July 2020 | Anachel | Partnering to Prepare and Protect

Media Relations and Litigation Communications

Posted on July 27, 2020July 29, 2020 by Carrie Cecil

“Dealing with the media in a high-profile case probably is not a matter for amateurs…Lawyers cannot be faulted for concluding that professional public relations advice was needed.”–Judge Lewis Kaplan of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York re: grand jury

The higher profile the case, the more requests for comment are received. Savvy reporters and journalists know how to disarm their sources. And while it’s flattering to be sought after, members of the legal team must stay focused on the case/client:

1. Understand the rules of “on the record” and “off the record.”

2. Be professional, polite and speak definitely.

3. Share prepared key messages with the reporter to stay aligned with the legal strategy.

When the reporter persists, which they undoubtedly will, as it’s their job, use bridge transitions such as, “Thank you for your interest, but the real point is…” “May we schedule another time to talk?” Transitions will professionally point the conversation in a new direction, place it on pause and give the litigation communications team time to research the following:

1. Who is the reporter?

2. What publication or outlet does the reporter represent?

3. Does the reporter have knowledge of the story?

4. Has the reporter previously covered the story?

5. What is the reporter’s story angle?

6. Who else has the reporter spoken to?

7. What is the reporter’s deadline?

As appropriate, the litigation communications team will arrange for an interview with a representative from the legal team and/or the client. Preparations such as media training, Q&A sessions, and mock interviews will be held prior to the interview to ensure the conversation is aligned with the overall reputation management strategy.

ANACHEL Communications specializes in high-profile litigation, crisis and strategic communications. Our media training program and bespoke reputation management practitioners help our clients navigate the narratives when it matters most. Reach out to carrie@anachel.com to find out how our expertise and experience can help your practice and clients.

Access is Key to Unlocking Litigation Communications Expertise

Posted on July 20, 2020June 17, 2020 by Carrie Cecil

The biggest mistake legal teams make when engaging a litigation communications expert is failing to give access. Access to all relevant members of the legal team and transparency regarding the legal strategy is key to unlocking litigation communications expertise. With privilege in place, the legal team can safely do the following:

1. Provide the litigation communications team with relevant information as it becomes available.

2. Ask for input on how legal actions might be viewed through the media lens.

3. Honor the process: reputation management works best when it is proactive.

4. Discuss potential outcomes to help the team prepare a character/brand profile and counter/supportive narratives ahead of time.

5. Share anticipated filings: communications experts can provide input (tone, language) on the document to maximize positive media impact.

Litigation communications experts work with the media to create more balanced, accurate, and less sensational coverage of a lawsuit. Through reputation management practices and media strategies, litigation communications experts insist coverage of a lawsuit goes beyond the victim versus villain narrative.

Are you an attorney who would like to learn more about how outside communications counsel can benefit your legal team? Reach out to carrie@anachel.com. ANACHEL Communications specializes in high-profile litigation, crisis and strategic communications. Our media training program and bespoke reputation management practitioners help our clients navigate the narratives when it matters most.

Maintaining Privilege: Litigation Communications

Posted on July 13, 2020July 9, 2020 by Carrie Cecil

Establishing privilege between a legal team and a litigation communications team is only the first step. Before you can start to work, the following four best practices must be put into place:

1. Establish clear communications channels for exclusive use by the legal and communications teams and exclusively for the case/client in question.

2. Identify all written communications with an “Attorney-Client work product” stamp.

3. Keep it clean: Only the attorney and the communications expert should meet, talk, email, converse. Neither the communications expert nor any members of the litigation communications team should ever directly engage with the client.

4. Prevent information leaks: establish a process (examples: automatic expiration dates for e-files, shredding practices for paper documents) for secure disposal and destruction of all written communications.

Are you an attorney who would like to learn more about setting and maintaining the privilege between your communications experts and the legal team? Reach out to carrie@anachel.com

Establishing Privilege: Litigation Communication

Posted on July 10, 2020July 8, 2020 by Carrie Cecil

Strategic communications efforts such as media outreach, publication of OpEds and owned media/social media activity is legal so long as these efforts serve the overarching legal strategy. However, privilege in litigations communications is not a given and must be established. In Calvin Klein Trademark Trust v. Wachner, privilege was not granted in part because the law firm’s client had a preexisting relationship with the strategic communications firm where it also performed public relations services not related to litigation.

So how is privilege defined, and why is having it so essential to litigation communications strategies? In the law of evidence, a privilege is a rule of evidence that allows the holder of the privilege to refuse to disclose information or provide evidence about a certain subject or to bar such evidence from being disclosed or used in a judicial or other proceeding (Wikipedia).

Privilege between the legal team and the litigation communications team is vital and can be established by employing these three best practices:

1. When initiating the engagement, the contract should be between the law firm and the agency, like us. Not the client.

2. The contract should clearly state that the purpose of the work is to provide “expert” strategic communications advice for litigation or in anticipation of litigation.

3. The scope of the work should use specific wording that connects the communications efforts to the legal strategy.

Would you like to know more about setting and maintaining the privilege between your communications experts and the legal team? Reach out to carrie@anachel.com.