Challenge
Hanify & King is a Boston-based law firm with more than 25 years of experience in the following principal practice areas: litigation, bankruptcy and financial restructuring, business and real estate, labor and employment, alternative dispute resolution and life sciences. Within Greater Boston, competition among mid- to large-sized law firms is fierce. Hanify & King had many great stories to tell, from the quality and talent of its lawyers to the timeliness of its principal practice areas. However, with so many competing messages in the marketplace, a dedicated public relations campaign was necessary to bring Hanify & King’s expertise and first-class services to the attention of its target audiences.

Solution
O’Neill and Associates began working with Hanify & King to develop and implement a three-tiered public relations plan. This plan included messages, materials and media that focused on:

• Creating messages to highlight Hanify & King’s unique attributes including size, efficiency, technology and strategic approach to a client’s case;
• Mounting a strategic media campaign highlighting:
• Specific cases;
• Individuals within the firm;
• Key practice areas and specialties;
• Positioning attorneys in select practice areas as leaders in their field;
• Increasing overall presence of Hanify & King in key markets and communities;
• Developing internal processes whereby the marketing team obtains appropriate newsworthy information to push out to media.

Results
Over the course of this effort, O’Neill and Associates successfully gained media coverage of Hanify & King including the following:

• Lawyer profiles in the Boston Globe, Banker & Tradesman, Boston Buiness Journal, Worcester Business Journal, and Massachusetts Lawyer’s Weekly;
• Two bylined articles in New England In-House;
• Case-related stories in the Boston Business Journal; and
• Attorney appearances on WBZ TV, WBZ Radio, and New England Cable News as legal analysts.

In addition, O’Neill and Associates was instrumental in managing all press inquiries during Hanify & King’s announcement of the Ground Round bankruptcy in February 2004. Media hits included the New York Times, Detroit Free Press, Daily Deal, Akron Beacon Journal, Boston Globe, Lexington Herald-Leader, Philadelphia Inquirer, St. Paul Pioneer Press, Worcester Telegram and Gazette, Wilkes-Barre Times Leader and the Associated Press. O’Neill and Associates continues to provide communications services to Hanify & King, refining and adjusting the strategic plan as necessary.

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