PR and reputation management

Thought Leader Interviews: Laura Devine

To mark International Women’s Day, Laura Devine, principal of Laura Devine Solicitors, reflects on women in the law and the changes she’s seen in the profession through her career. Law since the 1980s I’m not sure the law has changed since I...


Is being controversial the safest brand strategy?

Unless you've had all news and social media switched off recently you'll have seen the latest Gillette ad. The one which shows a range of suboptimal male behaviour, including sexual harassment, before switching to examples of men at their best...


Do you need a nickname?

The Times carried an article last week by Nick Freeman, the lawyer known as ‘Mr Loophole’, whose stock in trade is representing clients facing charges related to motoring offences. Freeman noted that in a crowded legal market "branding and marketing are...


Thought Leader Interviews: Jason Smalley

In the first of our series of Thought Leader Interviews, we spoke to Jason Smalley of The Legal Director about the challenges faced by GCs, how they select their external legal advisers and the value of a legal directory ranking...


Can independent law firms build a global brand?

I have just arrived in Rome for the annual IBA (International Bar Association) Conference which starts on Sunday. The event is expected to draw record numbers of attendees this year – probably topping 6,000. The weather is very warm, everyone's diaries are...


Gareth Southgate and the beautifully self-deprecating game

This might not be front of mind for most football fans, but for a communications expert the 2018 World Cup has stood out for more than England’s unfamiliar run of success in matches. By my reckoning, it’s the first time an...


The Royal Wedding that went suddenly very well

Many, many millions watched the marriage of 'Harry and Meghan' - judged such a success that I can think of the odd hardened republican who raised a glass wishing them well. But were you watching the coverage? Specifically, the very dramatic...


Gender pay gap reporting: what did we learn?

Many organisations missed the 4 April deadline for reporting their gender pay gap data, but the vast majority of law firms who had to report did. Journalists were waiting for these reports. There are serious issues around equality here, and for...


Thameslink’s first-class fail

Humour on social media can be a high-risk, high-stakes thing. This is nowhere clearer than in the now-famous Twitter spat between Thameslink and Poundland. Thameslink’s woes stem from the introduction of a new timetable. If you want to know how that’s...


Oxfam’s Haiti scandal: Crisis PR guided by a moral compass

My local Oxfam shop, which had always seemed busy, closed down permanently recently. There was no link between this and the allegations of sexual misconduct against senior field workers in Haiti, but as a symbol it's striking. The alleged conduct in...