How to Handle Bad Press

It's something we all may have to deal with at one point in our legal career - bad press. It may be something as simple as a slap on the wrist from your state bar for an "illegal sound effect" in your TV ad. Of course, there is also the danger of more serious bad press, but no matter the degree of "bad" you are facing, there's a way to work with it.

Most people give credit to those who have been in the wrong and admit to it. You shouldn't pretend like the bad press didn't happen. Instead, you should combat it with your own say on the matter. Your website and blog are the best places to address the issues and give your side of the story.

One of the neat side effects of blogging about your own negative press is that it can actually work in your favor in the long run. The more certain phrases come up in searches and new Web content, the higher they rank on Internet searches. So if your page was struggling to come up when people searched for "Virginia personal injury lawyer" but you were recently on the losing side of a case that had an article in the paper, your name may suddenly start turning up more.

As with most negative things in life, it's all about attitude. If you have a less-than-positive article written about you in the local paper, you shouldn't treat that like a career ender. Be creative with it; write an editorial blog right back, which addresses the issues brought forth and gives the public your opinion on the article. By spinning the press to your favor you can turn bad press into great legal marketing opportunities. 

At Great Legal Marketing, we focus on saying NO to ineffective traditional lawyer marketing. We seek out new strategies to market to our ideal clients in ways they'll actually respond to. So, how do you get started? Get a complimentary report and CD from legal marketing guru, Ben Glass.

Ben will teach you how to: stop marketing like every other lawyer on the block; grow the kind of practice you can be proud of; and still get home in time for dinner. Contact us today - 703-591-9829.