How Law Firms Can Use Press Releases to Build Credibility and Get Media Coverage | Mickie Kennedy

How Law Firms Can Use Press Releases to Build Credibility and Get Media Coverage

Most law firm owners know they should be doing more to build visibility and credibility outside their existing client base. Very few are using one of the most effective tools available to them: the press release.

Mickie Kennedy founded eReleases in 1998 and has spent 28 years helping small businesses and professional service firms get real media coverage. In a recent conversation on Your Profitable Law Firm, he broke down exactly how law firms can use press releases strategically, what makes a release actually get picked up, and why earned media outperforms paid advertising by a significant margin.

Why Press Releases Still Work for Law Firms

Mickie's core argument is that earned media, coverage you receive because a journalist chose to write about you, carries a level of credibility that advertising cannot replicate. When a publication covers your firm, it functions as third-party validation. Readers perceive it as a signal of trust that no amount of ad spend can manufacture.

The conversion data backs this up. Mickie shared a case where a company received organic article coverage with no link back to their website. Despite the missing link, visitors who found their site after reading the article converted at 16 to 17%. The same company's paid advertising converted at around 3%. Even when they tried sending paid traffic to the article itself, conversion held at roughly 7%, still more than double their standard paid results.

The reason, according to Mickie, is that readers approach articles differently than ads. They know when they are being sold to, and they discount it. When someone reads a genuine article about a firm or attorney, they engage with it as information rather than persuasion.

What Types of Press Releases Work for Law Firms

Mickie identified several categories that tend to perform well for legal practices:

Firm Milestones and Personnel News

Adding a partner, hiring a recognized industry professional, or announcing a significant case outcome are natural press release opportunities. The key is building these announcements around a story arc rather than just listing facts.

Thought Leadership on Trending Topics

When something is happening in a legal practice area, attorneys who offer a clear viewpoint, especially a contrarian one, have a strong advantage. Mickie noted that media tends to want both sides of a story covered, but often ends up with only one side simply because no one raised their hand to offer the other perspective. An attorney willing to give a thoughtful, rational counterpoint to the prevailing narrative stands a much higher chance of being quoted.

Original Research and Industry Surveys

This is one of Mickie's most recommended strategies. By partnering with a smaller industry association to distribute a brief survey, a law firm can generate proprietary data that journalists want to write about. He typically recommends 12 questions maximum, front-loaded with the most important ones. With 100 responses, the data becomes statistically relevant, and a well-designed survey regularly generates 4 to 8 original articles per release.

The attorney does not have to agree with the findings to get coverage. A quote like "67% of respondents said AI will replace their role within five years, and while I think that's somewhat alarmist, attorneys who aren't incorporating AI now will be at a real disadvantage" positions the attorney as both the source of the data and a credible voice on the topic.

What Makes a Press Release Actually Get Picked Up

Mickie described journalists as gatekeepers scanning a feed of dozens of headlines. The goal of a press release is not to impress the end reader. It is to convince a busy journalist that a story worth writing exists.

The Headline

Press release headlines should be informational, not clever. Unlike blog post or social media headlines designed to create curiosity, press release headlines need to convey as much of the who, what, when, where, and why as possible in a single scannable line. A journalist reading a feed is not looking to be entertained. They are looking for relevance. The more specific and factual the headline, the easier it is for them to decide whether to click.

The Quote

The quote is where most press releases fail, and where the biggest opportunity exists. Most corporate quotes are safe, generic, and forgettable. Mickie's test: if a journalist paraphrased your quote in their own words and nothing was lost, the quote is not strong enough.

A great quote uses active verbs, states something with conviction, and says something that would lose meaning if reworded. It does not have to be controversial, but it should be specific and impossible to reduce without weakening the message.

The Story Arc

Journalists write stories, not announcements. A press release that simply states a case outcome without context gives a journalist nothing to work with. A press release that explains who the client was, what situation they found themselves in, what the firm did, and what the outcome meant for them gives a journalist the raw material for an article.

Mickie put it plainly: make it easy for the journalist to see the story before they start writing. The more work you do for them, the more likely they are to use it.

How to Use AI Correctly When Writing Press Releases

Mickie is not opposed to using AI for press release writing, but he cautions against using it to generate an entire release at once. The problem is that AI has been trained on the vast majority of press releases that already exist, and the vast majority of those releases do not generate earned media.

His recommended approach is to use AI paragraph by paragraph rather than asking for a complete draft. Start with the subject matter you want to cover. Ask for 10 headline options, choose the strongest, then ask for three opening paragraph variations. Build the release section by section. The process takes a few more minutes than generating a full draft, but the result is meaningfully stronger.

He also recommends writing the quote yourself and editing it manually for active verbs and conviction rather than letting AI produce it. The headline and the quote are the two elements that most determine whether a release gets picked up, and both benefit from direct human input.

How Press Releases Fit Into a Law Firm's Marketing Strategy

Mickie recommends thinking of press releases not as standalone campaigns but as assets that feed the rest of your marketing. When you receive earned media coverage:

• Share it on social media while the link is still live

• Include it in client newsletters

• Add it to a dedicated news or media section on your website

• Use it in your lead follow-up process with new prospects

• Screenshot or PDF it immediately, since publications regularly purge old articles during website migrations

  
  

He also addressed the "As Seen In" logo display that many firms and consultants use on their websites. His view is that this approach has become so widely mimicked, including through paid placement that technically puts someone's name in a publication without real editorial coverage, that it has lost much of its credibility. What works better is displaying actual snippets, headlines with context, so visitors can see what was actually written and where.

Mickie referenced Manscaped as a company that figured this out: they build a base of earned media first, then turn on paid advertising. Their conversion rate from paid traffic after establishing PR credibility was 17 to 20% versus 6% before. The PR campaign effectively multiplied the value of every advertising dollar they spent afterward.

Getting Started on a Small Budget

For law firm owners who want to start but have limited time and budget, Mickie's recommendation is straightforward. Three to four press releases per year through a service like eReleases costs under $2,500. Of those four releases, realistically expect one to two to generate genuine earned media pickup.

That is not a failure rate. It is how PR works. The goal is consistency over time, not a single home run release. Firms that commit to a regular cadence build a growing body of coverage that compounds in value on their website, in their sales process, and in how prospects perceive them.

His three-step starting point for law firm owners who have never done this:

• Designate someone in the firm to collect interesting stories as they happen. Cases, client journeys, outcomes worth telling.

• Mine those stories for one or two with a genuine story arc, not just a result but a human experience behind it.

• Write one press release and distribute it through a national wire service to see how it performs before committing to a full program.

Key Takeaway

Press releases are not a relic of old-school marketing. They are one of the few tools that can put a law firm in front of a national or trade publication audience without a large advertising budget, and the credibility that comes from genuine media coverage outperforms paid alternatives by a significant margin.

The barrier is lower than most attorneys think. The skills involved, telling a clear story, offering a strong quote, and distributing through the right channels, are learnable and the process can be managed in-house with minimal time investment once it becomes a habit.

Connect with Mickie Kennedy

Website: www.ereleases.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/publicity/

Email: ereleases2@gmail.com

Toll-free: 800.710.5535

Case studies: https://www.ereleases.com/case-studies/

If you have ever been quoted in an article and felt like you should be doing more of that, this episode is the practical roadmap to make it happen consistently.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much does it cost to distribute a press release for a law firm?

Going directly to PR Newswire costs over $1,800 for a single 600-word release. Through a co-op service like eReleases, which distributes through PR Newswire, the cost is roughly 25 to 30% of that. Running three to four releases per year through eReleases typically comes in under $2,500.

What should a law firm write a press release about?

Common topics include new partner announcements, significant case outcomes, thought leadership commentary on trending legal issues, and original industry research. The most successful releases build a human story around the news rather than simply announcing facts. Contrarian viewpoints on industry topics also perform well because media actively seeks both sides of a story.

How do press releases compare to paid advertising for law firms?

Earned media from a press release typically converts prospects at significantly higher rates than paid advertising. Mickie shared an example where organic article coverage converted at 16 to 17% compared to 3% from paid ads. The difference is that readers approach articles as information rather than sales pitches, and the third-party credibility of a journalist choosing to cover you carries weight that advertising cannot replicate.

How should I use AI to write a press release?

Use AI paragraph by paragraph rather than generating a full draft at once. Ask for headline options first, choose the strongest, then ask for opening paragraph variations, and build section by section. Write the quote yourself and edit it for active verbs and conviction, since the headline and quote are the two elements most responsible for whether a release gets picked up.

What should I do when a press release generates media coverage?

Act immediately. Screenshot or PDF the article since publications regularly purge old content during website migrations. Share the link on social media while it is live. Include it in client newsletters and new prospect follow-up. Add a snippet with context to a media or news section on your website. Avoid simply adding a logo to an "As Seen In" display, since that approach has become so widely copied, including through paid placement, that it has lost much of its credibility signal.

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