Blog

Louise Eckersley

_{30 March, 2026}

The customer is not always right

Law Society Gazette journalist, John Hyde, recently highlighted on LinkedIn a situation which saw a PR demand that a link to the law firm’s website must be used as a pre-requisite of using their story. A bold move in a competitive marketplace where legal journalists have a plethora of potential stories available to them, with the power to pick and choose. Suffice to say, the firm did not find its way onto the pages of the Gazette.

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Justin Penrose

_{25 February, 2026}

When a PR crisis becomes an apocalypse

A PR crisis might go on for a few days or sometimes even few weeks. But with the Royal, formerly known as Prince Andrew, his own personal PR crisis has been destroying his standing and personal brand for an incredible 15 years.

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Neil Rose

_{5 February, 2026}

The language of M&A

It used to be one of the gentlemanly niceties of the legal PR world that a 100-partner firm acquiring a two-partner practice would still be referred to as a merger. But times have changed and few offer that pretence any longer. As a report last week from accountants MHA noted: “Whilst the reality has always been that a true merger rarely exists, there appears to have been a recent acceptance that deals are in fact acquisitions.” Otherwise, the language of M&A is much the same. There are plenty of deals every year, so you need to put some work in to make yours stand out. Here are a few tips.

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Kerry Jack

_{17 December, 2025}

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.

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Lucy Gardner

_{25 November, 2025}

Media training: Journalists are not out to get you

Sweaty palms, racing heart, and an empty head…sound familiar? You are not alone. It is estimated that nearly half of the British population has a fear of public speaking (YouGov Poll 2023).  Add a camera to the equation and the knowledge that millions of people will be watching your debut - live on the six o’clock news – it's understandable, you may experience an overwhelming desire to run away and hide under your desk. Or in a wine cellar.

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Sue Carr

_{16 October, 2025}

Are you fluent in chatbot? Why you should be and why media matters

A new study from the creators of ChatGPT has pinpointed the professions most at risk of being replaced by AI. With everyone from sales staff to software developers, and nurses to private investigators on the list, you’d be forgiven for thinking that PR might be there too. After all, if a bot can write a court judgment (a leading judge made headlines when he admitted using the “jolly useful” tool to summarise an area of law that he wasn’t familiar with) then surely it can create convincing content, right? Wrong.

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Louise Eckersley

_{9 September, 2025}

Legal influencer shows power of LinkedIn

Over the summer it was reported that national firm, Witan Solicitors, awarded a training contract to a paralegal, in part because of her rising profile on LinkedIn. Naturally the new trainee, Xiao Pan, was already delivering excellent work but with an impressive 7,000 plus followers on the social media platform, her online presence helped to tip the balance. That Xiao’s LinkedIn profile caught the eye of senior leaders in her organisation is testament to the growing importance of LinkedIn to the legal profession

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Justin Penrose

_{6 August, 2025}

How to get your comments used in a media bun fight

In my former life as a Fleet Street hack I would often bemoan PRs who cluttered my inbox with anodyne drab comments reacting to the latest Supreme Court judgment. Now firmly ensconced on the other side of the fence as poacher turned gamekeeper, I can see why so many quotes that are sent to journalists will never be used. Some lawyers and legal PRs simply don’t know what reporters want or how to get their comments used during a media bun fight.

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Neil Rose

_{24 July, 2025}

What next for legal journalism?

Perhaps the hardest part of the Black Letter Communications ‘In Conversation’ event last month for both me and the Law Society Gazette’s John Hyde was being asked to say something nice about each other. It’s not that we don’t respect what the other does (at least I think he does) but as reporters who cover similar beats, there is naturally a bit of professional rivalry. But in large part, we were in agreement as we debated the legal market and the state of legal journalism.

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