The New Phone Book's Here! The New Phone Book's Here!

I am pleased to announce the publication of a new edition of my 2003 book, In The Court of Public Opinion: Winning Strategies for Litigation Communications. The Second Edition is published by American Bar Association Publishing, and can be ordered here.

As readers of my writing know by now, In The Court of Public Opinion examines the role of media and public perception on the course and conduct of legal crises and disputes, and offers practical tips for managing legal communications in the media age. The 2003 edition of the book was one of the bestselling legal hardcovers of the year, and received some nice accolades – Financial Times, for example, called the book “…the perfect handbook for this age…” Other positive mention of the first edition came from places like New York Law Journal, the Boston Herald, American Lawyer, O'Dwyers Public Relations Report, and the Holmes Report.

The new edition has been substantially revised, and features new chapters on the use of the Internet, blogs and other social media in communicating legal issues, and the availability of attorney-client privilege for public relations activities. The book also contains revealing interviews with six of the nation’s top litigators:

• Joseph V. Cheshire IV, defense lawyer in the Duke lacrosse rape case. (“The last person I saw shake a finger at the media like this was Bill Clinton. And look where that got him.”)
• W. Mark Lanier, renowned trial lawyer who won the first Vioxx trial. (“So don’t laugh… I thought about buying the newspaper that very night to make sure the story never saw the light of day.”)
• William S. (“Bill”) Ohlemeyer, former Associate General Counsel at Altria Group, now at Boies, Schiller & Flexner. (“If your teenage daughter comes home late… and you say, ‘Where have you been?’ and she says, ‘No Comment,’ you’re going to form some impressions about what is going on.”)
• Theodore V. (“Ted”) Wells, Jr., perhaps the nation’s most prominent trial lawyer, who has represented Citigroup, AIG and I. Lewis (“Scooter”) Libby. (“Twenty-five years ago, an indictment was a legal document. You read an indictment these days—that’s the prosecution’s press release right there.”)
• Evan R. Chesler, presiding partner of Cravath Swaine & Moore. (“Trying to be your client’s media consultant is hazardous business and I suspect malpractice insurance doesn’t cover it.”)
• Ronald M. Green, co-founder of Epstein Becker & Green and one of the nation’s most prominent employment defense attorneys. (“Sometimes… boldness can be an employer’s ally.”)

In The Court of Public Opinion: Winning Strategies for Litigation Communications is available at bookstores or on the ABA website, at http://www.abanet.org/abastore/index.cfm?section=main&fm=Product.AddToCart&pid=1620407

This is the type of spontaneous publicity that makes people.