Recent Articles

Resolution Without Resolution

Jim Haggerty
October 31, 2008 15:24

One of the more interesting aspects of Google's recent settlement of a lawsuit by book authors alleging vast copyright infringement (see coverage of the settlement in The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times) was the absolute refusal by Google to publicly acknowledge the settlement resolved...

Here come the lawsuits

Jim Haggerty
October 28, 2008 18:22

A fascinating column by Dennis K. Berman in The Wall Street Journal this morning (here) highlights just how quaint the Enron-driven financial crisis of the early part of this decade appears in the wake of the current market tsunami. Berman really drives home the story by landing quotes like...

...And Rearrange a Few Deck Chairs While You're At It

Jim Haggerty
October 01, 2008 15:19

The financial crisis has altered the playing field in ways large and small, and I believe the ramifications will impact American business -- and how we think, feel and communicate about business -- for decades to come. One small example comes from an article I was quoted in this morning in The New...

The Slow Reveal...

Jim Haggerty
August 08, 2008 15:41

While, some still doubt the interplay between communications and modern litigation, here's an example of a brilliant technique that uses public attention to force defendants to the settlement table: the "slow reveal" of the names of defendants previously only identified by pseudonyms in a...

Crisis in the Financial World

Jim Haggerty
July 21, 2008 17:14

The crisis atmosphere roiling the financial markets over the past several weeks has been as much about rumors as liquidity, a point I made this week in an interview with Stuart Varney on Fox Business News (click here to view). Part of the problem lies in the companies' crisis response -- in my...

Restoring Your Reputation After Crisis

Jim Haggerty
June 10, 2008 13:44

In the information economy, reputation can be an organization's most valuable asset.That's why I think the article, here, from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette is so interesting (and not just because I'm quoted). The story deals with the fallout from the resignation of the President of West Virginia...

PR, Law Firms and Defamation

Jim Haggerty
June 06, 2008 20:15

Here is a story of the perils of issuing press releases -- lawyers and their PR counsel should take note (subscription may be required).What happened, essentially, is a law firm partner, Jeremy Pitcock, moved from one law firm to another -- a fairly common occurence in the modern practice of law....

Telling Your Story

Jim Haggerty
April 04, 2008 11:53

Here's an interesting piece on storytelling during legal action. Just as in the public arena, the best lawyers learn to weave a story out of the facts of their case, rather than just throw a series of facts at judge and jury and let them decide.Or as the author puts it:“I sometimes wonder about c...

The Perils of Suing Your Critics

Jim Haggerty
April 02, 2008 19:25

We often think of the nexus between legal and communications issues as dealing with media coverage that results when (1) you sue or (2) you get sued. But what if the coverage comes first? Should you sue your critics?From the standpoint of legal perception issues, in most cases the answer is no.Herb...

Robert Bennett and the Court of Public Opinion

Jim Haggerty
April 02, 2008 15:13

A quick post: more and more "mainstream" lawyers are coming to the conclusion that what happens in the court of public opinion can be as important a part of legal representation as what happens in a court of law. For more proof, check out an interview on The Today Show by Matt Lauer with famed...