To shape public opinion about corporate legal cases, communicators need to be prepared from the filing forward, according to a new study from H/Advisors Abernathy.

“When Lawsuits Make Headlines” says that media interest in a case is the strongest at the initial legal filing, giving plaintiffs a leg up when it comes to publicity. Those initial filings were responsible for a third of media coverage for the 785 cases examined in the study, far outpacing the coverage generated by responses to complaints, settlements or rulings.

In addition, more than three-quarters (77 percent) of articles centering on corporate litigation quote the legal filings in their coverage. Because of that, the study encourages communications pros to take an active role in making sure that filings are media ready.

On-the-record media statements are an underutilized resource, the study says, with only 35 percent of plaintiffs and 45 percent of defendants getting those statements quoted in coverage.

Gaining media coverage can also depend on where a case is tried. While 16.4 percent of the cases in the study were tried at the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, only 12 percent of the media attention went to those cases. More than twice as much coverage (26 percent) went to cases tried in the Northern District of California, even though only 12.9 percent of cases were tried there. The District of Columbia had a lower volume of cases (4.3 percent), but those cases accounted for 9 percent of media coverage.

Not surprisingly, tech cases draw more media attention than those in any other sector. While financial services companies filed the most cases—as both a plaintiff (73) and a defendant (183)—tech companies were the subject of the most articles.

The study also stresses that comms pros need to be especially well prepared when they are representing defendants. Article headlines are far more likely to name just the defendant (42 percent) than just the plaintiff (7 percent). However, almost half (46 percent) name both parties.

“Our proprietary research identified how corporate litigation matters are often framed by the media,” said H/Advisory Abernathy CEO Tom Johnson. “Companies must be thoughtful about how they frame their filings in particular, most importantly from a legal perspective, but also with an eye toward making sure their position is properly and strongly articulated in the court of public opinion.”

“When Lawsuits Make Headlines” looked at articles across Bloomberg, the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal.

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