by Joe Wilhelm Jr.
Staff Writer
A new book aims to help develop the abilities of lawyers and judges to interact with the media.
Local attorney and best selling author Roger Dodd of Spohrer & Dodd has partnered with public relations specialist Claudia Oltean to create “Media Skills: The Lawyer as a Spokesperson” for LexisNexis. Both Dodd and Oltean contributed countless hours of research into how members of the legal community communicate with the media and why this interaction is an important skill needed to properly represent a client. The book covers issues from understanding how the media works to how to prepare for the different types of media interviews.
“Lawyers are not taught how to deal with the media in law school,” said Dodd, who also co-authored “Cross Examination: Science and Techniques” another best-selling LexisNexis book. “Courtroom skills don’t transfer over to the communication with the media. You have to prepare for each medium differently. A sound byte for television is different than one for radio and still different for newspaper or the Internet.”
The idea for the book started as a discussion about three years ago. Oltean’s company LegalPR represents Spohrer & Dodd, and she approached Dodd about developing the book and DVD.
“She’s the one that said, ‘A lot of other lawyers need to be educated on this.’ After thinking about it, I realized she was right,” said Dodd. “I guess most of us who do some media think that we have kind of a grip on it, but there’s a heck of a difference between feeling like you have kind of a grip on it and knowing that you understand the process.”
Oltean welcomed the chance to work with someone adept at both the practice of law and the translation of the courtroom to the media.
“Roger has been doing media successfully for over 20 years, so he was the unique combination of a successful lawyer who does a lot of law, but also does a lot of media,” said Oltean. “He was a great partner. We’ve also been working together on media for the last several years, so we had a lot of common experience anecdotally to build into the book.”
The duo makes it clear that they aren’t reinventing the wheel. They have just taken a step back, watched the interaction that is currently taking place with the legal community and the media, and accumulated information that explains what is and what is not acceptable behavior in that relationship.
“We’re not claiming that we created this information, we just accumulated it,” said Dodd. “It is the product of a lot of research, observation and experiences.”
Without giving away the surprise ending, Dodd revealed some of the tips he talks about in the book.
“Stick to the facts, because credibility is key,” said Dodd. “That helps a lawyer build a media quotient, because the media will come to you because they believe you are credible.”
Language is another key to proficient interaction.
“Watch your adjectives and adverbs,” said Dodd. “Nouns and verbs won’t get you in trouble.”
The book isn’t only for lawyers. It’s also meant to help judges interact with the media.
“Most judges feel they can’t talk to the media,” said Dodd. “But Judicial Cannons encourage interaction with the media. People want to know about the law, and the more transparency, the more credibility the system has.”
Chapter 4 of the book is dedicated to the judiciary.
The difference between Dodd’s “Cross Examination” and “Media Law” is the accompanying DVD. Material from “Cross Examination” seminars is available on DVD, but “Media Law” is accompanied by a DVD that further explains some of the techniques discussed in the book.
“Some of the material translates better and can be better understood with the help of the DVD,” said Dodd.
Some of the notable contributors to the book include Dodd’s law partner Robert Spohrer, American Bar Association President-Elect Stephen Zack, former Florida Bar President Howard Coker, attorney Sean Cronin and Fourth District Court of Appeal Judge Fred Hazouri.
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