Practical PR for solicitors — 10 basic rules for writing legal news releases

Communications consultant Stewart Argo on how to write releases that journalists will want to use.

People have been saying the news release has outlived its purpose for decades and yet it remains a hugely important tool. However, most news releases are, to use a technical PR term, utter mince.

Before getting into that, it’s worth recapping that a news release is traditionally an announcement issued by an organisation to the media with the aim of gaining as much coverage as possible for that story. News releases can also be used to construct a story as an exclusive briefing for just one title, because the discipline of doing so is a sound approach. And news releases are also used as content for organisations’ own channels and as the basis for other communication materials.

A news release is not an advert

It sounds too obvious to say this but it bears endless repeating: a news release contains news, not marketing or opinion. It has to be something that a disinterested or uninterested person will find… well… interesting.

If you want something in the media that is an unqualified endorsement of how great you are, then please contact the advertising department.

My approach has always been to write news releases in a style that requires the least amount of work for a journalist to read and use. A busy reporter with an overflowing inbox will not excavate your story from a mound of clutter, jargon or self-congratulatory puffery. They will move on.

Squaring the detail circle

When I worked at the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) I would draft conviction and penalty news releases in a style similar to this recent one about pollution of watercourses.

However, for a brief period, the legal team pushed back saying this wasn’t the correct way to present the details of a case, insisting that the news release should start ‘Under Section 31 of Part II (as amended) of the Control of Pollution Act (Scotland) 1974…’ or suchlike.

On even rarer occasions they also said no news release could go out at all because the convicted party may appeal. That just wasn’t true.

Lawyers, like engineers, rightly value precision and process and there is an essential place for both. Fortunately, for those who value pragmatism over dogmatism, there are also ways to communicate effectively with non-specialist audiences without compromising integrity.

Also, detail usually needs context first. Establish the general thrust of the story before delving into specifics. Tell the time then – if you really need to – how the watch was made, not the other way around.

Make the journo’s life easier

Here are 10 basic rules I try to follow, none of which I can claim as my own because they are (or should be) standard practice. If you follow these you will reduce the chance a journalist has to decode, interpret, rewrite or otherwise edit your release and therefore you will increase the chance of your story being used – and being used the way you intended.

1. Tell the story simply in a headline and first paragraph without getting clever or cutesy. Despite my love of puns, I nearly always leave them out.

2. If it’s tricky to explain, consider using subheadings. See the worked example below for an illustration.

3. In the first two paragraphs answer the questions: who, what, why, where, when and how.

4. Leave opinion for the quote. The body copy should be factual and in the third person.

5. Use the simplest, shortest words for the job. Why ‘utilise’ when you can ‘use’? Why ‘be supportive of’ when you can ‘support’?

6. Keep sentences and paragraphs to one key point.

7. Put supporting or qualifying detail further down (as the SEPA example above does). A news release is not a legal proof or other formal submission. Nor is it a lecture.

8. Kill all jargon ruthlessly. Nobody wants to read about an ‘innovative, cutting-edge, state-of-the-art, integrated, end-to-end solution’.

9. Make quotes human. Nobody ever says: “We’re thrilled as a market-leading professional services provider to be at this exciting intersection of these paradigm shifts being observed in the economy.” Test the language by saying it out loud to a critical friend or to a family member who doesn’t also work in law.

10. Be able to answer the questions: so what, who cares and what’s in it for the rest of us? Many releases fail this basic test because they’re too self-interested, as this worked example shows.

Worked example

‘Weil secures closing of one of the largest sales of rent-regulated units in NYC history through confirmation of Broadway Realty I chapter 11 plan’ is a random news release I’ve chosen for this exercise.

It’s probably not awful, especially if its aim is purely to appeal to commercial prospects. But I’m sure it could be better, achieving that new business goal and building stronger brand awareness for the firm.

I don’t know anything about US law or the New York rental market. Some of what I’ve done will be imperfect. It’s just an illustration, mainly of these techniques:

• Making the story proper news by talking about a wider consequence for real people, not narrow legal and property interests or a self-congratulatory commercial outcome.
• Aiming for reflected glory rather than self-praise (which is no praise at all). Journalists are extremely wary of this, as are their audiences.
• Simplifying the content without compromising accuracy:
  • Using subheadings instead of trying to cram everything into one line
  • Using ‘of its kind’ in the subheading to get around forcing clumsy detail in too early
  • Getting rid of the decimal place figure, which isn’t necessary in a $451 million deal.

I’ve also added a quote which is a great opportunity to make points that would be difficult to do elsewhere in the release. It would be even better to include quotes from other parties, such as the client or impartial voices.

Thousands of New York renters face more secure future after property portfolio sale

• Court approves one of the largest property transactions of its kind in the city’s history
• Chapter 11 plan confirmed after auction process
• $451 million sale covers 93 properties and approximately 5,200 rent-regulated units across four boroughs
• Deal provides certainty for tenants and their families during cost-of-living crisis 

Broadway Realty I Co., LLC and its affiliated debtors have closed their chapter 11 cases, culminating in the sale of a $451 million portfolio.

The transaction is one of the largest sales of rent-regulated units in the city’s history and ends a period of uncertainty for the tenants in around 5,200 homes.

The debtors were represented by Weil. In his written order confirming the plan, US Bankruptcy Judge David S Jones described the debtors as “a major and systemically important provider of affordable housing” and said the insolvency professionals involved in the case, including Weil, were “exceptionally skilled at making the best of a challenging situation”.

The debtors’ chapter 11 plan became effective on 31 March 2026, implementing the sale of the entire portfolio to Summit Gold Inc.

The Weil team was led by restructuring partners Gary Holtzer, Garrett Fail and Matthew Goren.

Gary Holtzer said: “This was a months-long marketing process reaching thousands of potential purchasers, resulting in an auction on 8 January 2026. That determined Summit’s bid for the entire portfolio was the highest and best offer. In doing we had to overcome challenges to the sale raised by the City of New York, various tenant groups and the United States Trustee. We are proud of the outcome which achieves a strong result for our clients and perhaps more importantly better security for those people whose lives depend on these tenancies.”

The debtors commenced their chapter 11 cases on 21 May 2025, after mortgage lender Flagstar Bank, N.A. initiated foreclosure proceedings and sought the appointment of a receiver over the properties. At the time of filing, the debtors had approximately $564 million in aggregate principal mortgage debt.

Other Weil representatives included restructuring associates Phil DiDonato, Jillian Ingrisano, Molly Newcomb, Abe Rosen and Ellie Greenberger (Not Yet Admitted in New York); real estate co-head Thomas Henry and associate Ilana Bier; mergers and acquisitions partner Gavin Westerman and associate Dorothy Coco; and complex commercial litigation partner Jared Friedmann and counsel Christine Calabrese.