When attorneys try their hand at public relations, they aren't always as successful as they would be in the courtroom, according to Mark Weaver, a consultant with Communications Counsel, Inc.

"Most lawyers write in a style that’s more suitable for court documents and less effective for the public at large," Weaver told Fayetteville Today. "Law school typically changes the way someone thinks and writes, and that usually means lawyers speak and write in ways that are less understood by the masses."

Weaver himself is both a lawyer and public relations professional, but his advice is for everyone, he says.

"I tell my clients that I’m bilingual; I speak English and lawyer," he said. "Because I was a communications professional before I went to law school, I’ve been able to mentally switch gears between what’s appropriate to say in an appellate argument versus what should be said in a newspaper op-ed."

Libby Krieger was recently named a full-time consultant with Ohio-based firm Communications Counsel, Inc.