Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc have made brand journalists of everyone, to what extent are libel laws not fit for purpose?

The world is constantly changing, but the rights are pretty clear in the UK and it’s easy to stay out of trouble. The good news is that libel’s by far the exception, not the rule of day-to-day life in corporate comms. There are probably loads more laws and regulations which communicators should care about on a daily basis, like the ASA rules on Twitter. Of course, if you do find yourself in hot water, the UK has some excellent libel lawyers.

Should lawyers promote openness rather than compliance?

I love the idea that openness is somehow viewed as the opposite of compliance. We’ve all dealt with lawyers who are compliance obsessed, and that’s what they’re trained to do and what clients pay them for, after all. But what businesses need most is a lawyer who says, “This is the law, and this is how you can operate legally and commercially within its confines.” Commercially aware lawyers are rarer beasts than law firms’ marketing materials would have you think. Well, beyond Osborne Clarke, obviously.

What are the challenges for law firm communications?

The main one is getting busy people who charge by the hour to commit time right now to doing something non-billable that has a slow-burn benefit. Understanding complex issues at little or short notice and then having to explain those concepts to stakeholders at short notice, it helps to have a law degree.

What can the law do to protect corporate reputation and help communicators do their jobs effectively?

More than most people imagine. If you combine PR, public affairs, internal comms and your lawyers, your reputational position in a crisis is in the best hands it can be. Take lawyers out of that mix and you won’t have the complete picture. The law provides genuine recourse for those communicators who feel that they or their companies have been wronged. And, in my experience, law firms are an excellent source of free training on what those avenues might be.

Is a channel like Glassdoor a potential Tripadvisor for disgruntled employees or a useful and relevant way for companies to take their employer brands seriously and stand out from the crowd?

Potentially. But any employer brand that doesn’t stem from within and mean something to everyone who works there is going to struggle. If your organisation is over a certain size, you’re bound to have some disaffected ex-employees. Treat people well before, during and after their employment with you, and negative reports on portals like Glassdoor will be measured against the goodwill that exists about your organisation internally and externally in the round. It’s not rocket science.

How can the legal profession evolve to meet the challenges of the changing media and communications landscape?

Two years ago, I thought that Google Glass would fundamentally change how we all do business – radically affecting how we deal with privacy, confidentiality and negotiations forever. But a few practical steps and a policy or two and we’re ready to embrace the upcoming wearables invasion. The trick is to stay on top of the changes and adopt new strategies or policies today.

How does Osborne Clarke do things differently?As lawyers?

Above and beyond the technical excellence which you have to assume from international lawyers, I’d say that it’s a sense of humour. Throughout our deals, transactions or cases, no matter how hard negotiations get, the people I work with remember to treat people like people. That and the fact that when negotiations finish, we know how to celebrate.