As a legal PR specialist, I’ve worked with over 25 law firms since setting up my business in 2015. Inevitably, some of those firms offer almost identical services and, in a world where remote working is now the norm, geography is no longer a reliable way of avoiding potential conflicts – many firms now draw in a nationwide client base, regardless of where they have offices.
So how do I manage competing interests?
I avoid representing more than two teams working in the same practice area. For example, I currently support two family law teams. This works well because journalists covering family law issues often look for a range of perspectives, allowing me to put forward two expert opinions when they request comment. It also provides flexibility – if one client is unavailable for a media opportunity, I can offer it to the other while keeping journalists happy. This is critical because, to run a successful PR business, I must maintain strong relationships with reporters who trust me to respond quickly and deliver.
While I would act for another team on a project basis, I would draw the line at supporting a family boutique or any firm seeking a strong focus on family law PR on a retained basis. The reason is simple: family lawyers are always keen to talk about the same themes, such as cohabitation rights, divorce and children arrangements. Adding a third team would risk diluting the focus and responsiveness each client deserves. On more than one occasion, I have reluctantly turned work away for this reason in order to preserve the first-class service I provide to my current clients.
But how do larger PR agencies approach this challenge? To find out, we spoke to two specialist legal PR agencies about how they manage competing clients and potential conflicts of interest.
Kerry Jack, CEO of Black Letter Communications says:
“When you work in a niche such as legal services, some degree of overlap is inevitable. The key is not to avoid overlap entirely, but to manage it properly — through judgment, clear boundaries and complete transparency with clients.”
“If we identify a potential conflict in relation to a new business enquiry, our approach is to raise it immediately with the existing client and seek their guidance. If they are uncomfortable, we simply do not pursue the opportunity. Protecting trust with existing clients is always more important than winning new work.”
“Savvy clients who value specialist expertise also understand that some crossover comes with that territory. What matters is the quality of insight, the agency’s understanding of the market and its ability to provide measurable outcomes. Even within competitive areas like private wealth, firms tend to have different focuses and ambitions, and our role is to respect and protect those differences.”
Matt Baldwin, MD of Coast Communications says:
“The idea that a PR agency is conflicted from working with other professional services firms because it works for a professional services firm is largely unwarranted.
A PR agency with deep sector experience brings considerable knowledge and expertise that takes time to build and is not easily replicated. Understanding the nature of a partnership, the role PR plays in building and maintaining reputation, its relationship with business development and, increasingly, the external capital landscape, comes from deep exposure to the professional services sector.
For a client to demand that an agency cannot work with, for example, another family law or employment law firm is unfair and increasingly uncommon. Most professional services firms offer very similar services. If they want exclusivity, they ought to pay for it.
That said, there will be instances where conflict is a very real consideration. It would be very difficult for a PR agency to justify its ability to work for two law or accountancy firms in the same small town, such as Exeter or Southampton.
Good PR agencies build their offer to professional services firms around their approach and that approach differs wildly.
PR agencies need to understand the concerns and drivers of a firm’s clients and build media programmes around those concerns. Here, a firm ‘owns’ that story and can drive the media agenda, rather than just chasing stories. That ownership helps avoid conflict.”