Lessons for legal PR from the Prince Harry news juggernaut
The press’s fascination with Prince Harry and his family is boundless, whether it’s a columnist having their scheduled weekly gripe or a play-by-play of the logistics of the kids’ school run. Interest in Harry and Meghan generates acres of coverage.
When individuals with this level of celebrity are involved in a legal story, it’s a prime opportunity for legal PRs to get their clients into the mainstream media.
Prince Harry’s privacy case against Associated Newspapers (publisher of the Daily Mail) and the subsequent costs decision, is a classic example.
Over the summer, we achieved more than 120 pieces of coverage for our client, the Association of Costs Lawyers (ACL), commenting on the latter decision. A further 10 pieces ran in September, as the Prince and others met the deadline for the first court-ordered payment.
Comments from ACL chair David Bailey-Vella were picked up far and wide, including in The Guardian, The Times and The Independent. Costs law and royalty don’t often mix, so here are some takeaways from behind the scenes, as we raced to secure coverage about the costs woes of the world’s most recognisable redhead.
Forewarned is forearmed
Preparation is key. We had been following the privacy case, described by the Press Gazette as “likely the most expensive and complex privacy case in British legal history” since the claim was filed.
Throughout the legal process, it is important to understand the points of a case that will pique a journalist’s interest and lead to potential press. Stories can be drawn from letters of claim and court documents, particularly as both sides respond to their respective cases, and all the way through to the final ruling.
I saw first-hand, in my court reporting days, how a journalist’s interest in a story (mine included) would rise and fall, a tide that shifted according to the judicial calendar’s moon. It is a skill in legal PR to have the eye for a story and know the top line before it hits a journalist’s desk.
Key dates include opening and closing arguments and appearances from the main experts and witnesses. I was a fan of the introduction of ‘hot-tubbing’: where economic experts give evidence concurrently and are questioned closely by judges. While no water was involved, it streamlined a trial’s timetable and the panel’s questions would give a flavour of their thinking.
Contacting journalists beforehand and keeping track of court dates matters as much as news judgment: the aim is to do the legwork and bring the news to the press, rather than sitting and waiting for the news to break, thereby losing the advantage and opportunity to comment.
A ‘curtain-raiser’ article (such as this one in City AM, featuring ACL) is built from the ground up by expert comment tailored and pitched out in advance, bearing in mind how stiff the competition to be quoted will be. The comment featured in this story was prepared and sent out ahead of time, with David leveraging his experience to anticipate the outcome on costs, after the claimants lost their privacy case.
A blockbuster case such as Prince Harry’s saw the handing down of a judgment almost as eagerly awaited as a royal birth, as Mr Justice Nicklin delivered his novel-length judgment and followed later with an order and a slimmer but impactful 44 pages on costs. Issuing an immediate reaction was vital to securing coverage – it helped that HM Courts & Tribunals Service (HMCTS) provided advance notice of when it would be handed down
Easy-to-understand explainers matter
This is a complex and technical area of the law, so David’s comment needed to explain the all-important concept of ‘indemnity costs’ in an easy, digestible manner. For a journalist, boning up on the intricacies of costs law while juggling deadlines, fact-checking and then applying that knowledge to the story is a bit like asking them to split the atom. Saving them the hassle by delivering that expert knowledge in an accessible way will put legal PRs ahead of the competition.
Good targeting
Our recent coverage demonstrated how, in an increasingly atomised news world, syndication can work to maximum effect. The ACL’s comments ran initially on the Press Association (PA).
PA is a valuable and trusted news source with a legal desk that is, to me, one of the last bastions of deep and committed court reporting. The team are dedicated and passionate about the law and securing comment in their pieces can mean reaching hundreds of media outlets.
Running on the Associated Press and Agence France-Presse also put the ACL in the international spotlight.
However, it is important not to rely on syndication for all the heavy lifting. We paid close attention to which reporters were covering the story ahead of time and on the day made sure to target our outreach. News desks are busy places and the reporter who covers the first day of a trial may not be the same one catching the result months later. A good database and thorough press research are essential.
This kind of targeting is key. When I was a journalist, there were few things more annoying than a PR’s repeated follow-ups about press releases completely unrelated to the specialised area I was covering. Getting an irate ‘don’t send me these anymore’ email from a journalist will chill any legal PR’s blood – although, most will send your press release to their deleted folder quicker than you can say ‘Just following up!’
The opportunity for clients covering a highly specialist area of law like costs to get into the national press won’t come around every day (although as the Wagatha Christie saga also proves, it is becoming more frequent), but, with careful preparation and a well-tailored comment targeted to the right people, legal PRs can maximise the chances of getting their client’s name in print.
