world including to Australia, New Zealand, America, Europe and the Caribbean, and I would love to show him those places one day.

Prior to becoming a mum, I also went to Glastonbury several times and I would love to take him there. There is so much for children there and I think he’d love it, although I’ve been to a few muddy ones and the dream might be better than the reality!

I also love reading to Charlie – Julia Donaldson is our current favourite – and I’ve also always wanted to try writing a children’s book myself one day. I’ve just got to try and find the time to give it a go!

Find out more about the Black Letter Communications team

Sue Carr