Page 6 - First-Year Associates Handbook

S6 | TUESDAY, OCTOBER 14, 2014 | First-Year Associates Handbook
| NYLJ.COM

Public Relations

Using PR to Lay a Foundation for Success

BY JAMIE DIAFERIA
AND JESSE DUNGAN

F
or young attorneys building their careers,
public relations isn’t just an effective
tool to market themselves to clients
and prospects, but also with colleagues,
rainmakers and irm decision makers. The
beneits—gaining exposure for one’s law irm,
building a personal brand, and generating
new business—can be invaluable, both for
the attorneys and for their irms. In this new

and different post-recession legal landscape,
one could even argue that the need for young
attorneys to market themselves is essential.
A significant challenge for young law-
yers is time. As your stack of assignments
grows larger in your first years on the
job—and the hours in the day seem to get
ever shorter—prioritizing extracurricular
activities may sound like a luxury. Our sug-

gestion to you is that you make the time. Your
competitors are.
Certainly, incorporating a full-on public
relations campaign into your practice as a
irst-year associate isn’t feasible, but this
doesn’t mean you can’t get a head start.
Carve out a half hour a week, or prioritize just
one project each quarter (such as mastering

interview skills or writing a bylined article)
and you’ll begin to see results.
The irst step is making the commitment.
After that, you’ll ind that learning how to
identify media opportunities—and under- OCK
standing the common pitfalls to avoid when ST
executing these opportunities—will help bol- BIG
ster your professional growth and business
development efforts down the line, and lay

the groundwork for success throughout the practices. This will also help you glean from results will help drive awareness of your per- tures—and give you exposure before target
course of your career.
them the type of commitment that’s required. sonal brand, within your irm and externally audiences you otherwise would not reach.
Depending on the week, a PR activity could to clients and prospects.
Is It Really Worth the Efort?
be a 15-minute media interview discussing The relationships you build through PR Okay, You’re Into It . What Now?
a breaking news topic with a reporter. Or an are also invaluable. Reporters and editors
At this point in your career, you’re still hour-long, in-person, introductory meeting have the ability to reach wide but targeted Once you’ve decided to make the commit-
building the experience and credentials that with an editor to demonstrate your particu- audiences and help shape the discourse ment, you can start learning how PR opportu-
will enable you to incorporate public relations lar skill set and background, and to position around industry-specific issues that will nities emerge by observing the partners and
into your practice. It is unlikely you will be put yourself as a source for his or her publica- matter to your future clients. Outside of the senior attorneys you work with every day. If

in the spotlight with media interviews. In fact, tion. Maybe it’s spending several hours over media relationships, public relations can also possible, offer to help write articles they’re
it’s very unlikely your irm’s internal market- a month-long period drafting a bylined article
help you strengthen your ties with senior working on. And let your colleagues know if
ing team will even allow you to participate in for an industry-speciic publication. attorneys at your irm, as well as peers and you have ideas that could generate positive
the types of activities enjoyed by partners. Appearing in a regional, national, legal or ancillary service providers in your network. publicity for the irm, even if you’re not the
But you can learn the ropes by helping senior trade publication is an excellent way to cre- The relationships you build now are likely to face behind the campaign.
attorneys research or prepare articles and dential yourself and the irm, and develop produce countless beneits during the life of Sometimes identifying a media opportu-
taking note of how they—and their competi- third-party validation of your expertise. Not your career.
nity, like promoting a big deal or verdict, will
tors—incorporate public relations into their
only can you reach important audiences of Whatever you do to build the basics of your be obvious. But often it is less so. Perhaps

these publications, but since many articles PR strategy, you’ll receive from your efforts it’s a court decision that may not generate
will also appear online, you can stand out in what you’re able to invest. The payoff is that much buzz immediately, but could have wide
JAMIE DIAFERIA, president of Ininite Spada, can be search engines when your peers or prospects PR activities will help raise your proile as a implications across industries.
reached at [email protected]. JESSE DUN- research your issues or look into your experi- thought leader, position you as a hard worker Whatever you do, as you develop your
GAN, a client supervisor with the company, can be ence. You can also populate your LinkedIn before senior attorneys at your irm—or other career and gain experience, don’t undersell
reached at [email protected].
proile with the fruits of your efforts. Both
irms, if you’re someday seeking greener pas-
the ideas you have. Because attorneys are