LAW FIRM: Latham & Watkins LLP
CATEGORY: Outstanding Media Exposure (Pro-Bono campaign)
PR AGENCY: Hill & Knowlton
WEB SITE: http://www.lw.com
Latham & Watkins didn't just get a guy off of Death Row. In a pro bono action, the firm got a guy off of Death Row in Texas, which has one of the highest rates of capital punishment in the country.
Indeed, when his conviction was overturned in October 2004, Ernest Willis was only the eighth person to be released from Death Row in Texas since 1976, when the state re-instituted the death penalty. Observers who have followed even casually the penal system
in the Lone Star State know that this is no mean feat.
Yet, as is so often the case with pro bono work, the law firm was reluctant to toot its own horn. The firm devoted 17 years to clearing the convicted arsonist/murderer - but who wants to hear a bunch of lawyers gab about what great people they are? Not
the media.
So the law firm took a different tack, focusing on the client's story while simultaneously using the occasion of Willis' release as an opportunity to speak in general about the value of pro bono work.
"We were anxious to use the matter as a showcase for pro bono being integral to the profession," says Geoff Burt, global director of PR and communications at Latham & Watkins.
In the weeks after Willis' sentence was overturned, and prior to his release, the law firm's communications staff delivered to the press a story that highlighted Willis' tale from a behind-the-scenes perspective.
The pitch to legal, national print and national television outlets essentially said that lawyers from the firm could discuss the case from a unique, inside perspective.
At the same time, lawyers prepared Willis to meet the press, coaching and encouraging him in advance of the requests for interviews that, on the day of his release, broke like a massive wave.
The communications plan rolled out in a tightly coordinated manner, with communications staff and lawyers working in close cooperation.
The communications team contacted the press on the day of the judge's ruling, successfully targeting CNN, ABC's "Good Morning America" and the New York Times, among others news outlets.
The value of pro bono work also was touted in pitches to the legal press in such publications as American Lawyer.
The firm drew outside help from Hill & Knowlton, whose PR professionals provided implementation support in organizing and managing the press conference, as well as supporting media pitching about the firm's pro bono work.
Overall, the law firm stuck to its main story: Willis and his fight for freedom.
Media coverage reached some 45 million people and helped draw national attention to calls for a moratorium on the death penalty in Texas. And television coverage helped raise several thousand dollars toward helping Ernest Willis get back on his feet.
By sticking to the Willis story and expounding on the virtues of pro bono in general, rather than highlighting the firm's own efforts, "it was largely in tune with what the media look for in a pro bono matter, and that was certainly a part of the
success of the effort," Burt says.
"This was not about brand placement," he adds, "but rather about making sure that the story is told with integrity."