Preface to the Third Edition

• Author: James F. Haggerty
• Profession: Lawyer
• Pages: 7-15

vii

PREFACE TO THE

THIRDEDITION

An attorney’s duties do not begin inside the courtroom

door. He or she cannot ignore the practical implications of

a legal proceeding for the client. Just as an attorney may

recommend a plea bargain or civil settlement to avoid the

adverse consequences of a possible loss after trial, so too

an attorney may take reasonable steps to defend a client’s

reputation and reduce the adverse consequences of indict-

ment, especially in the face of a prosecution deemed unjust

or commenced with improper motives. A defense attorney

may pursue lawful strategies to obtain dismissal of an

indictment or reduction of charges, including an attempt

to demonstrate in the court of public opinion that the client

does not deserve to be tried.

—Justice Anthony Kennedy, Gentile v. State Bar

of Nevada, 501 U.S. 1030, 1043 (1991)

This is the third edition of In the Court of Public Opinion, and not-

withstanding the notion expressed by Justice Kennedy in Gen-

tile v. State Bar of Nevada, above, the central theme of this book

remains a bit radical: that a lawyer’s duties extend beyond the

courtroom to the proverbial “court of public opinion,” and that

public relations during lawsuits should be handled with the

same seriousness and care as any other aspect of the case. Thus,

whether you’re a lawyer at an outside law rm, corporate coun-

sel, a business executive, a high-prole athlete or celebrity, or a

senior communications professional, you need a system for man-

aging communications during litigation, to ensure that you “win”

this critical battle—and perhaps, in the process, the war.

Put this way, I’m sure it doesn’t seem like a radical idea at all—

and, indeed, the rst two editions of In the Court of Public Opin-

ion were well-received in both legal and nonlegal communities.

The book earned nearly unanimous accolades (Financial Times, for

example, called the rst edition “. . . the perfect handbook for this

age of show trials.”1); it was cited in textbooks and law review

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