Law Society Courts Solicitors

Objective/Brief:

The Law Society (TLS) is the representative body for solicitors in England and Wales. The PR Team works to publicise TLS’s representative and law reform activities to solicitors, as well as promote solicitors’ services to consumers. TLS used to act as both regulator and representative body, but following the Clementi’s Review recommendations, it split these two functions. A key element of the PR Team’s focus during 2008 became educating the public about the role change and their new regulatory lobbying capabilities. The change in role also increased the debate as to whether TLS should continue to exist or be replaced by another solicitor-run organisation, adding more pressure to the PR Team’s role.

In 2008 MML tendered for the business and was chosen above three other companies due to the detailed message-based evaluation and 95% repeatability of its analysis.

The overall aim of the PR Team was to:
Help secure the future existence of TLS by positively communicating its activities.
Three specific objectives were evaluated:-
1. Decrease TLS’s regulatory coverage, in favour of representative coverage.
2. Increase consumer and regional coverage, in order to promote solicitors’ services to the public.
3. Change the internal Governing Body’s attitude towards PR and the resourcing of such activity.

Conclusions:

1) During 2008 TLS’s regulation coverage decreased from 21% to 17% of articles over the year, whereas representation coverage increased by 22% over the year.

2) MML’s media type tracking indicated that TLS had successfully increased coverage to consumers via the regional press by 14% during 2008.

3) MML’s objective reporting of the PR Team’s performance enabled the Head of Press to present its achievements to TLS’s Governing Body each quarter. This resulted in a positive change of attitude towards the press function.

Head of Press, Melissa Davies, said;

'MML's detailed evaluation has enabled me to increase the internal profile of the press office and its achievements from Director and Council Member level to Law Society staff and the profession. It has allowed me to increase my team with two new members and to set valuable objectives and KPIs - particularly in regard to the effectiveness and continuation of consumer campaigns. I find the strategic and planning benefits of such high quality objective analysis to be invaluable and this is a key area for budget allocation for 2009'.

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