Public Relations Firms in Atlanta for Companies With a Case at the Russell Courthouse

Updated November 2026 · Written and maintained by the Progression Agency strategy team

At the Richard B. Russell Federal Building on Ted Turner Drive, the Northern District of Georgia prohibits photographing or recording in connection with its proceedings, keeps camera phones at the security checkpoint, and, from arrest or charge until trial, bars lawyers on either side of a criminal case from public statements on six subjects, from a defendant’s record to any opinion on the merits. A company in a federal case meets reporters on the sidewalk, with words counsel has cleared. Public relations firms in Atlanta that take on this work plan each statement, post and employee note around those local rules. Progression’s PR people are based in New York, handle Atlanta matters remotely and join a client’s team in person on request.

A post drafted the night before an arraignment

A hypothetical chief financial officer drafts a social post the night before an arraignment. It says the evidence will clear the company and that a former controller’s story will not survive cross examination.

Two clauses of the Northern District of Georgia’s Local Criminal Rule 57.4 mark that draft: clause (d), the credibility of a prospective witness, and clause (f), an opinion on the merits. The cut version says the company denies the charges and that the next hearing date is on the Court’s public docket. The rule binds the lawyers, and a statement the defense team authorizes is their statement too. No real company, person, case or outlet is shown here.

Public relations firms in Atlanta and the courthouse at 75 Ted Turner Drive

The Northern District of Georgia sits in Atlanta at the Richard B. Russell Federal Building and United States Courthouse. Its Atlanta Division, described on the Court’s Atlanta location page, takes cases from Cherokee, Clayton, Cobb, DeKalb, Douglas, Fulton, Gwinnett, Henry, Newton and Rockdale counties.

Local Rule 83.4 and Local Criminal Rule 57.4 are the Court’s own local rules. The Court reprints them on its media page and posts them on its local rules page. The PR team works through the company’s counsel from the first call, because a statement the lawyers authorize is held to the criminal rule, and a judge’s special order can reach parties and witnesses directly.

The work is press planning, not legal advice, and every legal question goes to counsel.

Who is not covered by this page?

State courts, including county superior courts, follow their own rules, and film, talent and entertainment publicity is a different service. This page does not describe them.

Reporter questions on the sidewalk, matched to the court’s rule

The sheet lists the questions a reporter puts to a company or an executive outside the courthouse, each beside the clause that governs a lawyer’s answer, what a company statement may carry instead, who answers and what the PR team prepares before the hearing.

The company’s own spokesperson speaks for the business, its customers and its staff, and every answer about the case runs through counsel first.

Six subjects counsel keeps out of every statement

From arrest, an arrest warrant or the filing of a complaint, information or indictment until trial or disposition without trial, lawyers on either side may not release statements on the accused’s prior record, character or reputation; on a confession, admission or statement; on tests; on the identity, testimony or credibility of witnesses; on a possible plea; or on any opinion about guilt, innocence or the merits.

• Prior record, character and reputation.
• Confessions, admissions and statements.
• Examinations and tests.
• Witnesses: identity, testimony or credibility.
• A possible plea.
• Any opinion on guilt, innocence or the merits.

What counsel may still say on the record

The rule does not prevent announcing the fact and circumstances of an arrest, the investigating agency, the nature or text of the charge, the scheduling or result of any stage, a request for help in obtaining evidence, or, without further comment, that the accused denies the charges. Quoting or referring without comment to the Court’s public records is also allowed.

No phones with cameras past the checkpoint

Under Local Rule 83.4(A), photographing, recording or broadcasting in or from a district courthouse in connection with judicial proceedings is prohibited whether or not court is in session. Still cameras, video cameras and any device with a camera, including cell phones, tablets and laptops, are not allowed in except by Court order.

Attorneys with Court issued identification cards may bring personal devices but face the same restrictions as the public. Devices without cameras may not be operated in a courtroom or hearing room, and all such equipment is subject to inspection by the United States Marshals Service. Every visitor shows a government issued photo ID.

The company’s people carry a printed statement and a printed list of contacts, the PR lead stays outside or carries no camera device, and nothing is posted from inside the building. The photo the company wants is taken on the public sidewalk after the hearing. PR firms in Atlanta that have not planned the checkpoint lose the first hour of a news day to it.

• Print the statement and the contact sheet.
• Leave camera devices outside or in the car.
• Post nothing from inside the building.
• Take the photo on the public sidewalk after the hearing.

When the judge issues a special order

In a widely publicized or sensational civil case, Local Rule 83.4(B) lets the Court issue a special order, on motion of either party or on its own motion. Local Criminal Rule 57.4(D) does the same for criminal cases. The order can cover extrajudicial statements by parties and witnesses, the seating and conduct of spectators and news media, and the management and sequestration of jurors and witnesses.

Counsel watches the docket for a motion or order. The PR plan has a version for the day an order issues: statements stop or narrow, the website’s case page freezes to the public record, and employees are told who may speak. Nobody improvises. A PR firm in Atlanta never drafts around an order or argues it in the press. Planning for the worst day is covered by our crisis management PR firm page.

What belongs on the day-of-order page?

A short note that the company is aware of the order, who speaks for it, and a link to the public docket. Nothing about the order’s reasons.

What litigation communications cost in Atlanta

Pricing depends on scope, is subject to change and is set in the written proposal. Public relations in Atlanta for a case is priced on the hearing calendar and the size of the statement team, never on the stakes of the case.

Retainers Progression lists for PR work

Progression lists its retainers on its public relations agency page.

The written proposal confirms which retainer fits and what it includes. Legal fees and court fees are outside these figures.

Quiet periods the criminal rule draws

Local Criminal Rule 57.4 draws three periods for lawyers: a grand jury or other investigation, the time from arrest or charge until trial or disposition, and a jury trial including jury selection.

The company’s statement library carries one approved holding line for each period, with a named owner, set with counsel. No date is computed or promised for any period, and nothing is framed as a countdown.

Employees, customers and the release that waits

Staff hear from the company before they read about it. The note is short, counsel has cleared it, and it says what the case is, who speaks for the company and where the public docket sits.

Customer and partner letters carry the same cleared lines. The newsroom page links the docket number and quotes public records only without comment. No internal note discusses witnesses, tests or a plea. PR agencies in Atlanta that write the press release first and the staff note second get the order backward. Related work sits with PR firm services.

• Staff note before the release.
• Customer and partner letters with the same cleared lines.
• A newsroom page that quotes the public record without comment.
• No internal note about witnesses, tests or a plea.

Civil cases that draw reporters to Ted Turner Drive

For companies in widely publicized commercial disputes, class actions or regulatory suits in the Atlanta Division, the civil rule’s special order in Local Rule 83.4(B) is the main courthouse rule. The criminal rule’s six subjects do not apply to a civil case as such.

The company still keeps opinions on witnesses and evidence for the courtroom, publishes filings it relies on only as public records, and briefs its spokesperson for the sidewalk. Public relations companies in Atlanta that handle civil matters set a review step with counsel for every outbound line. For the law firm’s side, see law firm PR.

Can a spokesperson prepare in advance?

Yes. Spokesperson preparation is a normal step, covered in media training in New York, and the practice answers always stay inside what counsel cleared.

Should the company keep a list of public filings?

Yes, with the docket number and where each filing can be obtained, so the spokesperson points reporters to the public record instead of summarizing it.

Claims a company under indictment never makes

A short list of lines stays out of every statement, post and staff note.

• No we will be vindicated.
• No comment on a witness.
• No mention of a test, polygraph or interview.
• No talk of a plea or settlement.
• No prior record or character attack.
• No claim that the Court or a judge agrees with the company.
• Nothing from a sealed filing or from hearings in chambers.
• No quote from courthouse staff beyond the public record.

No statement says that any message or person complies with LR 83.4 or LCrR 57.4. Legal questions go to counsel, and court questions go to the clerk’s office.

What replaces a claim of vindication?

The allowed denial line and the next date from the public docket.

Ready before the first hearing date

The checklist below covers what to have in place. For companies planning around a case, public relations firms in Atlanta, GA are ready when every question a reporter could ask on Ted Turner Drive has a cleared answer or a cleared silence.

• Counsel named as the approval step for every case line.
• The reporter question sheet filled in.
• Holding lines for each quiet period.
• A printed statement and contact sheet for the sidewalk, no camera devices planned inside.
• Staff note and customer letter drafted.
• A newsroom page set to quote the public record without comment.
• A plan for the day a special order issues.

Does the plan need a refresh after each hearing?

Yes. The question sheet and the holding lines are checked against the docket and with counsel after every hearing.

Frequently asked questions