PRCG | Haggerty is pleased to announce that CEO James F. Haggerty, an attorney admitted in New York and Florida, has been appointed Adjunct Professor of Law at Stetson University College of Law in St. Petersburg, Florida, and will teach a course in the Spring 2025 semester entitled “Advocacy in the Court of Public Opinion.”

The new course recognizes, as Justice Anthony Kennedy of the United States Supreme Court noted many years ago, that “an attorney’s duties do not begin inside the courtroom door. He or she cannot ignore the practical implications of a legal proceeding for the client…”

The course will examine the practice of law in this modern age of media, social media, and public affairs, examining how what happens in the broader public arena can impact effective advocacy, the litigation process, and, ultimately, the resolution of legal disputes.

Among other distinctions, Stetson University College of law is the top-ranked school in trial advocacy according to U.S. News and World Report. Alumni in the news recently include Pam Bondi, the new Attorney General of the United States, and Ashley Moody, who was appointed to replace Marco Rubio in the United States Senate.

Jim Haggerty is the author of several well-known books on the interplay of legal, crisis communications matters and public perception. His landmark 2003 book, In the Court of Public Opinion: Winning Strategies for Litigation Communications was released in an updated Third Edition in 2022 by Hart + Harvest Press and is considered the leading book in the field. Jim is also the author of Chief Crisis Officer: Structure and Leadership for Effective Communications Response, which was first published in 2017 and was recently released in a new paperback edition (Hart + Harvest Press, 2023). Jim was a columnist for American Lawyer’s Corporate Counselmagazine from 2011 – 2015, where he was twice named a finalist for the prestigious Neal Award for Business Journalism.

Jim Haggerty has been ranked as one of the top legal professionals in the United States by the prestigious Chambers and Partners international directory. Haggerty is one of only four communications professionals in the US to be ranked in each year of the list’s existence.The listing has noted Haggerty is “a powerhouse,” and “the consummate professional” with “a great depth of understanding in litigation and legal matters.”

In 2023, Business Insider named Jim as one of “18 top public-relations experts CEOs scramble to hire in a crisis.”