Blog

Sue Carr

_{25 November, 2024}

Why are law firms struggling with social media?

I was surprised to find that one in four law firm partners think that marketing their company on social media is still a waste of time, just one of several interesting findings in First4Lawyers’ latest white paper: "TikTok or TikNot: Law firms in the social media age".

Read article

Lizzie Wright

_{5 November, 2024}

Great Expectations

Amidst all the fiscal details that comprised last week’s Budget announcement by Chancellor Rachel Reeves, was an unexpected lesson for communications professionals in expectation management. As legal PR’s, we’re always attuned to the comms side of announcements, how they’ve been crafted, and, how they’ve landed.

Read article

Jack Havard

_{26 September, 2024}

Manchester City’s legal battle: A reputation in the balance

Manchester City is the club of modern English football. Four premier league titles in a row, a slew of league and FA cups, and a Champions League title cements their place at the top of the English football pyramid. Yet, this is all being called into question as they are embroiled in a legal battle that could significantly impact the club’s reputation and the integrity of the Premier League.

Read article

Lucy Gardner

_{19 August, 2024}

Did the riots provide a much-needed PR win for the justice system?

The rapid mobilisation of all entities of the criminal justice system following the violence, which was incited by the racially motivated spread of misinformation online, felt like the rocket booster we have but longed for. One man was jailed within 24 hours of posting racially aggravated, offensive content online and a “violent racist” received more than a three-year sentence less than two weeks after punching and kicking a black man in the face.

Read article

Andy Cullwick

_{31 July, 2024}

Hold the front page: How newsjacking could help boost your brand

Bridgerton. It’s what everyone seems to be talking about, or at least it was a few weeks ago when I first had the idea to write this blog. Such was the sea of stories generated by the third instalment of Netflix’s hit Regency romance that it even attracted the attention of Kim Kardashian, who subsequently recruited leading lady Penelope – actress Nicola Coughlan – as the latest face (and body) of her lingerie and shapewear brand SKIMS.

Read article

Justin Penrose

_{25 July, 2024}

People’s justice is on the rise and why we should all be grateful

Covid 19 Bereaved Families for Justice UK campaigned and lobbied tirelessly for a public inquiry into the failings that saw more than 200,000 people die in the UK during the pandemic. At the heart of their successful campaign, and others that have come to the fore recently, is communication and an adept use of the media to create a body of pressure that becomes so great that the government or corporate bodies eventually cave in.

Read article

Lizzie Wright

_{28 June, 2024}

Football’s (maybe) coming home, but is politics?

While the country’s great and good duke it out on weekly televised debates, for those of us in all types of public relations, including legal PR, the election offers a unique lens through which to examine the evolution of communication strategies. As the campaigning unfolds, various aspects of political messaging, media engagement, and voter interaction reveal the intricate dance between politicians and the public.

Read article

Louise Eckersley

_{5 June, 2024}

The Post Office: PR in the firing line

The Post Office scandal has caused significant damage to the reputation of the legal profession and now, following evidence from former Post Office boss Paula Vennells and her former director of communications Mark Davies, the PR profession is not coming out covered in glory either. It was reported that Ms Vennells killed a review that would have exposed the Horizon IT scandal over a decade ago after she was told it would make “front-page news”. Subsequently sub-postmasters continued to be prosecuted and the Post Office continued to fight attempts to appeal convictions.

Read article

Kerry Jack

_{26 April, 2024}

Vardags passes the legal PR test

The recent news that the wrong couple were granted a divorce after a lawyer at Vardags accidently opened a different couple’s file when making the application was a sobering reminder that mistakes happen, but it’s how you react to them that really matters. This could have gone one of two ways and to be honest, having seen some law firm howlers when it comes to managing embarrassing incidents, I was pleasantly surprised that Vardags did the right thing.

Read article