In the following brief descriptions, PR News recognizes the efforts of 18 more companies that were Legal PR winners in the eyes of their constituents. We will periodically present these stories in depth in our "Case Study" section
throughout 2005-06.
Excellence In Social Responsibility
- Snell & Willmer - The law firm along with Preferred Public Relations & Marketing created the Snell & Willmer Charitable Foundation Publicity Campaign, which helped this Las Vegas-based law firm to raise money (and
awareness) for a local, childhood education program. - Levick Strategic Communications - Working closely with The Association of Frontotemporal Dementias, this Washington, D.C.-based law firm spearheaded a pro bono campaign to raise awareness of the devastating (and extremely rare)
Alzheimer's-like disease.
Outstanding In-House PR Professional
- Joshua Peck (Duane Morris LLP) - Working closely with the firm's marketing crew, Peck helped to score Duane Morris profiles in the New York Times, and the Wall Street Journal as well as the marquee trades, including
American Lawyer and The Legal Intelligencer. - Patty Felts (Snell & Willmer LLP) - In fewer than three years, Felts has scored placements for the Southwest-based firm in such key trades as Nation's Restaurant News and Franchise Times.
Outstanding Client Newsletter Or Communiqué
- Fulbright & Jaworski LLP - Filling what it saw as a huge vacuum in the area of litigation data, the law firm commissioned one of the largest surveys of in-house counsel ever to explore the topic of litigation data, parlaying the results into a
boatload of news items, seminars and speaking engagements. - Miller, Canfield, Paddock and Stone PLC - After 11 years, the quarterly newsletter Hot Points maintains consistent high-quality contact with clients, media and friends of the firm; posting the newsletter on the Detroit-based firm's Web site now
makes it easier to access. - Duane Morris LLP - For six months, the Philadelphia- based firm worked with dozens of partners to gather client testimonials for a 100th anniversary 32-page annual- report-style book.
Outstanding Integrated Communications
- Kirkpatrick & Lockhart Nicholson Graham LLP - This international law firm commissioned an independent market-research firm to conduct focus groups from Fortune 100 and Fortune 1000 companies, resulting in a "Top of
Mind" survey. - Wood & Bender LLP - Turning around a string of poor PR results, the Camarillo, Calif.-based firm developed a comprehensive marketing program that included speaker engagements/sponsorships, a new Web site and raising the frequency of its
Enforce Magazine. - McDonald Carano Wilson - The Nev.-based firm launched a print campaign that accompanied a name change, branding the firm for name recognition and positioning it as being more approachable.
Outstanding Legal Feature
- Haynes and Boone - Working pro bono for more than two years with the Human Rights Initiative, this Austin, Texas-based international law firm helped to win the freedom of a political activist from Zimbabwe who fled to the
United States to seek political asylum. - Hirschler Fleischer - This Richmond, Va.-based law firm was able to convince the Richmond Times-Dispatch legal correspondent to write a profile on partner John Ivins, a minister and music prayer leader who travels throughout the world
leading prayer services.
Outstanding Media Exposure (in three areas)
(Business Development)
- Sutherland Asbill & Brennan LLP - Representing a major oil-and-gas merger deal designed to expand U.S. capacity for liquified natural (LNG) gas, this Atlanta-based firm secured speaking and writing opportunities for attorneys practicing in
the LNG arena. - Fulbright & Jaworski LLP - This Washington, D.C.-based law firm commissioned one of the largest surveys of in-house counsel ever, garnering 300 respondents from folks with titles like general counsel and chief legal officer. The results generated
coverage in everything from CBS MarketWatch.com to Claims.
(Law Firm Merger)
- Goodwin Procter LLP - The overarching PR message was that the combination of Goodwin Procter (Boston) and Shea & Gardner (Washington, D.C.) was not just another geographic play but a long-term strategy to transition a
regional player into a national entity. Proactive media pitching paid off, with multiple features appearing in major pubs in both Beantown (Boston Globe) and the Capital (Washington Post).
(Pro Bono)
- Tunheim Partners - In less than two weeks, Minneapolis-based Tunheim created a pro bono campaign involving the U.S. Supreme Court, one attorney (from neighboring law firm Briggs and Morgan), two separate cases and third-
party testimonials from Somali Minnesotans. The effort (NPR, St. Paul Pioneer Press, Universal Press Syndicate) helped overturn the conviction of a Texas death-row inmate (a Somali), and it kept another Somali - who had asked the Court
for political asylum - from being deported.
Outstanding Excellence In Media Coverage
- Sachnoff & Weaver - An annual analysis of editorial calendars from publications in which this firm seeks coverage yielded the Chicago-based company consistent coverage in such influential publications as Crain's Chicago Business,
The Chicago Tribune and The National Law Journal. - The Castle Group and Roper & Gray Law Firm - On the heels of Google's announcement that it would go public, the Castle Group recommended that Roper & Gray make its technology expert available for comment.
Although David Walek was an unknown, providing a legal perspective on Google's IPO - amid the din of financial experts - gave the media a fresh angle and generated coverage of the firm in 66 media outlets nationwide.