I came across an article on the Telegraph website the other day which is almost certain to outrage hardworking lawyers – but hey, I’ll force it upon you anyway because once we get over the annoyance, there’s a lot to be learnt from it.The article was about the latest employment tribunal statistics which show a large rise in the number of people making claims. How would you imagine such a story would be written?

Well, a simple, factual approach might be something like: There has been an increase in the number of employment tribunal claims ….

That’s the sort of dry approach taken by the Employment Tribunal Service itself in its press release. It’s a bit boring though. How could it be spiced up?

Here’s how the Telegraph approached it:

Bonanza for lawyers in tribunal cases

Rocketing employment tribunal numbers prove a windfall for lawyers but bad news for employers who feel compelled to settle out of court whatever the merits of the claim.

Another line says: ‘Claimants are said to be opting for legal representation to improve their chances of winning bigger awards …’. The implication being that there’s something unfair about hiring a lawyer to protect your interests.

The article continues in that vein of the poor oppressed employer, greedy worker and even greedier lawyers who are ‘benefiting from a big increase in business’.

Now I’m sure that being presented as fat cat lawyers boosting their business through the misfortune of others will be quite irritating to most solicitors. If you have seen business diminish over the last few years, maybe seen colleagues lose their jobs or even seen law firms close down, then it’s going to be galling to be presented as if you’re raking it in from dodgy employment claims.

But let’s leave the annoyance aside for a moment and see if there’s anything we can learn from this.

It’s not for me to speculate about the Telegraph’s agenda but clearly they didn’t think the bare facts of the story were sufficient to grab the reader’s attention.

Their response, as will always be the case with the media, was to find an angle that would appeal. In this case, they focused on bonanza time for lawyers. On another day or if another one of their staff had written the story, they might have concentrated more on the claimants themselves – along the lines of whether they are playing the system with bogus claims.

They could find any one of a dozen different angles but they will all have one thing in common – they will try to inspire an emotional reaction. It could be anything from anger to aspiration but it will always be there because emotion engages people and makes them want to read on.

Could you as lawyers do the same when writing blog posts or website articles to market your firm? Why shouldn’t you? Just as the devil shouldn’t have all the best tunes, neither should the media have all the best angles.

Let me say straightaway that I am not advocating any distortion or twisting of the facts here. I’m just pointing out that in most major legal developments there are numerous themes to be explored. It makes sense that you should concentrate on the theme that matters most to you and reflects the legal services you offer.

For example, if you are an employment lawyer who specialises in representing claimants then the tribunal statistics offer you a good marketing opportunity. Your angle might be along the lines of: ‘More and more people are seeking legal advice when threatened with redundancy or unfair treatment at work’.

This puts the concept of seeking legal advice in people’s minds. It offers them the comfort of knowing that lots of others are consulting solicitors so why shouldn’t they? Your article could go on to quote the figures and then discuss the benefits of consulting a specialist solicitor when faced with a problem at work. A solicitor will increase their chances of getting a better settlement – and so on.

The emotions being aroused include reassurance that approaching a solicitor is the right thing to do and the aspiration that getting legal advice means a better pay-out.

Of course, if you specialise in representing employers then you will need to take a different angle and inspire different emotions. Fear, I suppose, is the obvious choice. You could try something like: ‘Employers need to protect themselves against the increasing threat of costly tribunal claims.’

This time, instead of the employee’s aspiration to win a big settlement, you evoke the employer’s dread of having to pay out money he can scarcely afford at a time when his business may already be struggling.

You can explain how you can help him put employment policies in place to reduce the risk of costly claims.

Whatever angle you take, the facts remain the same and they aren’t distorted in any way. They’re just approached from different points of view depending on the kind of client you are targeting.

This approach can be applied to any article and make your writing much more effective when marketing your legal services.

Nick Kehoe is a former television and newspaper journalist. He is now managing director at law marketing firm Media Coverage