Mr. Brewer III

Hospitality Law

Winning in the Court of Public Opinion: Managing the Media in Hospitality Litigation

By William A. Brewer III, Co-Founding & Co-Managing Partner, Bickel & Brewer

Mergers and acquisitions, disputes over management agreements, and fights for ownership of guest information. These are just some of the issues among today's hospitality industry headlines. As a lawyer often involved in these sorts of matters, we often must work with the news media - and manage the glare that follows high-profile hospitality issues. While many lawyers shy away from public comment on these matters, we believe that it is better to help our clients navigate the waters of public relations. In fact, we consistently recommend that our clients - whether managers, owners, investors or otherwise - work with the news media when involved in high profile hospitality disputes.

The Road Less Traveled

Proactive use of public relations in connection with litigation no doubt runs counter to the practice of many law firms and the hospitality clients they represent. Nonetheless, we welcome the public discussion of our cases and the merits of the dispute. In our view, we are hired as advocates not only to protect our clients' positions in the court of law, but to advance them in the court of public opinion. Throughout our practice, we've had the privilege of handling some of the hospitality industry's highest profile matters, lawsuits involving literally hundreds of millions of dollars. We have represented internationally known hotel franchisors, management companies, owners, developers and investors in many of the most closely watched legal disputes in the industry. These cases have been followed by leading business publications, trade magazines and investment journals, enabling us to develop the experience base that confirms winning a case in a public forum is as manageable as winning in court.

Taking Center Stage

When you work with the news media to communicate your client's point of view, you are reaching more than the reporter with whom you are working. The news media is the gateway to investors, analysts, regulators, customers, and employees. Thus, winning your case in the court of public opinion has the potential to ensure you receive fair and balanced treatment of the dispute by each of those constituents.

Taking center stage with a business publication or trade journal brings clarity and focus to your position, whether you are pursuing legal claims or defending a business or individual against them. To us, the process of trial advocacy is often bolstered when it is prefaced by the scrutiny and deliberation of intensive media inquiry.

Working with Public Relations Counsel

Once there is an acceptance that the media can be friends not foe, the advocate should appreciate that there are guiding principles to working effectively with public relations professionals. They should be followed by every party playing a major role in a high-profile hospitality matter.

1. Define a Shared Goal and Mission

An effective communication strategy requires planning which usually starts with a goal. In high-stakes cases, we often pursue a goal that is straightforward and measurable - gaining a key legal victory or neutralizing a plaintiff's claims. To work together effectively, it is critical for public relations and legal professionals to develop a shared understanding that all activities (in the public relations and legal arena) will be carried out with the overall goal in mind. The public relations and legal campaign should be mission oriented. This offers a constant reminder that both sets of professionals are working together in the best interest of the client.

2. The Primary Advantage

In our cases, we typically serve as the architect of legal and public relations strategies. Our clients see the wisdom of this in order to ensure consistency in the tone and direction of the overall message. In the largest of cases, losing in the court of pubic opinion is no more acceptable than losing in court. Consequently, our firm is no stranger to working with communications professionals. Our internal public relations professionals are often given a front row seat with the firm's principal partners that provides them with access and information. This ensures that on all fronts we achieve consistency in communicating our clients' messages. Further, this ensures that public relations isn't considered a support mechanism for the case, but rather an integral part of its focus and overall mission.

3. It's Not an Either-Or Proposition

Over the years, our firm has found that many lawyers make the mistake of pursuing a case either in a legal courtroom or the court of public opinion. This isn't always an either-or proposition. Some disputes - particularly those of the "bet the business" variety - deserve proactive, complementary advancement in both the legal and public relations arenas. More often than not, the strategy should be to pursue your case in the courts, while simultaneously improving your "external position" with key constituents. It is imperative that you understand that winning in one corridor doesn't have to come at the expense of another. If there is one thing we have learned from the spotlight that follows major hospitality litigation, it is that legal advocacy and effective public relations is not an either-or proposition.

Media 101: Making the Most of the Process

During the past 12 months alone, we've had the privilege of working with a host of major business and daily news publications - The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Fortune, Newsday, and The Dallas Morning News, just to name a few. These experiences have reinforced our belief in working proactively in the public relations process and helped advance our clients' positions on several legal matters. Working with the news media is by its very nature a risky proposition. However, there are several ways to help mitigate the risk and make the process effective.

1. Be Responsive

Newspaper reporters face multiple deadlines, as they often file stories early in a rush to reach the on-line editions of their publication. Reporters from newswire agencies, such as the Associated Press or Reuters, live on deadline, often filing stories at various times throughout the day. Responsiveness is key when working with the news media. We typically have public relations professionals available 24 hours a day, seven days a week to handle media inquiries. It is important to be accessible during all hours. If you are involved in business and legal disputes worldwide, time zones - and therefore media deadlines - fluctuate greatly.

2. Interview the Reporter

It is intuitive to most of our hospitality clients that they should be prepared for media interviews with relevant facts and information. When prepping for a media interview, we supply a list of potential questions. You can often anticipate media inquiries based on your familiarity with the case and news outlet, or by actually interviewing the reporter in advance of going "on the record." This means taking time to ask the reporter for his or her questions. Good reporters want to make the most of interview opportunities. They welcome having a subject that is well versed on the issues and potential inquiries. Our goal is that there never are any surprises; the questions have been anticipated and the responses have been fully considered in advance. Be prepared for follow-up questions. Depending on the complexity of the issue, most answers lead to "follow-ups" that are responsive to the specific replies given by an interviewee.

3. Expect the Unexpected

Lawyers and clients are often surprised when news coverage leads to additional interest from other media outlets. While some media outlets are not interested in reporting on yesterday's news, many outlets are incited to bring new perspective to old stories. One high-profile news report can lead to a host of follow-up articles. Secondary interview requests have the potential to be more intensive, as reporters search for a new angle or additional background material.

Also note that a high-profile piece in a publication such as a weekly trade journal can lead to a "running story." This is often the case when dealing with protracted litigation. The same reporter representing the same media outlet will want to follow the story and regularly inform his or her readers of relevant developments. Be prepared for more piercing questioning as your legal or business matter continues to unfold.

These are just some basic guidelines of the public and media relations process. The sophisticated owner, manager or investor understands that while working with the press can be unnerving, it is a critical component of a hospitality dispute. Take time to learn the public relations process, understand its nuances, and embrace the possibility that your business or legal outcome can be positively affected by working with the news media.

William A. Brewer III is co-founding and co-managing partner of Bickel & Brewer, with offices in Dallas and New York. Under Mr. Brewer's direction, Bickel & Brewer has become renowned for its innovative handling of disputes within the hospitality industry. For the past decade, Bickel & Brewer has represented hotel franchisors, management companies, owners, developers and investors in the highest profile litigation in the hospitality industry. He is a member of various philanthropic organizations, including the New York City Partnership and the Board of Trustees of Albany Law School. Mr. Brewer III can be contacted at 214-653-4811 or wab@bickelbrewer.com Extended Bio...

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