The truth of the files vs. the court of Public Opinion

On November 21, CEDEF ( https://lnkd.in/e2XDzg4 ) invited me as a speaker to the GENERAL COUNSEL | Summit 2019, an exclusive meeting developed for the top managers in the legal area of companies. The title of this post is a relevant topic for the companies themselves in a country where corporate lawyers have a credibility of less than 20% as spokespersons for society.

For many lawyers it is difficult to understand that the truth is only a concept. The lawyer may be legally correct, but only people's perception of it can give its "real" value. If the consensus of public opinion does not agree with the truth of the company, you are taking too many risks. Paul Watson (environmental activist and former Director of Greenpeace) already said that "No matter what the truth, the only thing that matters is what people think is the truth."

The legal and communicational fields are very different. They are managed in different channels and with different times. And even more if the case is transformed into “a media trial” and that supposes a parallel trial of the public opinion itself that ignores the legal reasoning of many arguments, and ignores the laws and the judicial system.

Justice in Argentina is slow, but the media has another speed. Renowned judgments and business crises in the media always involve a parallel trial by public opinion, the media and opinion makers. Social pressure often produces unfair situations.

It is often said that judicial impartiality is questioned by the influence of the media and now also of social media. And it is that more frequently than we would like, we observe that from the media it is judged and condemned on matters that are being investigated by the judges. This is the case of the parallel court of Public Opinion.