Posted: Oct 5, 2009

By now, you’ve read or heard that WMACCA is collaborating with national communications firm Allison & Partners to promote the organization and the value of in-house counsel in addition to increasing the visibility of and accolades for its members. And while this joint venture sounds promising, you are crucial to the success of the PR initiative. With that in mind, let us explain how you, as a WMACCA member, can be involved.

The answer is quite simple: share with us your thoughts so that we, in turn, can position you as thought leaders. No one knows your industry or area of expertise better than you. You read the papers and trades with great interest. You know what’s being discussed in board rooms or at water coolers.Most importantly, you know what the media is getting right, what they are getting wrong, and what they are missing. Simply put, you are our best resource....not to mention the key to building a more prominent presence for WMACCA and in-house counsel at large.

Every day, the Allison & Partners team engages reporters and editors at a variety of trade and mainstream publications and proactively pitches new trends, experts, and unique industry insight. We scan the headlines – from Law.com and Above the Law to the Wall Street Journal and CFO – assessing the stories and spinning them forward with new tangents and angles to increase a topic’s longevity. In other words, we are news hounds on the hunt for new and interesting topics that will not only make an impact with the media but with the readers as well.

That’s where you come in. The success of the WMACCA-Allison & Partners’ program hinges on our ability to work with all members who are willing to speak or write as “WMACCA members and experts.” To truly usher in the success of the communications program, we encourage you to share your thoughts and ideas. No idea is too small, lofty or obscure. The more we hear from you, the more we can assist in demonstrating the value of WMACCA and its members.

For example:

• If you read an article in National Law Journal or the like that captures your interest, flag it to us. We can connect with the editor and offer you as an expert or potentially work on securing a guest article with that publication.
• If you are attending a conference or speaking event and want to maximize your participation, we can assist with contacting attending reporters and/or legal counterparts to set up on-site meetings and briefings.
• If you have a professional project or passion area that you want to promote, we can develop a press release on your behalf (working with your in-house PR departments, if needed), contact reporters, and help garner coverage.
• If you would like to pen your own opinion piece or “byline” article about a legal topic you feel quite strongly about, we can assist with the editing, the piece’s tone and direction, and its placement.

 
We would be remiss if we didn’t say that our partnership with WMACCA was carefully developed to be as effective and efficient as possible. We certainly understand that your time is valuable and that the nature of your business does not often allow for a heavy commitment to activities other than client work. With this in mind, the Allison & Partners team will do most of the heavy-lifting on your behalf. We have also established a dedicated email - WMACCA@allisonpr.com – where you can send interesting articles, trends, commentary, topic ideas, etc. at your leisure. We will review your thoughts thoroughly and work with WMACCA’s leadership on incorporating your ideas and comments into our ongoing media relations activities.  If you do have more time to discuss your expertise and how you would like to contribute, our team would be happy to set up a time to speak with you in more detail.

We look forward to opening the lines of communication and working with you all more in the months ahead!

Sincerely,