Blog

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.

Read article

Kerry Jack

_{25 June, 2025}

When words backfire: The BMA misstep

As a PR consultant, I’m used to analysing how organisations present themselves in the media. But even I had to do a double take when I opened my Times app this week and saw the headline: doctors “excited” about further strikes. “Excited”? That single word leapt off the screen. Not “determined.” Not “prepared.” But excited, as if the disruption of patient care and the cancellation of over 1.5 million appointments was something to look forward to. It was, frankly, a monumental own goal.

Read article

Lucy Gardner

_{28 May, 2025}

Prevention of Future Death Reports: Why do we keep getting it wrong?

Failure’ by mental health services, ‘avoidable’ death during surgery, ‘unlawful killing’ are just three of the estimated 37,000 inquest conclusions that will be read out to grieving families in 2025. One-fifth of deaths – 125,000 - are deemed avoidable each year in England and Wales, and require a formal, public hearing to determine where, when, and how someone died. Through our legal PR work, we support families of the deceased through the deeply emotional process of inquests and the often intense media attention that accompanies them.

Read article

Sue Carr

_{25 April, 2025}

Why inaction on climate action is bad news for law firms

Some of the world’s largest law firms have been publicly called out for exacerbating the climate crisis in a damning report by the Law Students for Climate Accountability. The campaign group’s Law Firm Climate Change Scorecard, which ranks the 100 leading global firms annually according to their fossil fuels work, found that more than a third (38%) had actually increased it over the last five years. These included A&O Shearman, Clifford Chance, Freshfields and Linklaters – four of the five Magic Circle firms.

Read article

Louise Eckersley

_{31 March, 2025}

PR headache as law firm HR director falls foul of social media

You might have thought that by now we were all pretty clear on the pitfalls of social media and aware that posting things we would be very cautious about saying in the office was a bad idea. Not everyone is on the same page however, and it was a surprise to see a senior HR professional and self-described “wellbeing ambassador” from city law firm CMS find himself in the national press following anti-Islamic and anti-transgender comments posted on X.

Read article

Lucy Gardner

_{25 March, 2025}

Lucy Gardner

When you’re a journalist there are inevitably times that you must do something so embarrassing you want the world to swallow you up. Unfortunately for me a low point came early on in my career as a fresh-faced teenage work experience on a local newspaper where I interviewed shoe legend Jimmy Choo – while wearing a battered pair of £6 Primark ballet pumps. If you were wondering, he kindly didn’t mention my shoes.

Read article

Louise Eckersley

_{10 March, 2025}

Louise Eckersley

Louise Eckersley is a senior director and Black Letter Communications’ longest serving employee having been at the agency for over 10 years. Here the mum of two discusses how she enjoys using legal PR to get her clients’ messages across and her love of art and comedy.

Read article

Justin Penrose

_{25 February, 2025}

Why UK law firms should think twice about ditching DEI

As Donald Trump seeks to rip up the rule book on matters such as international diplomacy, trade tariffs and foreign aid, it’s easy to think that the legal sector in the UK is largely unaffected by the former The Apprentice host’s bid to change the world. However, one area of Trump’s sledgehammer approach that has sparked an interesting debate which could affect the legal sector is his the abandonment of ‘woke’ diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives.

Read article

Lizzie Wright

_{4 February, 2025}

Public relations lessons from Donald Trump’s inauguration

Unsurprisingly, Donald Trump’s recent presidential inauguration was one of the most talked-about events in the media, you’d have had to have been hiding under a rock to have let it pass you by. It was, as ever, distinctly polarising, and therefore distinctly Trump. As legal PR professionals, we’re always keen to see how events play out in the media, and this was definitely not going to be an exception. From the spectacle of his return to the White House to the polarised reactions across the country, it did not disappoint.

Read article