How Can Legal and PR Teams Work More Effectively Together?
Michelle Garrett
PR for B2B Clients | I'm a public relations consultant and writer who works with clients to create content, earn media coverage for their brands, and position them as thought leaders in their industry
Our work as PR professionals touches nearly every department within an organization. We often find ourselves working with teams from sales and marketing to engineering to the C-suite.
But there’s one department we work with that often makes us shudder – legal. While the legal team’s role is to protect the business, it often seems to stand in the way of what public relations practitioners are trying to achieve.
It doesn’t have to be that way.
Can we change the way we view these vital teammates? Here, we get advice from both sides.
A Lawyer’s View
To capture an attorney’s perspective, I spoke with attorney Mark R. Weaver of Communications Counsel and a partner at Isaac Wiles, who’s practiced media law and served as a spokesperson for the Justice Department. He gave these tips to help PR pros have a better relationship with the legal team.
1) Try to view it from the legal team’s perspective.
When working with an attorney, do your best to understand what the legal concerns are, says Weaver.
“Look at the big picture. If you present alternatives that will resolve the legal counsel’s concerns, that can go a long way,” Weaver said.
2) Bring in the legal team early.
“The work of a lawyer moves at a slower pace than that of a PR person, “ says Weaver. “We may need more lead time.”
And it is fair to ask for a timeframe as to when you can expect a response, he says.
3) What’s the best way to ask legal to review a document?
“When you ask them to review something, be clear that you’re not asking them to edit it,” says Weaver. “Their style of writing isn’t the best for a mass audience.”
What should you do instead? Ask them to read it and to tell you if any legal concerns arise.
4) What about apologies? Doesn’t legal usually advise against them?
In times of crisis, public relations and legal must work together – but, the PR team may want the company to apologize, while legal views that as an admission of guilt.
However, Weaver says that view may be swayed. “We know that apologies are very powerful in the court of public opinion, and because 99 percent of all civil lawsuits are settled outside of court, making the public like us may make us more likable in the court.”
5) What if PR wants to circumvent the legal team altogether?
That’s not a good idea, Weaver says. A document like a press release can be used as evidence in court, so If you don’t go through proper channels to get legal’s approval, that can make it tougher to argue a case. “That’s pretty serious. There’s no arguing that it wasn’t us, if it’s there in writing.”
A PR Pro’s Perspective
To get the perspective of the other side, public relations pro Jared Meade, MPS, APR, founder and CEO of Rayne Strategy Group, weighed in on how he’s been able to achieve a smooth working relationship with legal.
1) Just as you build relationships with journalists, build the relationship with your legal team.
“Starting out in PR, it’s ingrained to a degree that legal and PR are at odds, that it’s going to be this battle every time,” said Meade. “I’ve really found it’s more of a partnership.”
As you’re both fighting for the long-term health of the business or organization, try to see it as coming up with a solution from different viewpoints as you both work toward the same goal.
2) View working with the legal team as an opportunity to help you hone your messaging.
“When you work with legal, it helps you as a PR person think more critically. It helps you solidify your argument as to why your path is the best way to proceed,” Meade says.
Working together can help both sides gain clarity, says Meade. PR might stop to consider what would happen from a legal standpoint if the CEO made a particular statement in a media interview, while legal would think through it from a PR lens – what would this sound like if we said it to a journalist?
3) Pay attention to timing.
Meade also emphasized the timing of involving legal. Per Weaver’s point, sometimes PR pros are asked to rush, while doing things right from the legal side can take more time.
“We can explain that a communication needs to go out now and why. That can encourage legal to move up the timeline,” Meade explained.
View The Legal Team As A Partner - NOT the Enemy
Instead of viewing legal as the enemy, do what you can to work with them as your teammate – remembering they have the organization’s best interests at heart.
“We can find a way to hold hands and find common ground between the PR pro and the attorney,” said Weaver. “After all, we’re both there to protect the client’s reputation.”
If we look at it that way, it may make it easier to embrace what legal does – and vice versa.
A version of this article appeared originally on Muck Rack.
Did you enjoy this article? If so, please consider sharing. Are you looking for help with your writing projects, public relations, content marketing or social media initiatives? Remember to follow me on social media for more tips and advice. Head on over to my blog or sign up for my free monthly newsletter by clicking here.
You'll find Michelle Messenger Garrett at the intersection of PR, content marketing and social media. As a public relations consultant, content creator, blogger, speaker and award-winning writer, Michelle’s articles and advice have been featured in Entrepreneur, Muck Rack, Ragan’s PR Daily, Meltwater, Spin Sucks, Freelancers Union and others. Her blog was named to the list of Top 25 Must-Read Public Relations Blogs, and she was named one of the Top 13 Content Marketing Influencers to Follow in 2018 and one of 50 CMWorld Influencers to Follow in 2018.