Spring 2000

On May 1, 2000 Professional ProfilesProfessional ProfilesProfessional Profiles. completed newsletter # 20 for New York City client The Cochran Firm, Schneider Kleinick Weitz Damashek & Shoot.

The consistent, on-schedule production of 20 newsletters (21 if we count the Spanish version of the Winter 1998 issue, introducing Roberto Ramirez as "Of Counsel" to the firm) was accomplished because of Managing Partner Phil Damashek's consistent dedication to an important marketing tool: the firm newsletter.

PPI also had the essential help of Richard Ancowitz, a partner with the firm and the in-house editor of The Firm BriefCase. In addition to his expertise in automobile litigation, Mr. Ancowitz helps keep the newsletter on it seasonal tracks of winter, spring, summer and fall.

The cover of the Spring 2000 issue features Mr. Damashek, who was honored by New York Law School with a Lifetime Achievement Award on April 18, 2000.

Thanks to Phil Damashek for his marketing vision and Rich Ancowitz for his editorial assistance, both essential to making the 20th newsletter possible for The Cochran Firm, SKWD&S's .

Trial Lawyers Rely on PPI for Design of CLE Brochure
NYSTLA Also Selects Firm for New Membership Brochure

In January, the New York State Trial Lawyers Institute (NYSTLI) decided to invest in a new and distinctive brochure to promote their diverse series of (Continuing Legal Education) CLE courses.

CLE Director Nancy Kramer asked PPI President Marti Mackenzie to develop a proposal for a quick turn-around of a new brochure. The decision to proceed in early December was followed by an intense week of copy writing for Nancy. Marti was expecting a quiet 1999 holiday season and was able to commit to the required time for the creative direction of a design that would make each of the 22 CLE courses stand out in the new brochure.

On the right inside page of the six-page brochure, a section introducing the new requirements associated with CLE credit in New York State as well as NYSTLI's experience in continuing legal education was included. In addition, with 22 different courses, some of which were to be offered twice and at two different locations, Marti recommended an easy-to-scan, CLE Course Calendar, with course titles, dates and a quick-view monthly calendar of events.

Nancy and her board of directors were very pleased with the final product. As part of her close attention to the effectiveness of marketing tools, she monitored the number of CLE course registrants who cited the brochure as the source of their information about particular courses.

Even before the CLE brochure was printed, Nancy set up a meeting with Marti and the membership staff of the New York State Trial Lawyers Association (NYSTLA) that resulted in the undertaking of a four-month project to produce a completely rewritten, and revamped membership brochure.

PPI is pleased to have the opportunity to work with such an outstanding professional staff at New York's most important legal and educational associations:
NYSTLI and NYSTLA.

Internet CLE Courses Provider Goes On-Line
PPI Produces Brochure for LAWLINE.COM

The day after NYSTLA Treasurer Alan Schnurman saw the CLE brochure designed by PPI, he called Marti Mackenzie and explained his need for a marketing piece to announce his new company, LAWLINE.COM. In addition to a focus on CLE course offerings The NYSTLI project and Alan's project shared a critical component: a challenging, abbreviated turn-around time.

Proving that people who think on their feet can meet tight deadlines, Marti and Alan negotiated the details of producing a brochure in time for a conference just four weeks away.

The LAWLINE.COM brochure was a comprehensive project for PPI: all copy writing, photography, design and printing was handled by Marti and her professional team. "I decided to propose a look and shape for the brochure that replicated the format of Alan's products: a computer screen of the LAWLINE.COM home page," says Marti. "Alan loved the idea, and we ran with it."

The 1,000 copies of the brochure arrived two days before the deadline, and Alan and his staff have utilized the marketing piece at every opportunity.

New York Marketing Seminar Offers Chance to Share Expertise Working with Nancy Kramer and Alan Schnurman on their respective brochure projects naturally involved sharing information about the background and complete marketing services that PPI provides to the legal profession.

On April 28, Marti participated on a panel organized by Alan Schnurman for NYSTLI: "Marketing: The Business of Law." Included in the materials provided for the seminar, Marti updated and regionalized her presentation, "Media Relations for Lawyers" and provided a short overview of marketing tools for lawyers.

Preparing the Client for the Media in a Heartrending Case A Thoughtful Interview With Newspaper Reporter and Then an Ambush in a Sensationalist TV Report

In March, Central Florida criminal defense lawyer Mark O'Mara referred the family of a 17-year-old high school student to PPI when an Orlando Sentinel reporter obtained juvenile records of sexual acts that occurred when the student was 12 years old.

The son of a pastor at a large church in a small city near Orlando, Mr. O'Mara's client had engaged in what many might describe as immature sexual experimentation among boys that included pulling down their pants and touching. One of those incidents occurred at the church school.

In large part, because the sexual acts occurred with younger boys, the allegations eventually brought to the police by their parents resulted in charges of felony sexual abuse. Mr. O'Mara negotiated a no-contest plea with the prosecutor whereby both sides agreed to follow the recommendation of a court appointed psychologist.

The actual criminal charges were not brought against our client until two years after the sexual acts had last occurred three weeks before a civil suit was filed against the family. The civil suit alleged not just the incidents dealt with in the no-contest plea, but recent, untrue allegations, stories fabricated by the families now suing the pastor and his son, and, of course, the church which has a $1 million insurance policy. Nearly a year after our client began counseling that was supervised by the Department of Juvenile Justice, four years after the sexual activity had occurred, the parents of the younger boys began to approach the media.

After interviewing the pastor, his wife and son, and reviewing the police records and the comprehensive psychological evaluations of the 17-year-old, including a very recent court ordered reevaluation, Marti Mackenzie contacted the Orlando Sentinel reporter to discuss her research and the article she was preparing for publication.

The possibility that an article publicizing the sexual acts that had occurred four years ago was a devastating invasion of privacy and an emotionally threatening possibility for the high school senior, a popular athlete on the basketball and track teams who is also musically talented and involved with choirs at school and his church. When Marti accepted this media relations challenge, her first questions were: What can the family do to protect their son? How can the 17-year-old be prepared to respond to the media, his friends and fellow students as well as teachers and even strangers? Are there legal issues to consider involving both the earlier criminal case and the pending civil lawsuit?

The outcome of this media relations challenge is somewhat lengthy, so PPI has included a separate article within the copy of the this newsletter.

Within a few hours of first meeting with the family and their son, Marti realized that the information obtained by the newspaper was biased and incomplete. The reporter's information included police records and reports by the Department of Juvenile Justice, but not the positive psychological evaluations. She had listened to the exaggerations and untrue allegations of ongoing sexual contact proffered by the families suing the church, but had not heard from the pastor, his wife and son, who were naturally as opposed to an interview as they were to the publication of the story itself.

Marti's evaluated the reporter's and her editor's intentions to proceed with the story as well as the knowledge that a television reporter had also inquired about the case to Mr. O'Mara. Then, she began creating a strategy that was best for the family.

"I feel a serious responsibility for advising the family. Getting them to accept that the story is very likely going to become public is the first step in preparing them for an interview," she explains. At the same time, "Convincing the family that an interview with the Sentinel reporter was judicious and necessary did not mean that we were going to give up trying to persuade the reporter and her editors that the story was old news, that this juvenile deserved to be protected from public scrutiny, that he was absolutely no danger to anyone, as his most recent evaluations clearly stated, and that the motives of the victims' families were questionable."

Mr. O'Mara and Marti worked as a team during the newspaper reporters interview. His role was to assure the family that all of their son's legal rights were protected and toexplain discrepancies between what the victims's families had told her and what was actually factual and what was unsubstantiated in the criminal and civil legal proceedings.

Prior to a sit-down interview with the Sentinel reporter, Marti assisted the pastor in answering written questions submitted to them a month earlier by the reporter. She also spent several hours in the weeks before the interview and on the day of the interview preparing the 17-year-old and his parents for what to expect but of the importance of asking the reporter "Why does this story have to be in the paper?"

In this case, as in every case where the media aggressively pursues an interview from a reluctant person, Marti stresses the importance of truthfulness, direct and succinct responses and a strongly worded series of statements, rehearsed for clarity and emphasis.

Four weeks after the family retained PPI to assist them in managing the media inquiry into their son's case, Marti and their lawyer, Mr. O'Mara, sat down at the pastor's home for a three-hour interview with the parents, their son, and two older siblings, there to support their brother. There were repeated opportunities to correct and refute information given to the reporter by the families pursuing the civil lawsuit. Both the pastor and his son directly asked the reporter to consider not pushing for publication of the story. Throughout the interview, even the most intrusive questions were answered honestly and without shame.

Marti left the interview with her convictions intact that this intrusion into the young man's juvenile history was terribly unfair, and worked closely with Mr. O'Mara in the following week to keep up pressure on the newspaper to refrain from publicizing this case.

At the same time, Marti consulted with the pastor about the importance of alerting the administrators and teachers at their son's high school to put in place a plan to counsel other students and protect him from unfair ridicule.

Ten days later, still no story in the paper, and a news truck from a station we had hoped was not yet informed about the case, pulled up outside the pastor's church and began taping as well as asking for an interview. Clearly someone representing the family suing the church had contacted the TV station, perhaps they had become frustrated with the newspaper's delay or reluctance to run the story as yet.

The family called Marti immediately. Although we were indeed ambushed by the sudden appearance of the tv Channel 6 truck, we were also completely prepared to handle the ambush.

Because Mr. O'Mara was sequestered in depositions in an upcoming first degree murder trial, he was unavailable to participate in a response to the TV station. Marti discussed the importance of balancing the TV segment with a position statement from the family if all efforts to delay or postpone the airing of the story that night failed. After a pointed discussion with the news director, and a telephone consultation with Mr. O'Mara and the pastor and his wife, Marti set up an on-camera interview in time to be included in the segment.

At the same time, Marti contacted the more ethical TV-Channel 2 news department that had earlier expressed an interest in the story. Since it was going to air on Channel 6 at 6:oo p.m., Marti proceeded to educate the second TV station and make plans to schedule an interview for later that evening with the pastor and lawyer present. She also gave an interview to Channel 2, that along with the pastor's interview, was included in the 11:00 p.m. news.

Both TV news segments included the same father of one of the younger boys suing the church, who appeared, by his reported request, in shadows. Channel 6 repeated the young man's name and aired his mug shot; Channel 2, in a sensitive, balanced and ethical report, did not use his name, but naturally, as we intended, showed the Pastor speaking clearly and directly to the reporter.

Both news segments aired that night and were repeated during the morning TV news shows. The next day, our client, a 17-year-old young man who had grown and matured with the love and support of his family and the professional counseling of trained psychologists, went to school and worked independently while appropriate discussions with his peers took place. That afternoon, he decided to attend track practice, where he was immediately surrounded with a show of support and friendship from his teammates.

To date, the newspaper has not run the story. When Marti was told that the news truck was at the church, knowing that this station was unlikely to delay its sensationalist, self-promoting "exclusive," immediately called the newspaper reporter to give her the heads-up that she was going to be "scooped." "She had to know that we were reluctant participants in the TV news segments," yet, Marti explained, "I was determined to give her the same honest and ethical consideration that I had been asking from her for the last month.

There is one last hearing scheduled in this case, to confirm the court's acceptance of the psychologists recommendation. However, from this point forward the young man and his family are no longer dreading any publicity. They met the difficult intrusion into their lives, actively and thoughtfully considered professional advice and experience, and kept on their strong faith and family support intact as they handled the media publicity of their son's youthful errors.

PPI Celebrates Sandee Gruber's Two-Year Anniversary

Many clients of PPI speak on the telephone to Sandee Gruber, administrative assistant to Marti Mackenzie, yet few know who Sandee is or what she looks like! Since many of our clients are located in New York and New Jersey, or even just outside Central Florida, in Miami, for example, PPI wants to provide a better introduction to the person who helps Marti complete many diverse projects each week.

Marti describes Sandee as "quiet, dependable and devoted to her family." When Sandee joined PPI in May 1998, Marti was preparing to leave for a summer in New York. She used her time alone in the office not only to provide ongoing support to Marti's work, but to familiarize herself, and then update, many media lists and our filing system.

In her own words, Sandee describes working at PPI: "When I come into the office each Monday morning, no one can anticipate the day's or week's events. On at typical day, if there is such a thing, we may be focused on editing newsletters for one of our various clients or preparing a press release for the media covering an important issue or case that was just settled, in addition to the day to day general office duties. "

"All that can change with one phone call."

"The phone call may be a client who needs a rush' press release or preparation for an interview that may be on the 6 o'clock news that evening. Or a major case has come to light and the media needs to be involved. These types of interruptions' are what makes PPI a more challenging and interesting office to work in."

Sandee has a very active life at home, and her flexible schedule at PPI makes it possible to get her two daughters to gymnastics, Girl Scouts and band practice as well as help her stepson improve in school. She and her husband are the kind of people who put family first and are devoted to being responsible, successful parents.

Pets Relieve Stress

It's a fact that pets relieve stress, so what better way to break up the day than to interact with your turtles or your big puppy? Smith Mazure attorney and in-house newsletter editor, Jeff Miller, usually has a smile for everyone, even when he is incredibly busy. In his office are two really laid back pets, his two turtles, who have been with Jeff since there were the size of quarters. If he takes this good care of his turtles, one can see where his hands-on dedication to his work comes from.

Marti is also thrilled to consult with Jake, her 10 month old Great Pyrenees puppy. Jake is even willing to read over Marti's copy (check out the glasses) if there's a peanut butter cookie in the offing. Jake has recently found his voice, and while we're working out the training to speak on demand, you may hear him bark when the UPS man comes to the door.

Promotional Items as Marketing Tools

During the past 12 years PPI has produced several promotional items for clients. I 1991, we designed a dark blue coffee cup for a small Florida personal injury firm., commemorating its 10th anniversary as well as celebrating the bill of rights. PPI added a bag of tea produced by Native American's called "Victory Tea."

When New Jersey client Blume Goldfaden wanted a thank-you gift for referring attorney's, we recycled the idea of the cup and the tea and printed the firm's new logo on the cup.

On a more creative note, Marti designed condom "matchbooks" for Dr. Pendergaft, owner of five Florida abortion clinics. He had suggested actual matchbooks; Marti recommended a "safe-sex" promotional items, not matchbooks likely to be used for lighting up a cigarette.

Do these promotional items work? Both law firms reported thank-you notes from some the recipients. With coffee cups, the idea is to keep the firms name in front of the referring attorney.

The condoms were mentioned in a feature article in the local business journal, after Marti called a reporter there.

PPI's Marti Mackenzie says that her favorite promotional item's are hats. "I have two, one from Miami client Rossman, Baumberger & Reboso and one from a Staten Island firm where a friend of mine works. I didn't produce either one, but I like hats, especially free ones."

PPI recommends that if a firm wants to thank anyone for a referral, besides sending a referring lawyer a referral fee, anything "free" is nice."On several occasions," she says, "I've recommended giving movie passes. With the price of a movie these days, these passes are especially appreciated by young families."