Bell Yard Press Coverage/Releases

Social media and litigation PR

April 2011

@traditionalists; r here 2 stay

From romance to revolutions, social media has had a breathtaking effect on every aspect of our lives and its power cannot be ignored by litigation PR experts. Here is a rough guide to how it is transforming our world at Bell Yard in the UK:

Blogs

As well as traditional broadsheet, online and broadcast journalists, there are now a number of highly regarded, influential and expert bloggers who may take a view on our client cases. Some are former legal journalists, some are lawyers who blog ‘on-the side’. Then there are professional bloggers with hundreds of regular online followers. Their influence is profound as they speak to a self-selecting audience of like-minded individuals. Sometimes even celebrities with their massive fan bases can make or break a campaign or issue. Not all may have the impact of Arianna Huffington but the reach of Joshua Rozenberg, Guido Fawkes, David Allen-Green, Slummy Mummy and Stephen Fry to name but a few examples should not be underestimated.

Top tips: respect bloggers’ objectivity, don’t oversell to them but do ensure they are informed as inaccuracies uncorrected become the perceived truth.

Social networking sites eg Facebook

Lawyers are starting to use sites such as Facebook entries as evidence in their cases, to ‘bookbuild’ in class actions and even to check if jury members may have a conflict (in the US, jury member Facebook checking goes much further). We too as litigation PRs need to be Facebook friendly, especially where communications aim at a young or social-media typical audience. Facebook can be valuable in campaigning to garner support for a client or a cause, as successfully demonstrated by the ‘Free Gary McKinnon supporters’. Facebook is also an important additional channel to the web when a company like BP, in the midst of a huge crisis, needs to keep a range of stakeholders informed of the progress of an issue.

Litigation PRs should ensure any witnesses or claimants / defendants they are working with don’t go off message pre-, during or post- trial on Facebook. Too often potentially damaging entries are overlooked in the rush to manage PR.

You tube and Flickr

Further channels for litigation PRs to consider and harness. Inappropriate facial expressions of a defendant going into court, the lawyers’ statement on the court room steps, the potential for a satirical parody of a client to go viral - are all examples of the risks as well as the opportunities that these video and photo library media platforms bring. They also have longevity, so what once seemed appropriate in one set of circumstances can look anything but that further down the line.

Twitter

Last year Britain’s most senior judge issued interim guidance stating journalists could use Twitter in court, but that approval must be issued by the relevant judge on a case-by-case basis and would only be given providing there were no interference with ‘the proper administration of justice’ . This was reinforced by a paper from Lord Neuberger (Master of the Rolls and the second most senior judge in England) who supported the use of Twitter to inform and engage interested members of the public beyond the courtroom. A consultation exercise is currently underway which will lead to a formal report clarifying guidance for all attendees at court.

So far the judge overseeing the bail hearing of Wikileaks founder Julian Assange allowed the tweeting of court proceedings, however, in contrast, the judge hearing the case of two men jailed for helping gunman Raoul Moat in Northumbria ruled that local reporters could not tweet because he considered that the interests of justice would be best served by the production of full, balanced reports.

Where tweeting is permitted, this will impact the Litigation PR’s need to respond and communicate in ‘real time.’ Controlled briefings to other media / stakeholders who are not present in court will become a relic of the past. It’s worth noting that Lord Neuberger discounted the likelihood of judges tweeting, probably because they are a traditionally conservative bunch!

Conclusion

So the explosion of social media channels, citizen-led and i-phone rapid communication is stretching the role and techniques employed by litigation PRs. It brings new challenges as well as new opportunities in our work at Bell Yard. For many of our clients, of course, the FT, BBC and mainstream media remain all powerful and the holy grail of targeted media campaigns. However we’ve also had clients whose problem first emerged via a new rather than traditional media platform and one sparked the other. Each dispute has its own dynamics affecting key stakeholders and we continue to learn the lessons of operating in this exciting and fast-moving new world.

Louise Beeson
Senior Consultant
Bell Yard Communications

April 2011

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