If you don't have time to write something, hire a ghostwriter. You read ghost-written material every day, but may not know it. Here's how it works. A writer is hired and a topic is selected. The writer interviews you and prepares a story for you to review. You make necessary changes and corrections, and then pitch it to a publication. The story, hopefully, gets published. Not ethical or fair, you say? Do all Supreme Court justices write their opinions?

Media is a tool in your bag; you've got to use it. If you don't know how to do it, or don't have time, contact a public relations professional to help. Another option is to search the web under the topics "litigation support Michigan" or "PR Firms Michigan." You can certainly do some of this yourself and, in many cases, you'll have no problem. However, there's an old saying in the legal profession that applies in the public relations field as well: "Only a fool would have himself as a client."

A public relations person will take the case, distill it from a legal document and put it into "man on the street" language. The salient points will be crystallized thus creating an angle that would be appealing to the press. Keep in mind that your lawsuit is fighting for attention in the "hard news" slot -- it has to be compelling and people need to care about it. A personal connection to the public must be established, as in, "wow, that could happen to anybody, even me."

Public relations professionals also have contacts in the media and will know where to pitch a certain type of story. Just as attorneys know the idiosyncrasies of judges, public relations people know who to contact at the various media outlets, and they'll know the types of stories they would most likely be interested in. They also have the relationships to help cut through the deluge of mail, faxes, e-mail and phone calls that come into the newsroom each day.

On a tour of the Detroit News mail room a couple of years ago, I spoke to the mail clerk. She showed me the 20 giant mailbags that come into the mail room every day. All I could think was how many thousands of press releases were in that pile, and how the odds of any one of them seeing the light of day were not good. Now think of this: your press release is in that pile. How do you get your story to the top of the heap?

Your media relations representative will work with the media to help them understand the case and assist them in the gathering of information, quotes, photos and videos so that the final published story reflects the position of your client. Your media relations representative or public relations firm is also responsible for:

If you use public relations wisely and well, you'll prosper. Following are some tips on how to best utilize the media.