Immediately integrating a new lateral partner into a law firm’s media relations program accelerates the new partner’s external business development efforts, as well as the internal mining of new business opportunities within the firm Lateral lawyer moves hit a five-year high in 2024, with no sign of slowing down this year. A law firm that immediately integrates a lateral into the firm’s strategic communications program will see benefits that include quickly establishing the lawyer’s thought leadership in priority areas, as well as the direct generation of new business development opportunities. Just this month we saw a meaningful cross-selling opportunity arise as a result of a law firm’s media relations program. A new lateral partner at a national law firm was preparing for a media interview we coordinated with a reporter at a priority trade publication. As part of his preparation, he consulted with a client for perspectives. During the conversation, his client told him about four specific services he needed. Coincidentally, the law firm represents another client that provides those services, creating an opportunity for the new hire to connect and engage with the colleague that represents the service provider. This is a perfect example of the kind of collaboration law firms are looking for from the lateral hires they bring on, and the law firm’s quick integration of the new partner into its media relations efforts can be credited for enabling this connection.

Facilitating the Transition from the Public Sector to Private Practice

Attorneys transitioning from the public sector bring invaluable experience to law firms. But new lateral partners from the public sector may find navigating the cultures and contours of their new law firms, particularly large ones with multiple offices and practice groups, a significant adjustment. In addition, an attorney joining from the public sector may not have had prior opportunities to engage in business development activities, so he or she may need time to build and hone those skill sets. Immediately integrating a new lateral from government into a firm’s media relations program can quickly provide opportunities for the lateral to build visibility, establish credibility on priority firm matters, and begin contributing to the advancement of the firm’s broader strategic goals. Media coverage secured for laterals can be leveraged internally at firms to ensure that partners throughout the firm are aware of their focus areas, so that laterals can be plugged into priority efforts to serve clients or pursue development opportunities. For external communications, media coverage can be leveraged to highlight a lateral’s strengths in areas of key importance to the firm, allowing the firm to take command and ownership of priority issues in the marketplace.

Pathways for Integration Success Using Media Relations

While every law firm has its own distinct culture and process for lateral partner integration, all firms can swiftly involve new members in their media relations efforts. Given today’s faster-than-ever news cycles and the media’s constant need for informed sources for insights and analysis, robust and sustained engagement with reporters can produce meaningful media coverage quickly. With this in mind, there are several practical steps a firm can take to help pave the pathway for effective lateral integration into the firm’s media relations program. Create a website bio that is succinct but contains specifics: Attorney bios are often the most visited pages on a law firm’s website. These pages are not only visited by clients and new business prospects, but by partners within the law firm seeking to learn more about their partners. Specific areas of expertise should be highlighted, as well as representative matters, and, as appropriate, noteworthy elements of personal and professional histories. When possible, avoid large blocks of text, and instead consider the use of bullet points for clarity, impact and pithy delivery. In addition, regularly update attorney bios to showcase recent successes and awards, as well as thought leadership demonstrated by articles and participation in noteworthy events, conferences and other forums. Schedule intake sessions with the firm’s communications team, including the external PR agency:Intake sessions, which can be conducted very efficiently (often in a half-hour or less) allow the communications team to learn a new lateral partner’s specific perspectives and priorities. By arming the communications professionals with information and insights that can be immediately leveraged with the media, new lateral partners can be “put into play” right away. We have been able to start generating media opportunities for partners within weeks of conducting intake sessions, since these partners were able to provide commentary on current and often breaking news and developments being reported on by the media. In our experience, law firm partners who participate in intake sessions realize a significant return on their time investment and greatly increase their chances of media relations success. Make sure media coverage is effectively leveraged:Communications teams at law firms need to ensure that they are maximizing the value of the media relations results generated for new lateral partners. Key questions for evaluating whether this is happening: • Is media coverage being uploaded to the news section of the firm’s website, to LinkedIn and to the firm intranet? How is this being done, and how quickly? • Have new lateral partners been informed about how they should leverage media coverage on their own LinkedIn pages and other approved platforms? Law firms that effectively use a new lateral partner’s media relations results to raise internal awareness about his or her experience and areas of focus will be able to integrate laterals into their firms significantly faster than firms that don’t take this approach. To conclude, media relations should not only be viewed as external communications and business development priorities, but as a new lateral integration priority, as well. Jordan Friedman and Ivette Delgado are Vice Presidents at Infinite, a public relations firm that focuses on achieving communications success for law and professional services firms. Reprinted with permission from the May 7, 2025 edition of the New York Law Journal © 2025 ALM Global Properties, LLC. All rights reserved. Further duplication without permission is prohibited, contact 877-256-2472 or asset-and-logo-licensing@alm.com.