Media Training for Lawyers and Law Firm Executives
Media training for lawyers and law firm executives involves preparation, practice, planning, and performance. Each element is an essential component of effective media relations. Media training teaches lawyers and law firm executives how to conduct an interview, appear favorably on television, communicate a message persuasively, and how to overcome physical and verbal roadblocks to effective communications.
Attorneys should be well prepared and media savvy before the opportunity to work with the press arises. To the extent possible, law firms and their attorneys can and should control messages provided to the media for reasons of message management, ethics, and, in the cases of trial publicity, to protect their clients’ best interests.
While media training should be part of a law firm’s public relations efforts, there are times when law firms require focused training for their attorneys. The goal of media training the lawyer and law firm executives is to develop their full potential as advocates when participating in press interviews for the law firm or client matters.
Benefits of Media Training for Lawyers and Law Firm Leaders
Media training teaches lawyers and law firm leaders to:
- Address the court of public opinion as opposed to the court of law
- Speak in such a way that the audience notices and recalls the key messages
- Communicate key messages clearly, concisely and persuasively
- Participate in offensive or defensive interviews
- Manage tough questions
- Control the interview and the message
- Speak in easy-to-understand sound bites
- Appear favorably on video
- Sound confident on audio
- Identify relatable examples
- Curate memorable data
- Use metaphors and analogies effectively
- Overcome physical and verbal roadblocks to effective communications
Executives and entrepreneurs should be well prepared and media trained before the opportunity to work with the press arises. To the extent possible, companies can and should control messages provided to the media.
Specialized Media Training Programs for Your Law Firm Leaders
While media training should be part of a law firm’s overall public relations efforts, there are times that require focused training for their lawyers and client spokespersons. The goal of media training is to develop their full potential as client and corporate advocates when participating in press interviews for print, digital, radio (audio), and broadcast (video) interviews. This is especially true when it comes to trial publicity. Furia Rubel’s law firm media training programs teach lawyers and law firm leaders to:
- Recognize the impact of public opinion
- Recognize the advantages of working with the press as a strategy in law practice and advocacy
- Analyze today’s popular culture
- Understand today’s media and how it operates
- Develop skills to deal successfully with members of the media
- Apply principles of message design to media interviews
- Develop confidence in dealing with all forms of media
- Recognize the advantages of working with the press as a strategy in business management
- Understand how to maintain a positive and ongoing relationship with journalists
- Prepare for the unexpected
- Represent the firm and its clients proficiently
Experience in High Profile Litigation Matters and Trial Publicity
Furia Rubel media experts have provided media training and strategic media relations counsel to lawyers and their clients for more than two decades. We have assisted clients with:
- Discrimination and sexual harassment lawsuit filings against corporations and law firms; #MeToo
- Class actions against manufacturers for false advertising
- Removal of corporate leaders and board members for embezzlement, fraud, and other corporate wrong-doings
- Lawsuits against religious entities and celebrities for allegations of sexual misconduct and coverups
- High profile family law matters including proof of paternity lawsuits
- Tortious interference claims by small business entities against national big-box chains
- Hostile takeovers, mass layoffs, corporate restructuring and lateral departures (including the departure of entire practice groups)
- Whistleblower (qui tam) matters
- Lawsuits dealing with government entities, municipalities, utilities, and public transportation
- Multidistrict (MDL) product liability litigation and pharmaceutical class actions
Media Training for Lawyers: Approach and Deliverables
Furia Rubel designs each law firm media relations workshop to meet the specific needs of the individuals within the firm and the clients they serve. We take into account the number of participants and their media experience, the time constraints of your in-house marketing and public relations staff, the industries your law firm serves, and the delivery methods which can be done in-person (if not dealing with a pandemic) and virtually.
Workshops are organized and conducted to maximize attorney participation. The emphasis is on learning through doing. Our expert media training facilitators offer some lectures and demonstrations and provide an opportunity for participants to rehearse the techniques.
Half-Day Law Firm Media Training Workshop
The initial half-day law firm media training workshop is a four-hour program. It will:
- Allow lawyers to share their experiences
- Demystify the media relations process, venues, and formats (print, broadcast, radio, digital)
- Discuss media background and theory
- Cover media interaction strategies, techniques, and industry lingo (i.e., off-the-record; on-the-record; on background; exclusives)
- Address the ethics of trial publicity and how not to run afoul of ABA Model Rule 3.6
- Provide practical tips on every touchpoint of media relations
- Work with actual legal issues relevant to the firm and its clients
- Address best practices for visual appeal for in-person or photographed interviews
- Provide techniques to prepare key messages, Q&A and to research reporters
- Provide methods to practice for all forms of interviews including in-person, virtual, podcasts, via satellite, radio and print
- Provide performance and practical tips for visuals including imagery, attire, lighting and sound
Lawyers and law firm leaders who participate in this media training program will learn how to:
- Define communication objectives
- Identify the target audience (readers, viewers, listeners)
- Develop key messages (clear, compelling, confident, and practiced)
- Speak in sound bites or “information kernels” (clear, concise, quotable language)
- Manage body language and vocal tone (authenticity, approachability, likeability, impact)
- Handle the media (who they are, how they work, what they need, how to deliver)
- Prepare for interviews (relaxation, appearance, props, logistics, preparation)
- Bridge and deflect questions and comments
- Avoid common mistakes
- Approach media follow up (after the interview)
Media Training Law Firm Empowerment Program
The Media Training Law Firm Empowerment Program includes the Half-Day Media Training as well as:
- Individual break-out sessions with each participant for 2 hours (on separate days) with typical scenario training for B2B and B2C interviews (30-minute prep discussion; 30-minute mock interview; 30-minute interview critique; 30-minute discussion and Q&A)
- Full debrief with recommendations to empower and maximize participants’ effectiveness
- Preparation for potential high-profile litigation and trial publicity
Media Training Law Firm Concierge Service
Furia Rubel’s Media Training Law Firm Concierge Service is designed to transform your firm’s spokespersons into the leading industry representatives, leverage media interviews to grow law firm brand ambassadors and client loyalty, provide a concierge-level communications partnership, and empower and diversify current and future law firm spokespersons. The concierge-level service includes:
- Half-Day Media Training
- Individual break-out sessions and full debrief described in the Law Firm Empowerment Program
- Unlimited virtual media training follow up for your company’s spokespersons during the time of the contract
- Unlimited virtual strategic counsel and preparation for high-profile litigation and trial publicity during the time of the contract
- One-on-one media training for newly hired lawyers and law firm leaders during the time of the contract
Ongoing Consultative Media Training Services for Law Firms
Ongoing media training support is available to each lawyer who participates in a media training workshop. Furia Rubel also provides one-on-one media training for attorneys who are members of the agency’s existing law firm clientele.
Media training consultation offerings include:
Furia Rubel Quick Prep SessionsTM: Quick Prep Sessions in advance of each interview are available for lawyer media training workshop participants. Preparation includes, but is not limited to a review of all relevant information about the interview topic, an overview of the media outlet, the background of the interviewer, a review of key talking points and the messaging used to deliver these talking points.
Furia Rubel Practice and Polish SessionsTM: Practice and Polish Sessions are available to attorney media training workshop participants to practice the fundamentals of interviewing to the point that they become second nature. Once practiced, it is important to polish the attorneys’ responses so they do not appear canned. In many cases, it is necessary to stick to a prepared statement, especially when potentially litigious matters are being discussed.
Furia Rubel High Stakes Training SessionsTM: High Stakes Training Sessions focus on preparing for high-profile media interviews through videotaped role-play sessions and issues preparation when we anticipate ambush, assault, talk show and cross-examination-like interviews. Such sessions are used in crisis management and controversial issue situations and are most effective when implemented proactively. Types of situations that require high stakes training include but are not limited to:
- Types of crises and other situations that require crisis planning and high stakes media training:
- Allegations of corporate wrongdoing, deception or malfeasance
- Bet-the-company litigation
- Breaking news issues
- Corporate financial distress
- Corporate litigation
- Coronavirus
- Cyber breach and technology issues
- Death of key law firm executive or rainmaker
- Diversity Issues
- Financial troubles
- Government relations
- High-profile trial publicity
- Hostile takeovers
- Industrial accidents
- Lateral moves and practice group defections
- Layoffs and furloughs
- Natural disasters: hurricanes, forest fires, tornados, earthquakes, tsunami warnings
- Pandemic issues
- Protests
- Regulatory and ethics communications
- Scandals
- Sexual harassment accusations, #MeToo
- Shareholder and partner relations
- Terrorist attacks
- Workplace violence
The court of public opinion matters. If you are looking to up your game and have more success with your law firm’s public relations efforts, now is the time to contact Furia Rubel.
In addition, check out On Record PR, a podcast sponsored by Furia Rubel which addresses legal marketing and law practice management issues, media relations, and law firm leadership opportunities. If you’re interested in media training, take time to listen to the interviews with today’s journalists.
If you would like some introductory resources for preparing for a media interview, download How Not to Fumble Your Media Interview here:
