Public relations is more than just a buzzword - it is a vital tool for corporate social responsibility in the post-Enron world, writes Sandra Hewett

Sophisticated law firms don't have marketing any more.

It's a dirty word, a euphemism for 'PR and brochures', the mention of which will make any business development director snort with derision over the strategic plans.

One of the problems for the public relations profession is that we haven't managed our own image.

But like marketing, PR has grown up.

In fact, we could call it corporate communications.

And what if I tell you next that the corporate communications professional should be on your board? That's a leap of faith, so I'll go back a bit.

A communications strategy is only partly about business development; communications is core to your business.

Taken to its extreme, you are communicating every time someone has contact with your firm.

Your buildings, your partners and staff, how you answer the phone, your Web site - all should be giving out deliberate and consistent messages.

The PR department famously, though, handles the press, so I'll concentrate on media relations.

And yes, it is much more than press releases.

If you are a serious competitor in your marketplace you should be handling the media.

With directory entries, top 100 listings, releases about the firm or even just meeting the local newspaper editor, there are things to do at any level, meat and drink to any PR department.

Give your in-house PR people space to be imaginative and listen to their advice.

Don't get them tied up in endless internal meetings and politicking.

A good practitioner should set objectives, be realistic about expectations and help you to evaluate the results quarterly.

Then there's issue management, from an article on stamp duty to a media briefing on sexual orientation to a campaign for better health and safety compliance.

This should be the basis of any external retainer programme.

And before you complain that 'they didn't do anything for us', did you really co-operate with those brainstorming meetings, essential to discovering what's happening and when?

Or did you send your agency your newsletter on the Enterprise Act three weeks after an implementation date and expect it to get you in the Financial Times? Both sides need to be pro-active and armed with the right information; if you've done your bit then you are in a position to judge the agency's competence and demand results.

You should also have a crisis handling plan.

Your reputation is, after all, everything.

Contingency planning puts you in a much better position to handle situations of any risk level, and enables you to offer a high-profile client hand-holding when a story breaks, such as in a court case.

This requires senior, usually external, expertise and a crisis plan should be put in place and regularly refreshed.

So what's the board place for? If the reputation management hasn't jogged a few thoughts, let's talk about corporate governance and corporate social responsibility.

In the post-Enron world, lawyers are perfectly placed to guide their corporate clients into this new environment.

Many organisations with household names have fallen short of the new and rigorous criteria which now cover a long list of issues such as human rights, health and safety, director remuneration and, heaven forfend, telling the truth.

The buzzword is trust and many clients are falling short.

But how can they turn to their lawyers for guidance if you don't practise what you preach?

Good communications are needed at many levels and there are now many practitioners, both in-house and external, who understand how to apply it to law firms.

Sandra Hewett is a legal profession specialist consultant at London-based Sandra Hewett Media Relations