Home >> Services >> Promoting Your Firm >> PR Information

PR Information

Press Releases

Sample Press Release
You can download a sample press release here.  It contains the standard details relating to the organisation (history, number of members, and the work it does) and contact details (email and phone number).
 
Download Example Press Release>>
 

PROMOTING YOUR FIRM

The Law Society press office is keen to promote the “brand” of solicitors and is often contacted for “expert opinions” by the media. The office has a list of experts that are willing to give opinions on various issues where the media needs input. If you are called upon to give a view, that could be the kind of PR exposure that would otherwise cost dearly and take lots of hard work to achieve. The office is always keen to hear from practitioners who may have a view to give on certain subjects, or who simply need their assistance with media relations.
 
 The Law Society Press Office can be contacted by email on pressoffice@lawsociety.org.uk

 
DEALING WITH THE MEDIA – USEFUL ASSISTANCE FROM THE LAW SOCIETY

 
The Law Society can provide assistance and helpful advice to those practitioners not lucky enough to have their own PR departments.
 
You never know who is going to come through the door next and with what problem. If the media show an interest in your client or their affairs for whatever reason, good or bad, you as their trusted adviser may well be the first port of call for reporters and journalists.
 
The Law Society has its own public relations and media office which can give useful guidance for anyone faced with the impending invasion of journalists. The media centre is based at Chancery Lane and can be contacted with any number of queries from how statements should be presented to what should be included and avoided and how the media exposure can help your firm in the long run.
 
Handy hints as to what to do if approached by the media were as follows:
 
  • Don’t feel like you have to give a statement on the spot. If you can, simply say on the phone that there will be a prepared statement being released later in the day. Ask when the publication/report deadline is and prepare your statement for release in time for it so that your client’s side of the story is put forward without any off the cuff comments.
 
  • If you have the time to have your statement checked by the law society, use the service. A prepared statement or article may seem like thrilling reading, but what excites lawyers does not always light the general public’s fire! The press office can help you to find the public interest angle in your statement or press release.
 
  • If you are faced with having to provide a TV or radio interview or sound bite, louder is not always better. This goes for attire as well as voice. People are more likely to concentrate on your message if it is not obscured by jangling jewels or blinding ties – and apparently blue always looks better than black on camera!
 
  • The press conference can be the most useful as well as the most daunting engagement wit the media. Although you can get your message across to many publications or agencies at once, you may also be faced with a barrage of questions. The key is always preparation: think about the likely questions and rehearse the answers. If you are part of a panel, make sure the right people answer the right questions.