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Public Relations and
the Press
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Plaintiffs' attorneys regularly attempt to shape the court
of public opinion so that business defendants will seek to
settle lawsuits for a premium, rather than risk further
damage to their reputation and/or financial standing. For
those cases that don't get settled, the news media help
shape the mindset of the jury pool such that, when lawyers
make their case in court, juries nod their heads in
recognition of what they heard during the media campaign.
(KRC:
Hantler, "Trial by Newswire", p. 16)
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Most instances of mass tort and industry wide litigation
thus proceed as parallel campaigns inside and outside the
courtroom, with the outside part – directed by trial lawyers
and their allies at the press and public opinion – often the
more important.
(KRC: Olson,
The Rule of Lawyers, p. 17)
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“In most big litigation campaigns these days, the ginning up
of publicity damaging to the targeted defendants is as vital
a part of the lawyers’ efforts as anything that goes on in
court”.
(KRC:
Olson, The Rule of Lawyers, p. 153)
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“The implant affair drove home an important lesson:
Publicity skillfully managed by trial lawyers and their
allies, especially where juries and the public can be kept
sufficiently confused about the state of the science, can
fuel a mass tort despite weakness on the facts, the law, or
both. And in many mass torts, the publicity campaign
outside the courtroom was to prove at least as important in
shaping the outcome as any ruling handed down by a judge.”
(KRC:
Olson, The Rule of Lawyers, p. 17)
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“Lawsuits are no longer tried exclusively in a courtroom.
They also are tried in the court of public opinion. The
trial bar targets customers, shareholders, and potential
jurors who sit in judgment”... “So PR pros must work
seamlessly with legal counsel to adapt to today's litigious
environment and be ready to communicate within it”.
(KRC:
Hantler, “Minimizing the Damage from Lawsuits”, June 27,
2005)
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It is no accident that polls show the American public has a
high level of distrust for corporations—a phenomenon that
predates recent corporate scandals. It is not by
happenstance that people believe that companies place
profits ahead of safety and honesty. And it is no mere
coincidence that, primed with this misinformation, juries
are all too willing to vote for eye-popping damage awards.
Make no mistake: This is a well-orchestrated public
relations campaign by the trial bar and its surrogates—self
anointed consumer and safety advocates—to undermine public
confidence in corporations and distort our legal system.
(KRC:
Hantler, "New Core Competencies ...", p. 19)
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“Lawsuits are no longer tried exclusively in the courtroom;
today they’re also tried in the court of public opinion,
where the messages are that business puts profits ahead of
safety and fair dealing, and large damage awards are the
only way to get business to act responsibly. Through
massive, coordinated public opinion campaigns and other
strategies, the trial bar has fundamentally changed the
litigation landscape in ways that threaten American
companies”.
(KRC:
Hantler, "Trial by Newswire", p. 16; and,
"New Core Competencies ...", p. 19)
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Ask most litigation managers or their general counsel to
create a process map for litigation and they will place
“service of summons and complaint” in the first box on the
first line. Most litigation managers and general counsel
believe this is where the litigation process begins. But
trial lawyers believe that the litigation process begins far
earlier. For them, it begins in the court of public opinion
and in federal and state legislatures and courts, where laws
are made and interpreted.
(KRC:
Hantler, "New Core Competencies for the Litigation
Manager”, p. 20)
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