Litigation PR

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Litigation PR (such as "public relations in legal disputes", including strategic legal communication or process-accompanying public relations ) is a form of press work in which external communication is controlled before, during and after legal disputes. The aim of litigation PR is to support the legal strategy of the prosecutors and defense attorneys involved, to influence the outcome of the legal dispute with the help of the public and at the same time to avoid damage to the client's reputation . It is related to reputation management and crisis PR .

Origin and history

Litigation PR has its origins in the United States, where in the 1980s it was recognized that the traditional means and tools of public relations were failing to achieve their goals in legal disputes . Instead, a specialized form of public relations was developed. While litigation PR is mainly used in Anglo-Saxon countries such as the USA , Great Britain and Australia in legal disputes, it was only introduced in continental Europe and especially in German-speaking countries in 2001. The cases of Josef Ackermann , Klaus Zumwinkel , Leo Kirch , Jörg Kachelmann , Gerhard Gribkowsky , Cornelius Gurlitt , Christian Wulff and Uli Hoeneß have also led to more media disputes in Germany with attempts to influence the course of the process through professional public relations. Online communication and discussion in social media such as Facebook, Twitter and Youtube are becoming increasingly important, as is the use of visual instruments through professionalized visual legal communication.

aims

If a person or a company becomes involved in legal disputes, it can cause massive damage to their reputation . Legal proceedings can have a massive impact on business processes and developments and reduce employee motivation. Even if a case is won in court, it can be "lost" in public. Listed companies in particular can suffer badly from a defeat in the “public court”. Litigation PR is intended to remedy this situation by on the one hand protecting the reputation of the company or person concerned. On the other hand, litigation PR can also influence the dispute itself. According to one opinion, this second point is "a little shamelessly dropped under the table in the industry", another representation demands that the conduct of proceedings in the media should "be part of the 'constitution' of every proceeding".

Investigation into possibilities of influence

There are two studies from 2018 and 2009 on the influence of the media on court proceedings.

Investigation 2018

The survey from 2018 was carried out by the German lawyer Martin Wohlrabe and Hans Mathias Kepplinger under the title "Judges are only human: The influence of the media on legal proceedings". 415 judges and 165 public prosecutors in Germany took part in this survey. It revealed that:

  • 44% of the judges and 58% of the public prosecutors specifically pursue reports on their own cases;
  • 10% of the judges and 16% of the prosecutors say that the media influence the course of the entire process;
  • 61% of judges and 67% of public prosecutors perceive media reports and online comments to influence other parties involved in the process, such as victims or accused;
  • 24% of judges and 38% of public prosecutors ask their press offices to have an active information policy;
  • 53% of the judges and 62% of the public prosecutors think of the echo of the public when they are questioned or made a plea.

Investigation 2009

The earlier survey was an online survey and investigation by Hans Mathias Kepplinger in 2009 among 447 judges and 271 public prosecutors in Germany. So followed in 2009:

  • 37% of judges and 54% of prosecutors targeted reporting on criminal proceedings in which they are involved and
  • 58% of judges and 45% of prosecutors say they cannot avoid reporting;
  • only 5% of judges and only 1% of prosecutors say they deliberately avoid reporting on proceedings in which they are involved.

In contrast to this, according to this 2009 survey among judges and public prosecutors:

  • influence only 3% of judges and 9% of prosecutors in determining guilt;
  • however, according to the judges and prosecutors surveyed, the amount of the penalty is influenced by media coverage (25% of the judges and 37% of the prosecutors themselves)
  • and 58% of the judges and 42% of the public prosecutors thought of the media echo that the verdict triggered with regard to the amount of the penalty when they filed their criminal complaint.

Litigation PR in legal education

Litigation PR is not part of the compulsory subject matter in legal training. Nevertheless, some law faculties offer courses on this subject litigation PR and legal communication. The law faculty of the Humboldt University of Berlin and the law faculty of the Albert Ludwigs University of Freiburg offer events on strategic legal communication.

literature

  • Alfred Autischer: Court of Public Opinion - Litigation PR as a must for professional dispute resolution? In: Pilgermair Walter (Ed.): “Change in the Justice”, Verlag Österreich, 2013,. ISBN 978-3-7046-6531-7 .
  • Volker Boehme-Neßler (ed.): The public as judge? Litigation PR as a new method of finding law . Nomos-Verlag, Baden-Baden 2010. ISBN 978-3-8329-5276-1 .
  • Peter Engel, Walter Scheuerl: Litigation PR. Successful media and public relations work in court proceedings . Carl Heymanns Verlag, Cologne 2011. ISBN 978-3-452-27537-0 .
  • Stephan Holzinger, Uwe Wolff : In the name of the public. Litigation PR as a strategic tool in disputes . Gabler-Verlag, Wiesbaden 2009. ISBN 978-3-8349-0839-1 .
  • Stephan Holzinger: The fight for the law. In: message - International Journal of Journalism. 2/2011, pp. 59-61.
  • Lars Rademacher, Alexander Schmitt-Geiger (eds.): Litigation-PR: Everything that is right. On the systematic status of strategic legal communication . Springer VS Verlag, Wiesbaden 2012. ISBN 978-3-531-18201-8 .
  • Hendrik Wieduwilt: Attack of the media understanders. In: Unternehmensjurist - magazine for employees in legal departments. 1/2011, pp. 38-41.
  • Uwe Wolff: Media work for lawyers . Gabler Verlag, Wiesbaden 2010, ISBN 978-3-8349-1460-6 .
  • Uwe Wolff: Communication in legal disputes . In: Leo Staub and Hehli Hidber (Eds.): "Management of Law Firms - Successful Management of Law Firms". Zurich 2012, ISBN 978-3-7255-6448-4 .
  • Patrick Minar: Litigation PR - Strategic Impact. In: Federal Ministry of Justice (ed.): The media landscape 2015 - Challenges for justice. NWV Verlag, Vienna / Graz 2016, ISBN 978-3-7083-1101-2

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Ralf Zosel: "'Litigation-PR' by the Federal Constitutional Court" , Beck blog from April 14, 2009
  2. ↑ Stephan Holzinger / Uwe Wolff: "In the name of the public - Litigation PR as a strategic instrument in legal disputes", Gabler, Wiesbaden 2009, ISBN 978-3-8349-0839-1 .
  3. ^ Armin Sieber, Thomas Klindt: Litigation PR on the cutting edge of technology. Do journalists' live tweets influence legal processes ?, In: presses spokesman. Communication magazine, November 25, 2014 .
  4. ↑ Peter Engel / Walter Scheuerl: Litigation PR. Successful media and public relations work in court proceedings , Heymann, Cologne 2011, ISBN 978-3-452-27537-0 .
  5. ↑ "Visual legal communication", interview with Uwe Wolff, in: NJW 05/2011
  6. ^ Martin Wohlrabe : Litigation PR In case of doubt against the accused. Legal Tribune Online, October 21, 2016, accessed January 21, 2017 .
  7. ^ Patrick Minar: Litigation PR - Strategic Impact. (PDF) Retrieved September 25, 2016 .
  8. ^ Dahs, Handbuch des Strafverteidigers, 8th edition, Verlag Otto Schmidt, Cologne 2015, p. 67.
  9. ^ Judges are only human too: The influence of the media on legal proceedings. Martin Wohrabe and Hans Mathias Kepplinger, accessed on June 24, 2018 .
  10. ↑ Quoted from: ecolex 2015, "Litigation PR in criminal and civil proceedings" by Bernhard Krumpel, p. 114.
  11. ↑ Course catalog . Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, accessed on April 3, 2018 (winter semester 2012/2013).
  12. ^ Event of the Freiburg Legal Clinics. Law Faculty of the University of Freiburg, accessed on April 3, 2018 .