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In the Information Economy, all cases are public -- and lawyers, clients, and communicators need to be prepared for the inevitable legal matter that thrusts them into the public spotlight. With the rise of business media, 24-hour news channels, and the Internet, it's not just sensational cases that are receiving public attention. Whether you are a business executive, corporation counsel, a litigator at an outside law firm, or a public relations professional, you need skills and systems for managing public opinion during legal matters so that you win this critical battle -- and perhaps, in the process, the war. In the Court of Public Opinion is the first book of its kind. Designed for lawyers and non-lawyers alike, it will introduce you to a proven system for operating in this new environment, where media, public opinion, and legal processes collide. In a lively and provocative style, attorney and communications consultant James Haggerty shares his insights and experiences to show you how to use media coverage and other public attention to your advantage when litigating your side of the case.Throughout this groundbreaking book, Haggerty introduces a variety of tools, techniques, and strategies -- the Control, Information, Response (CIR) system; the Litigation-Media Checklist; and the innovative Media Brief -- that will allow you to implement a public relations strategy that integrates seamlessly with your overall litigation and business goals. Using examples from diverse cases such as the Microsoft antitrust case, the William West-moreland libel case against CBS, the Ronald Perelman/Patricia Duff child custody case, and New York State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer's investigation of Merrill Lynch, In the Court of Public Opinion offers lessons for successfully operating in this new environment -- where the world is your courtroom, and public opinion, more often than not, is your judge and jury.