Katrina gave birth to so many legal actions between homeowners and their insurance companies. Lawyers and state government, as advocates for homeowners, were busy. Maybe they still are with vestiges of those legal actions.
There could be a repeat of those kinds of complex legal problems as a result of storm Sandy, dubbed "Frankenstorm." As the media predict, this could be a kind of perfect storm which inflicts huge damage from wind and water. Count trees to be knocked down, power to be disrupted, and just about every whatever to be flooded.
Some insurance claims will be simple to process. Others will entail legal issues. The media will be covering those conflicts between homeowners and insurance companies.
Lawyers can create brandnames for themselves, which can convert into new business, by making themselves available to the media and reaching out in other ways. Here are some tips how to do that:
Contact media offering to be source of on and off the record information and quotes on homeowners and/or insurance companies' rights. Just scan the media for the right contacts, then send a brief email.
Submit an opinion-editorial on the subject to local, regional or national media. The tone and content have to be in the public interest. Put in statistics. Have a provocative headline and first sentence.
Leverage social media. This is when your blog, twitter account, and Facebook fan page can pay off big. One tactic would be to put yourself in a central location and live-blog and/or tweet the storm and what you view as the legal implications.
Do an email blast with clients and prospects. Again, this is in the public interest. Discuss what legal issues might arise during or after Sandy.
Crisis can be an opportunity or a threat. Fortunately, for alert imaginative lawyers, it is always an opportunity.
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