When a law firm secures a victory or successful outcome for a client, there is a great opportunity to highlight both the firm’s legal prowess in a specific area and the client’s business achievement – whether that is a winning defense in a business dispute or the closing of a major real estate or business transaction.

Unfortunately, some of these victories fall short in gaining the recognition they deserve. This often stems from a lack of proactive planning, an incomplete understanding of the win’s broader impact or missed opportunities to showcase the success beyond a simple website blurb. Sharing client wins through the media and other platforms is a powerful way to demonstrate your attorneys’ and firm’s value in key markets, industries and practice areas. When done strategically and with the right timing, showcasing these successes can build credibility, inspire confidence and attract new clients.

Plan Ahead: Set Yourself Up for Success

Do you have attorneys preparing for trial? Could the case be newsworthy? Now is the time to discuss why it matters. What’s at stake if the ruling favors your client? And what alternative outcomes should you be ready to address?

Preparing before engaging in external communications is essential to understanding the “why,” ensuring consistent messaging and aligning with the firm’s positioning. Every announcement or public matter should have a clear purpose and support the firm’s brand and business development goals. It’s also important to recognize that public statements can have implications for future legal proceedings, so they should be crafted carefully and in close collaboration with the attorneys involved.

Use the below checklist to navigate the conversation before drafting the content.

• Notification of the news: Ask attorneys to share as much information at the onset of their case or as soon as they have a sense of clarity on the direction of the matter. Do they think they will win? If so, what are the case specifics and timeline? What is the significance of the win that will matter to reporters? Pull together as much information in the initial conversation and begin adding placeholders for the press release and pitch to position your attorneys on this matter.
• Confirm they have client permission in writing to publicize the matter.
• Ask if the attorney anticipates if the matter is totally closed or might it be appealed.
• If it may be appealed, we recommend sharing the outcome now. However, a follow-up may be needed once the appeal is closed.
• Identify any potential problems that may arise down the road that should be carefully considered when drafting the communications. Ensure that the attorney would be comfortable with anything distributed to media making its way to a judge in any related or similar matters in the future.
• Determine if they are interested in being interviewed or if the attorney would like to simply share the information / press release with reporters to cover the story on their own.
• Gather any public documents available that can be shared with reporters for background. This could be as simple as the opinion or whatever else the attorney deems relevant. If there are any specific sections of those documents that would be particularly helpful for a journalist, identify those in your pitch.

Why It Matters: Elevating Your Firm’s Presence

Showcasing client wins builds credibility and demonstrates real-world success. For the most effective outreach, prepare the narrative with the firm’s target audience in mind by highlighting what is compelling about this case and the impact.

Your attorneys know the most about this topic and the industry influence. We recommend asking them to provide a paragraph that describes the matter and outcome, including everything that stands out. The information they provide should be approved to share publicly. It is then the marketing and communications team’s chance to review their version and simplify it in a way that tells a story outlining the details of the case and the impact on those who could be directly affected.

A few checklist items to keep in mind:

• While it is important to align the communications with the actual legal filings and strategy, be prepared to “translate” the legalese in a way that tells the story in a clear and compelling way.
• Carefully consider the language in your draft announcement and social media posts. Would the client want to be mentioned, or even tagged, in this type of matter? Are all of the attorneys listed and tagged?
• Remember the other attorneys involved. While you are likely preparing the announcement with the lead attorney on the matter, be sure to include the entire legal team from the firm and any additional co-counsel from other firms.
• In addition to collaborating with the legal team involved in the matter, consider engaging the firm’s general counsel for final approval of all materials.

Distribution and Next Steps: Maximizing Momentum

Once the press release has been approved by all necessary parties, distribute to the appropriate contacts and promote online to elevate the firm’s reach. This is the time to position the attorney and the firm in front of the target audience who is most affected by the outcome. In doing so, you’re able to connect them with clients and perspective clients.

Checklist tips for distribution:

• Pull together a media list that includes local, legal, national and trade publications.
• Prepare your media list in advance. Among the biggest downfalls in client outcome media engagement is failure to contact media while the decision is still “breaking news.” Plan ahead to contact appropriate reporters within a day of the client win. Ask yourself which reporters will care and why.
• In the outreach, include attorney availability if they are interested in interview opportunities.
• Add press release to the firm website and post on firm social pages.
• Use the contents of the press release to position the attorneys as thought leaders in this industry and highlight the impact this ruling has on the industry underscoring the importance of covering this matter.
• Once the news cycle of the story has passed, what are additional opportunities to highlight the work? Consider case studies, deeper analysis via blog post or bylined article, award nominations for the attorney and/or client, incorporating coverage into RFPs, etc.

Being intentional with how the firm highlights client matters reinforces the firm’s work in a particular industry. By preparing the narrative to do more than announce the client win, you are moving past a generic press release and telling a story of the work, the firm and the impact. Ready to learn more? Download our Wins and Deals Publicity Checklist to review your current process and strategy.

Kali Hammond, APR, is a vice president based in Orlando, Fla.
Betsy McKinney is an account executive based in New York.
Mikey Mooney is a partner based in Atlanta.