Landing your first opportunity to represent someone in the public eye is exciting. An actor, a musician, a pro athlete—someone who is already a household name. Before getting wrapped up in the excitement, it is important to realize this is not just another case. This specific client isn’t more important than your others, but there are unique considerations you should keep in mind. When your client lives in the limelight, your job expands beyond traditional legal advocacy. You’re not only practicing law in a court or an arbitration; you are also battling in the court of public opinion.

From day one, you should assume that everything you file is part of a larger narrative. You are always telling a story, and you can’t forget that.

Of course, your primary responsibility is to protect your client’s legal interests. That never changes. But with high-profile clients, it’s not enough to file pleadings that simply “check the box.” Petitions, motions, and responses are all public-facing documents, and they often shape how your client is perceived long before a judge or jury ever rules. Strong advocacy means telling your client’s story intentionally from the beginning, not figuring it out through the case’s progression.

Every motion and brief should explain not just what happened, but who your client is. That story should align with your client’s brand, persona, and the image they’ve worked hard to build. This looks different depending on the client. For example, if you represent a musical artist in a genre built on confidence, toughness, and ego, you likely don’t want pleadings that portray them as weak or overly sensitive. The legal arguments don’t have to change, but the framing might. In the court of public opinion, tone, word choice, and style matter.

You can make the same legal points while shaping them in a way that fits your client’s voice. When appropriate, subtle adjustments in language can make pleadings feel authentic rather than generic or boilerplate. The primary goal isn’t theatrics (although there’s always an opportunity for that). Instead, a reader should feel that the legal strategy and the client’s public persona are pulling in the same direction.

Relationships with opposing counsel can become especially important in these cases. High-profile disputes can invite unnecessary hostility, and some lawyers use filings as a weapon to embarrass or apply undue pressure beyond the merits of the case. Inflammatory language often has nothing to do with the legal issues and everything to do with causing stress or reputational harm.

This is where professionalism, ethical practice, and credibility can pay off. When you have strong (or at least amicable) relationships, you can often resolve these issues quietly. On multiple occasions, I have persuaded opposing counsel to remove language that served no legal purpose and only existed to “twist the knife.” That kind of intervention can spare your client unnecessary public damage, distraction, and personal frustration.

Always remember: the media may be watching. Publicly available pleadings are easily quoted, summarized, and turned into headlines. What you write today could appear in an article tomorrow and live online forever. When someone searches your client’s name months or years later, those articles will still be there. For that reason, telling your client’s story isn’t optional, even when certain explanations aren’t strictly required by law.

This is also why involving the “business team” is critical. Managers, agents, and publicists are not outsiders; they are key partners. They often know what projects, endorsements, or announcements are coming next, and that information can shape timing and strategy in ways that protect your client’s interests in the bigger picture, beyond the lawsuit.

For true celebrities, time is their most limited resource. They rely on their team--including you—to keep things moving. Build relationships with the people around them. Learn who can get you information quickly and who understands the broader strategy. When deadlines are tight, as they often are in litigation, it’s usually this team that keeps everything on track.

Representing someone in the spotlight requires thinking beyond the courtroom. Of course you have to do the legal work well; that’s the baseline. But great advocacy for high-profile clients means protecting more than legal interests. It means telling the right story, in the right way, at the right time.