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However, there are challenges when PR reports to legal, says
Jerry Swerling, Director of PR Studies at the school. Those sur-
veyed who report to legal are less likely to say that their com-
pany has a good reputation and is successful. Swerling says one
of the criticisms is that “legal tends not to understand this com-
plex, explosive media environment we live in today.” Landry, who is now Chief Operating Offcer at Gowlings, ex-
Part of the problem, he explains, is cultural. Lawyers by their plains, “You cannot work in silos and be effective at staying on
nature “take too long to develop a point of view” because they top of what’s happening in the media.”
are gathering facts and considering all the possible implications.
“Legal tends to lean towards caution,” putting legal risk ahead of his advice is simple: “I would lock
reputational risk. In a time of crisis, delay can be fatal, he says. myself at the hip with whoever is ac-
Another aggravating factor, according to Swerling, is that countable for Pr. It moves so quickly.
“management doesn’t want to believe the shit is going to hit the Unless you are on top of the issues,
fan. They still believe that it can be contained, and still believe you are in a very deep hole before you
that nobody is going to fnd out, despite evidence to the con- are responding.”
trary every day.”
Savvy CLOs need to understand the various dynamics at
play, he advises, and leverage their PR departments, despite the
lack of trust or skepticism that often exists between the two + understanding pr
functions. In fact, an argument can be made that the legal re-
porting line can actually prove to be a viable home for PR. As Lawyers who fnd themselves highly involved in the PR task
Swerling points out, the survey also found that “the reporting need to rethink how they approach problems and understand
line isn’t necessarily as important as access and infuence. This how their PR colleagues operate, according to lawyers who have
surprised us.” been there. PR professionals are essentially storytellers who
operate in a fast-paced environment that can change with an
inadvertent tweet, an executive misstep or a corporate foul up.
+ Coveted Access to the C-suite “Social media has accelerated people’s engagement in issues
that affect them,” warns Maura Lendon, Vice-President, Chief
PR executives say it is access to the C-suite that they covet the General Counsel and Corporate Secretary at Primero Mining
most, which permits them to do their best work. Few depart- Corp. “Things happen so quickly that no one has the luxury of
ments have better access to the C-suite than law. pushing the pause button while they do the legal analysis. You
So that can actually be an advantage to a “real visionary chief have to be responsive to things that are raised by shareholders,
legal offcer,” Swerling says. “You need to have a solid commu- customers, investors or regulators. It’s really important for in-
nicator who can represent the communications point of view house lawyers to be able to write a publicly digestible message.”
with his or her boss. You need an environment and culture that She likens the lawyer’s role in PR issues or crises to that of
facilitates that kind of interaction.” an advocate: “The role of the advocate requires the story to be
However, Anne Giardini, Chancellor at Simon Fraser Uni- communicated in a way that is clear and compelling.” While PR
versity and former President of Weyerhaeuser Company Lim- professionals are good at creating narrative, she believes it’s the
ited, the Canadian subsidiary of Weyerhaeuser Company, warns lawyer’s job to deal with the nuance of language. She notes that
that there is a risk in too close of an alignment between legal while an apple and a pear are both fruit, they are very different.
and PR. “It’s the nuances, distinctions and subtleties that I think is the
“I think the value of the two is diversity of thought,” she ex- domain of the lawyer.”
plains. Putting them under one roof could diminish that. “In- Scott Ewart, CEO of consulting frm HelixLegal Ltd. and
volve in groupthink at your peril.” former Chief Legal and Public Affairs Offcer at Molson Coors
Nonetheless, ask in-house lawyers who have worked closely Canada, stresses the need for a coherent message across an or-
with the PR operations and they will tell you that integration ganization when dealing with strategic issues. But that doesn’t
among the disciplines is critical to the successful management always happen when GR, PR and law operate in their own silos.
of a crisis or issue. “You’d be surprised how many times that there is not a coherent
Rob Landry, a former in-house lawyer at Magna International message among the three.”
Inc., Paperlinx North America and ING Direct Canada, where he
was also Chief Operating Offcer, says, “While my team wasn’t ac-
countable for PR, I linked closely with the chief marketing offcer.
He and I would talk about goals and objectives.”
18 CCCA MAgAzInE | WIntEr 2015 HIVEr