Tim Maltin and Clive Coleman discuss the growth and importance of Litigation PR at the Commercial Litigation Summit 2024

Our Managing Partner Tim Maltin and Senior Partner Clive Coleman last week spoke on Litigation PR and the critical importance of managing reputation during litigation at the Legal Business Commercial Litigation Summit 2024.

Interviewed by Georgina Stanley, editor of The Legal 500, Clive and Tim discussed both reputation pitfalls and key opportunities encountered by HNWIs and large corporates when navigating complex commercial litigation.

Tim highlighted how reputational damage inflicted by the other side during a court case can outweigh the matter value of a multi-million pound litigation. Tim explained that there are two battles taking place: one inside the courtroom, and one outside, in the court of public opinion. Winning in front of a judge may turn out to be a pyrrhic victory if share value is negatively impacted by reputational damage caused during the reporting.

Clive shared his experience in group action claims. He highlighted the importance of Litigation PR in opt-out class actions brought in the Competition Appeal Tribunal. Here the claimant side must show that as many people in the class affected by the unlawful behaviour of a large corporate as possible have been made aware of the claim. Clive pointed out that this can best be achieved by an impactful case study centred story in the national media – including broadcast. Drawing on a number of successful cases Maltin PR has handled recently, Clive pointed out how PR strategy relies on understanding what journalists require in terms of story elements, case studies, data and expert third-party voices and market commentators.

Tim explained the difference between proactive and reactive Litigation PR. In practice, these approaches are very similar. Both require being prepared from the outset – the difference is simply in the execution. With a reactive strategy you have everything set up to immediately deploy following the opening salvo from the other side. In this way attacks from the other side can be parried and neutralised, without the need to be seen to have struck first.

Tim and Clive stressed the importance of integrating Litigation PR into the thinking of the legal team as early as possible at the outset of a litigation – ideally even before legal proceedings have been committed to. Clive highlighted that there are many points during litigation where key information is likely to become public, which can be weaponised by one side or the other, and that this requires careful strategic planning and reputation management implementation. For instance, as soon as a pleading becomes a public document, or during a seemingly technical Case Management Conference when each side’s counsel can reveal important facts which the press may report.

Read more about the summit here. The full conference was covered in Legal Business, here.