You may think they’re worlds apart, but law and PR have a lot more in common than you’d imagine!
Hear from PR & Communications Executive Stephanie Potter, who discusses how her experience working for a Midlands law firm is helping her as the newest member of the spottydog communications team.
What do the legal industry and PR have in common?
They are both fast-paced environments that help clients solve their problems. For example, in a law firm, you could be juggling copying files for three different court cases in two different areas of law with receptionist duties. While in a PR firm, you’re helping a client who wants the world to know about their latest product or service.
So, while the endgame may be different, working in a law firm has given me a great foundation for working in PR. Not to mention a handy set of transferable skills that are helping me during my first few weeks at spottydog.
Communication skills
Knowing how to share thoughts and ideas with each other is super important in PR.
After all, good communications skills don’t just help you to come up with great campaigns — they’re important for developing strong relationships with colleagues, clients and contacts. For example, when drafting the perfect pitch to persuade a journalist to write a story on behalf of a client.
Learning how to be a team member
Being ‘a good team player’ — it’s become a cliché phrase, hasn’t it? But being able to work well with others is another core element of PR.
But while there is no teamwork involved when it comes to photocopying court files or answering phones, it is a different matter here at spottydog as we work together to achieve our client’s aims. For example, in my first few weeks, the team got together to brainstorm ideas for a St Patrick’s day campaign! After all, lending a helping hand (or should that be ‘paw’?) always gets the task done quicker.
Organisation
I like to think I’m an organised person having worked in law, but as I’ve discovered since joining spottydog, keeping on top of your to-do list is crucial to meet deadlines and keeping clients happy!
When you work for three different legal departments, you need to be organised. I was responsible for tasks such as scanning and photocopying documents, sorting the post and answering the phones. Due to the nature of the legal system, court case dates could often change, so I needed to be able to prioritise my tasks.
So being able to keep one eye on your deadlines means you’ll always remain on track.
Empathy
Working in the legal field means you often have to deal with people in tricky situations during different stages of their life. This can range from getting a divorce to dealing with a medical negligence case. Having empathy for their plight can go a long way.
Being empathetic can go a long way in PR, too. It helps you to build strong relationships with your colleagues, as you can be encouraging and supportive of them. It also helps you when working on campaigns, as you can use feelings and emotions to better understand your audience’s needs and wants. Which, in turn, can help ensure your ideas resonate with your audience and make your campaign a success.
Adaptability
Adapting to changing circumstances became a daily event when working for a law firm. For example, finding out my quiet morning of admin suddenly becomes a hectic one of photocopying 20 lever arch files with a few hour’s notice!
Juggling tasks is an integral skill in the world of PR, too. As not only can deadlines change at a moment’s notice, but you often find yourself having to juggle multiple projects for different clients at the same time. However, no matter how hectic things can get, the spottypack always have each other’s backs to ensure we always remain on track.
Are you interested in a career in PR and communications? Let us know by emailing your CV to spotted@spottydogcommunications.com or by searching our current roles here.
