Public Relations in the Legal Sector: Key Indicators for Measuring Performance

Public relations is an essential tool for managing and maintaining the reputation of a law firm. These professionals constantly face significant challenges and pressure to meet and exceed their clients’ requirements, in addition to the obligation to present a clean and honorable image that inspires confidence and reflects the sophistication and quality of their services.

Public relations should be integrated into the strategies of legal firms to enhance their image and maintain the team’s positive reputation.

As always, what is not measured cannot be improved; therefore, we must identify key performance indicators (KPIs) that will support us in managing communications. These are crucial as there can be confusion about the purposes of these strategies, often being mistaken for marketing. Although one feeds off the other, they are distinct specialties and this will always be noticeable.

As a consultant, I feel responsible for differentiating both concepts and explaining why firms should care.

Public Relations: According to the Public Relations Society of America, public relations is a strategic communication process that builds mutually beneficial relationships between organizations and their publics. I would add that it is a tool that allows companies and individuals to build and maintain a favorable image and/or reputation.

Marketing: On the other hand, according to Forbes Magazine, marketing encompasses every part of a plan to turn a potential consumer into a happy and satisfied customer. It includes everything from market research to advertising. The goal of marketing is to convince a person that it is worth investing in their product, establish brand loyalty, and increase overall sales.

In summary, public relations is responsible for creating a favorable image of the company and individuals, while marketing focuses on selling this image or product. In an article on the Indeed website, Jennifer Herrity explains that marketing creates demand for a product or service, while public relations generate trust among the general public and key stakeholders.
Now the interesting part: we know we cannot expect to gain new clients or business opportunities in the short and medium term (with some exceptions) from these initiatives.

But how can we measure the impact of what we are doing? Through key performance indicators (KPIs).

As a professional in this field and a data enthusiast for decision-making (we cannot make decisions or advise our clients based on hunches), I always recommend identifying those that align with the firm’s culture, as there is no universal recipe or formula for measuring our firm’s success.

To measure the impact of investment in public relations management in law firms, the following indicators can be used:

Number of publications/appearances in media per month/year:

Here we can measure:

- Number of appearances of our brand in media.
- Number of press releases, articles, and reports in media.
- Number of invitations to participate as a panellist in events.
- Number of citations in specialized articles.

Practices and industries: The metric will focus on the number of times content about specific practice areas and industries was shared.

Events: The number of sector-specific or guild events in which the firm and its lawyers have participated should be measured.

Digital media statistics: Some media outlets with a digital presence send monthly statistics to their columnists or collaborators about the performance of their publications. This is the best way to measure the reach and impressions of the selected media. If the publication was made in an owned media, statistics should be periodically requested from the technology or web maintenance staff. In this same category, the engagement of the publication on the firm’s social media can also be measured.

Geographic presence: Here the metric focuses on the countries or jurisdictions where our publication has been seen. This is key to comparing and measuring with the location of our audience.

Considering these indicators and the role of public relations within firms, better decisions can be made about communication objectives and selected media according to our brand’s requirements. Public relations will always be our allies and should be included in all strategies and decisions of law firms.