Occasionally, we still hear that old trope from litigators under siege by the media: "We'll try our case in court, not the media."

Oh, if only that was possible. We recently had a litigator client argue a case at the U.S. Supreme Court and when we searched for the law firm client's name on Google the day of the argument, it yielded 329,000 hits. As all of us have learned by now, maybe the hard way, any information that can excite or inflame will go around the world a million times a day, shaping and reshaping public opinion and taking on a life of its own. In today's world, you must master the media if you are going to effectively represent your client.

We have represented law firms in communications for years, and we marvel at how the speed of the game has changed. There are fewer newspapers and those that are left are leaner. Meanwhile, there are a million self-made experts out there and, make no mistake, they will control your message if you are not vigilant.

We were reminded of this recently when our plaintiff's-side employment law firm client, Buckley Beal, argued Bostock v. Clayton County, Georgia at the high court. Gerald Bostock alleged that he was fired from his job as a juvenile court child welfare coordinator for Clayton County after he joined a gay softball league. The question before the court is whether discrimination against an employee because of sexual orientation constitutes prohibited employment discrimination "because of … sex" within the meaning of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. §2000e-2. Bostock was argued on October 8.

The case created a whirlwind of activity, and in our post-mortem we were reminded of why it's important for litigators—those fast-on-their-feet gladiators of the legal world—to call on the knowledge and experience of professional communicators. Here are a few of the takeaways from our experience representing these litigators as well as hundreds of others over the years to help lawyers with their media efforts for the benefit of their clients.

Understand that risk extends beyond the courtroom. Brand equity isn't just an MBA buzzword. Clients and consumers care about whether a company does the right thing, however they might define it. Witness the noise on both sides when Walmart and Dick's Sporting Goods pulled back on firearms and ammunition sales. In the Young Presidents' Organization (YPO) 2019 Global Leadership Survey in which 2,200 CEOs responded, more than 93 percent said it is more important for business to have a positive impact on society than to pursue profit. The same CEOs said shareholders rank behind their employees, customers and family. None of this means we are headed toward a kumbaya world. It does mean that it matters what the public thinks of your company in a broader social context. Bottom line: Your mission isn't just to win in the courtroom.

"We don't discuss pending litigation." Not so fast. The other side may welcome your silence and fill the vacuum with its own message. We agree, law firm clients should not discuss litigation except with their lawyers present because there are all sorts of mistakes they can make that will imperil a case. But litigators should speak up when the facts are in their favor. And if the facts aren't in your client's favor, the public likes to be reassured you are striving to do the right thing, and that you take the situation seriously. The public understands that businesses and people make mistakes, but avoiding responsibility won't win them over. This can be a challenge, but you're a litigator, right?

Think ahead. Every company is going to face difficult litigation at some point. Data will be hacked, products will fail, innovations create new challenges and employees will say or do the wrong thing. As much as law firms should focus on preventative strategies, similarly you also need to help clients implement a crisis plan—and communications should be a big part of it. How will the legal and communications teams coordinate? Who is the front-facing spokesperson? What are the likely risk scenarios? Every crisis is litigation in the making, and your litigation crisis plan better include a communications component.

Get media training. Most communications firms have former broadcast and print journalists on staff. Some of them live and breathe crisis communications assignments, taking the hard questions for clients every day. In addition, they were the journalists who asked the tough questions. They know the tricks of the trade, what questions to anticipate and how to make sure your message makes it in the article or segment. While they won't show you how to control journalists, they will show you how to deliver your narrative in a crisp and compelling way. By the way, even the little things matter—like how you're sitting and what you're doing with your hands. Most C-suite executives start the session with a variation of "I think I know what to do but it'll be good to refresh, I guess." By the end of the day, every one of them—yes, every single one—says a variation of "I can't believe I walked in here thinking I knew what I was doing." They come away more confident, on message and equipped with the techniques to handle any situation with the media. The biggest mistake we see litigators make when speaking to the media is not being able to distill their message into something comprehensive for the public. There's an art to speaking to the masses and you will pick it up quickly in media training.

Sometimes the client must speak. There are times when putting the lawyer out as the spokesperson suggests a company has something to hide. In some matters—product liability is a good example—brand preservation depends on the company's top executive speaking. Corporate communications departments, like legal departments, usually are better at locking things down than messaging. Rather than hiding your client away from the media, prevent reputation erosion by putting them out there, but only with you at their side, and after prepping them with media training.

Make social media an asset. Yes, you can be a target of a virtual mob, but you also can be proactive, forming your own groups and creating a following that both inoculates you from attacks and false information, as well as builds trust. Business leaders fear social media as a headless monster they can't control, and while we can't promise that the monster can be slain, having your own voice will ensure your position isn't trampled. Social media also is a research tool to find emerging issues and keep a finger on the pulse of public sentiment.

Lawyers should call the shots. While reputation and brand have to be top of mind, all communication strategies and decisions must be run through the attorney who is calling the shots on the legal case to establish attorney-client privilege and work-product protections. While we are strong advocates for being as transparent as possible, there are places that you can't go in the run-up to a court case. Litigators are experts in what can't be said, and professional communicators should discuss how to turn challenges into opportunities with a "how can we approach" for both sides to achieve a win.

Losing sometimes is winning. On cases that have public policy implications, we find that the public understanding of the case is as important as anything else in effectively representing your client, even if the battle at court is lost. In Bostock, we expect to see many companies take affirmative stands on equal treatment of the LGBTQ community, regardless of the outcome of the case. We feel confident our side prevailed in the court of opinion on Bostock because of the global coverage of this matter of general public concern.

Retain a communications firm that shares your values. We know, in the real world, everybody has to sometimes hold their nose because, well, business is business. We also know there are moral forks in the road, moments that define who we are. Bostock wasn't just another case to us; it was one of those times when we recognized a moral imperative, as a business, to place ourselves on the right side of history. By becoming the communications partner of the Bostock legal team, we did our very best to help them master the media on behalf of their client.

Dave Poston is an attorney and CEO of Poston Communications, a national public relations firm with a client base that is predominately law firms. Megan Paquin is a vice president at the agency. New York-based Jeff Rossen is an award-winning national investigative journalist and frequent consultant to the Poston Communications team. They may be contacted at [email protected], [email protected] and [email protected], respectively.