Introduction

• Author: James F. Haggerty
• Profession: Lawyer
• Pages: 19-26

xix

INTRODUCTION

Why would a lawyer or client need this book? Aren’t public relations

matters peripheral (at best) to most litigation? Doesn’t the media just

cover “celebrity” cases? Aren’t public relations strategies during litiga-

tion best left to the lawyers handling the case?

The answers to the latter questions provide a pretty good idea about

the answer to the rst. Now more than ever, public relations is an inte-

gral part of litigation. And it’s not just sensational cases that are garner-

ing press. In this modern world of traditional and social media, 24-hour

news cycles, and instantaneous communication, all manner of lawsuits,

investigations, and other legal disputes are subject to public scrutiny.

Ultimately, this public attention can mean the difference between suc-

cess or failure—not just for the lawsuit itself, but also for an organiza-

tion’s reputation and its future.

When I wrote the rst edition of this book more than 15 years

ago, I listed three statements that send a chill down my spine:

1. The best public response during a lawsuit is “No

comment.”

2. We’ll ght this case in the courtroom, where it really

matters.

3. Don’t worry, my attorney will handle the press.

With a decade-and-a-half more of work under my belt, let me

add three more:

4. You know what you do with social media during law-

suits? Ig nore it!

5. It’s just our turn. . . . There’s nothing we can do except

keep our heads down.

6. There’s no way to control what media write about you or

your legal issue.

If business executives, communicators, high-prole individu-

als, and lawyers learn anything from this book, I hope it’s this:

throw these statements out the window. Lawyers and their clients

have been falling back on clichés like these since at least the mid-

1970s. But the world has changed immeasurably since then. Want

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