Newhouse Speaks: The Larger Lessons of Legal PR

Although I’ve never had much of an interest in the legal realm – apart from watching “Legally Blonde” – I found myself intrigued in the presentation put on by SU PRSSA this evening. The featured speakers were the Associate Vice President Sophie Cikovsky and Senior Account Executive Nikki Tackley at Infinite Global, an NYC-based PR agency with a high volume of lawyers and law firms as clients.

As an incoming intern at a boutique firm and an aspiring PR practitioner, I received some instrumental pieces of advice that I can carry with me in the pursuit of my career. Firstly, research is imperative. As I’ve learned time and time again in my Newhouse PR classes, research takes place throughout the steps of a project or campaign. Because research plays such a large role in the professional practice, it’s valuable to show off in an interview, whether that be reading up on the organization you’re applying to or conducting a thorough readthrough of the news.

Secondly, asking questions and staying curious enhances the learning experience of an internship. While internships serve as a hands-on educational aid, there continues to be a learning curve in the communications realm. Infinite Global focuses on legal clients, but just like any specialization, PR practitioners learn more about the industry of their clients as their work progresses. Especially with a degree in communications, it’s very unlikely that a PR practitioner has expertise in a remotely different interest – like sports, healthcare, technology, finance and more – so the learning occurs by working with the expert clients overtime.

Thirdly, having a sense of urgency and showing genuine interest in the PR activities at hand creates a strong foundation for the passion that should be put forth throughout a practitioner’s career. A compassionate attitude sets the tone for upholding core values that guarantee a future of success in PR: client-first mentality. This mindset ensures that the PR practitioners gain the clients’ trust, which in Infinite Global’s case is essential to successfully follow through with the recommendations they make to lawyers with notoriously high standards.

Beyond the advice that directly applies to the approach I should take in job searching leading up to graduation, I’ve begun to further understand the intersections between the press and PR. Because my original aspirations fell within the journalism realm, it’s promising to hear the media relations has such a strong presence in PR services, especially at the beginner coordinator level.

Circling back to my Newhouse PR classes and current class topics, it’s inevitable to mention audience persona and the importance of knowing how to communicate to your target market. The representatives from Infinite Global emphasized the need to understand that their primary clients, lawyers, don’t prioritize their own communications efforts. Consequently, the PR practitioners are left responsible for properly articulating the lawyers’ messages, ensuring there are no misquotations and searching for comfortable and relevant promotional opportunities.

All in all, the communicative practices of PR run like a business, and Tackley couldn’t have explained her approach any better: “when your products are people, you have to manage all of your different relationships.”