Brenda McGann Brings Buzz to Law Firms with Stories to Tell

Photo by Amy Cantrell.

Brenda McGann is an expert storyteller.

After earning her law degree, she spent nearly a decade as a legal editor for the Daily Journal, a legal newspaper with five weekly Los Angeles and San Francisco editions. Then, she took a turn into the PR world, first establishing a public relations division in-house at a mid-size law firm. After that, she started McGann PR, working as a public relations consultant for professionals before joining Newsroom PR to coach former journalists how to transition into public relations and marketing. In 2021, McGann moved to Zumado PR, where she became managing partner this year.

Her job now is to help the professionals become storytellers, too.

Zumado’s niche lies in news marketing – a unique emphasis that is the perfect chance for lawyers to tell their stories, says McGann. Whether that means providing analysis on a Supreme Court case, writing a contributed article for a legal journal or breaking the story of an intriguing case on the docket, McGann is there to help lawyers find the outlet for their expertise. Her mission is to create and be a part of the buzz – in fact, “zumado” translates to “buzz” in Esperanto. The firm’s main goal is to empower lawyers to take action – to lead the news cycle rather than be swept away by it.

McGann and her partner, Zumado founder Nick Gaffney, have more than 50 years of legal public relations experience between them. While they have a niche in their home base of California, Zumado works nationally, often with mid-market firms, large firms looking for a deep bench in local public relations and boutique firms. In addition to working with law firms, the team also represents accounting firms, wealth managers, nonprofits, legal services providers and expert witnesses, among other service professionals.

In addition to stepping up to manage the firm, this year McGann joined the board of “Marketing the Law Firm,” an ALM publication, and has plans to start a podcast discussing communications trends for professionals with her fellow former Daily Journal reporter and marketing leader Denise Nix.

McGann is a member of The Lawdragon 100 Global Leaders in Legal Strategy & Consulting.

Lawdragon: Tell me about your early career. How did you first come to the law?

Brenda McGann: I graduated undergrad in Arkansas at a time when women were still mostly nurses or teachers. So, I got a teaching degree with the emphasis on literature, and I taught school for about seven years. I came to realize, though, that I was not a teacher. During a visit with my brother in California, I decided to move here and go to law school. I enrolled in Loyola Law School, graduated and was admitted to the State Bar of California in 1992.

LD: And how did you transition to public relations?

BM: I practiced law very briefly and realized, “I'm not a lawyer.” At that point, I'm thinking, "What do I really like?" I ended up getting a job at the Daily Journal as the assistant legal editor editing attorney-written columns. I was promoted to legal editor, where I oversaw all the attorney-written columns in the various publications at that time along with the daily opinion page. At that time, editors’ jobs included creating the layouts and writing headlines. I loved that job and have very fond memories of the work and the people I worked with.

I left the Daily Journal to join the marketing department of a mid-size law firm, where I gravitated toward the media relations aspect of law firm marketing. I created a public relations division within the marketing department and published a weekly newsletter of media mentions, which caught the attention of the founding partner who publicly praised the firm’s escalation of media attention. Shortly after that, the firm merged with a New York firm and outsourced their PR, which had become the trend. So, at that point, I started my own public relations firm and became a consultant for a number of years.

I had a young son at the time, so I welcomed the flexibility to both work full-time and care for my child. I worked independently until my son moved to Northern California for college. Then, I joined Howard Breuer at Newsroom PR, which had been in business about a year. He employed former journalists, some of whom were struggling to make the jump from journalism to public relations. That can be a challenge. Although I managed client accounts, I also coached other account reps about the ins and outs of PR.

LD: What did that coaching consist of? What traits do you need to build when switching from journalism to PR?

BM: I think partly it's that you cannot be antagonistic, argumentative or negative toward a client’s lawsuit, practice area or firm. A journalist is trained to point out flaws, inconsistencies and nonsense, which is a good thing. But in public relations, you have to use your journalist lens to approach those things as a partner in the success of the undertaking. That often involves creating a strategy and messaging to address the questions and issues that inevitably arise.

For example, you wouldn’t say, “No one cares about that lawsuit.” Instead, you probe deeper into the facts and history of the dispute, the parties and the circumstances until you have a compelling narrative that is likely to interest some reporters. It involves listening to the client, understanding what they want and then developing an approach.

You also figure out if the client or its case is part of a trend or if you can create a news hook. I once got coverage about the resolution of a lawsuit involving cemeteries in Mexico because it happened in October and I gave it a Halloween angle.

You’re juggling a lot of client requests at the same time, making sure you are communicating well, and proactively reaching out to them rather than waiting for them to get in touch with a project.

Newsroom PR does a lot of work with lawyers who comment about breaking news. So, as soon as the news breaks, you have to get your client ready to comment and help them craft the appropriate quotes.

Part of PR is making sure your client looks and sounds professional. Journalists are mostly interested in the accuracy of the quote, not how the public will perceive the lawyer. That takes a little time for some journalists to adjust to thinking “on the other side.” It’s a completely different mindset where you have to shift to what’s best for the client. And if you can come up with that serendipitous moment where it's best for both your client and the story, that's really where you're trying to get to. That's where the strategy comes in.

LD: Right. So, you came to Zumado in 2021?

BM: Yes, Nick Gaffney called. His right-hand person had left for an in-house position, and he needed some help. For a while, I was working for Newsroom and for Zumado. About four months after I started working for Nick, my husband John was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Fortunately, biopsies keep coming back benign. Unfortunately, the tumor, which turned out to be lymphoma, inflamed the pancreas and he had emergency surgery. He ended up losing half his pancreas, his spleen, a portion of his colon and almost all of his stomach – just from the inflammation. They did not expect him to survive the surgery.

LD: That’s awful.

BM: But he did. He was in intensive care for almost a month. We were still in the middle of Covid, and I was not allowed to visit him. When he was discharged, he still needed a lot of care. I left Newsroom to take on that challenge, but continued to work for Zumado. For two years I was both a caregiver and, by then, working full-time at Zumado. The first months, my husband was basically unable to do anything. It was horrible. But at the same time, while I wouldn’t wish it on anyone, it really takes you deep into a love for your spouse that you just don't understand until you're actually there. By the beginning of this year, John required less care and Nick was ready to slow down, so I was able to take on the role of managing partner.

LD: I’m so glad your husband is doing better now.

Can you give me a bit of an overview on the mix of the work you do for law firms at Zumado?

BM: We do a lot of work on brand and reputation through news. We have lawyers discuss trends. We get people quoted in stories and suggest article ideas for thought leadership publication in legal, business, industry and general circulation outlets. We also help publicize such things as new hires, new managing partners, new practices, people taking over as heads of practices and new offices locations. This year we started helping firms with finding and submitting requests for proposals for conferences and other speaking opportunities. We also help firms identify top lists and awards to nominate and decide what is worth spending time on.

I think you should take any legitimate opportunity that you have to get in front of potential clients. I really dislike the term “pay to play” applied to great opportunities for which you pay a fee to support the publication. I wish we could get rid of this idea that every time you pay for coverage, that somehow makes it less newsworthy or valid. I am an advocate for supporting professional journalism. Advertising no longer pays all the bills for many publications. We can help keep them in business by subscribing, paying for a license to use their content or by sponsoring content.

LD: On a related note, what misconceptions do you see law firms having in terms of their marketing strategy before you come in?

BM: I’ll get a call saying that the firm just won a case last week or last month and they want to publicize it. At that point, it’s old news. They should have sought publicity when they filed the case. 

Then, there’s the other side of that problem: A client has a case that is a slam dunk for media attention, but you don’t know about it until the media start calling. You aren’t prepared, the client is panicking and they haven’t even conferred with their client about how to handle the publicity. We try to emphasize to every client not to underestimate the media appetite for legal filings, particularly involving celebrities and public figures, public companies, high dollar amounts, law enforcement, alleged murders and other egregious conduct and whistleblowing, to name a few.

That said, some cases probably aren’t going to attract attention unless you explain in laymen’s terms what makes it interesting, which would include a news hook, a trend or a novel theory or some sort of strategy that’s going to impact a larger group of individuals than just your plaintiff. The lawyers who are very successful in garnering media attention tell the story in such a way that a reporter’s going to say, “This is a story I need to write.” If you file the case and they have to do too much work to figure out the story, then you’re going to lose that very small window of attention.

I’ll get a call saying that the firm just won a case last week or last month and they want to publicize it. At that point, it’s old news.

LD: That’s great advice. Is there any other advice that you find yourself giving most commonly to lawyers in terms of interfacing with the media?

BM: Know the publication that you want to appear in, especially when it comes to thought leadership and contributed articles. I also think lawyers sometimes miss the impact that they can have writing for or being profiled in a legal publication.

LD: Looking at Zumado specifically, what makes you unique in this space?

BM: I think the fact that both Nick and I have law degrees adds to our ability to have conversations with lawyers and to notice aspects of the story that others might not. And, from my years at the Daily Journal, I’ve learned what makes a good legal story and how to present it. I’m also able to personally edit and make suggestions on every piece of contributed article that our clients trust us to submit. Our experience translates into a deep understanding of the legal industry.

Most lawyers now understand they need to market themselves and their practices, but they struggle to find the time. They are looking for outside agencies and consultants who not only produce results, but also understand the law and the industry well enough not to require excessive amounts of their time. That is our superpower. 

LD: What do you enjoy about working with Zumado?

BM: Every day is always new and exciting, even when we’re solving difficult problems. Finding solutions is rewarding. I don’t want to ever say, “We can’t make this work.”

Several years ago, I publicized a case that ended up at the California Supreme Court, where the client won. The client, who was a Hong Kong resident with a property in Malibu that was the subject of the appeal, was passionate about ending the dog meat trade throughout Asia. He was so excited about the coverage of his appeal, he wondered if we could get media interest in America about that issue. He said, "Who do you think will write about this?" I answered, " That’s not top of mind for most Americans, but I think you could get some support if journalists learned about it.” I started researching and pitching, and we ended up finding someone at Nightline whose beat actually was disclosing the animal meat trade all over the world!

LD: Wow.

BM: It was exciting to find just the right person. I think that's true in almost everything: If it’s a good story, there’s someone who wants to write about it.

LD: So that sense of strategy is part of what you find most fulfilling about your career?

BM: Yes. Seeing a client’s name and story in print never gets old. 

LD: Are there any changes within the legal industry that you see reflecting into PR work?

BM: We would like to work with more boutique firms, such as IP, employment and emerging legal practices. We have massive media lists, including industry verticals seeking content for specific audiences, and strong relationships with reporters and editors in legal, national and specialized publications and online outlets. We also want to work more with regional firms expanding into new regions or establishing a national presence.

LD: What do you enjoy doing outside of your practice?

BM: I have three sisters and we try to travel somewhere every summer, so I do enjoy spending time with my family. While we were homebound by the pandemic, I redesigned our backyard for my husband. We created a ping pong area, installed a putting green and added an outdoor sauna. We brought our pool up to code. I’m learning to garden. I also write poetry. I am an avid churchgoer. This year I joined a worldwide communications mastermind online community through a church in Hollywood called Mosaic. I also have aspirations to become a LinkedIn influencer. That’s complicated, but I’m taking a class.

LD: Finally, what do you enjoy specifically about working with lawyers and law firms?

BM: I didn't enjoy practicing law, but I love talking about the law and reading about the law. When I was working at the Daily Journal, I developed a thin veneer of understanding about almost every practice area. With clients, I get to be inquisitive about their interests, their practice areas and the best way I can help them communicate their expertise and passion.

If I created an advertisement about my affinity for working with lawyers and other professionals it would be this: “Does everyone else know how smart you are? I brag about you like your mom.”