Q: How did you end up in legal PR?
A: “I started as an intern just after graduating from Sussex Uni about 18 months ago. I didn’t know legal PR existed but I did some research when I saw the internship come up and I thought it looked really interesting, especially in a digital world with news going 24/7. I learned legal PR and profiling in the press is important for law firms and their partners in building brands and getting their name out there.
“I was an intern for two months and left. Our founder Gus then called a week later and asked me to come back. Initially I was a team assistant and then that moved to me becoming an AE doing full-time client facing PR, and that is where I am now.”
Q: What’s your typical day?
A: “I get up, look at news, listen to the radio, tie up loose ends from day before. Then it’s usually time for our daily meeting to talk about the news, which is my favourite bit of the day. Then I whack out some pitches to journalists until lunchtime. The afternoons are usually dealing with emails, following up on pitches, doing client calls and so on.
“But there is no typical day at Byfield – you are often hit with one thing after another and that’s what makes it very appealing in some regards. It’s quite an adrenalized environment, but you need to manage yourself carefully so you are consistent and don’t turn into a newsjacking junkie looking for their next hit!”
Q: How do you manage yourself, given the demands of the job?
A: “After 18 months, I’ve learnt that doing fewer but better pitches can reap the most rewards – it’s important to be more effective and targeted, rather than chasing every story. Also, I’ve learnt the importance of leaning on the team when it gets super busy.”
Q: What do you enjoy most about the work?
A: “I really enjoy media relations and sitting in on journalist meetings, especially when it’s a topic a client is passionate about and it’s going really well. I feel good about making those connections and when it turns into media coverage it is even better. I also really enjoy networking and am finding it comes naturally to me.”
Q: What do you find hard?
A: “Managing client disappointment when something falls through or doesn’t land. I want to communicate that we tried everything we could but not everything works. Also, juggling priorities and learning to manage a range of different personalities across both clients and journalists is also sometimes not easy – and not taking it personally if someone is unhappy.”
Q: What do you see as the value of what we do for clients?
A: “I see the value in getting our clients to be seen as thought leaders by their clients. I also understand in terms of crisis comms how important managing the media is – taking control of the narrative where possible to mitigate damage and getting certainty of timing of coverage. What we do is reassuring for clients – in a crisis or going through a nasty piece of litigation where they are in the spotlight. I would certainly want someone like the senior team at Byfield to reassure me if I was in that situation and would see it as valuable, knowing it is being handled professionally.”
Q: What do you want to learn more about and do more of?
A: “Most of what I do is legal PR. That is fine at my level but I would love to do more litigation PR as I become more experienced – it is really interesting. I also want to do more work in the broadcast space. I would also like to go to court more frequently and be on the front line on litigation PR. And to do crisis work to be more strategic and understand the process. There’s certainly a lot more to uncover!”
Q: What do you do outside of work?
A: “I paint a lot with oils, am a big reader and try to go to plays whenever I can. I also enjoy a tipple with my friends.”
Q: Tell us something people don’t know about you
A: “When I was six, I convinced my whole school – including the teachers – that I had been to the Queen’s birthday party. They believed me and nearly made me do an assembly on it in front of the school until my mum stepped in to set them straight…”
