Senior Public Relations Manager

Sweet James, LLP; Newport Beach (CA); On-site; USD 120,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

Sweet James Accident Attorneys seeks a Senior Public Relations Manager to raise the firm's profile through earned media, thought leadership, and industry recognition. You will own PR strategy and the employer brand from start to finish, collaborating with search, content, and marketing teams, reporting to the Chief Marketing Officer.

You will build profiles for our executives, pitch national to local outlets, and guide spokespeople while ensuring compliance and brand integrity across moments of

Qualifications

• 10+ years in public relations, communications, or media relations.

Responsibilities

• Set the strategy: Own and execute a public relations strategy that elevates the Sweet James brand and builds executive profiles.
• Land the press: Build relationships with reporters and land coverage in national, regional, local, and trade outlets.
• Prepare the spokespeople: Get attorneys ready for interviews and ensure statements follow professional-responsibility rules.
• Build thought leadership: Create bylines, data studies, safety reports, and expert commentary to drive press interest and backlinks.
• Integrate with search and content: Align topics, keywords, and timing with search and content teams.
• Own the employer brand: Shape how Sweet James is seen as a place to work and partner with recruiting.
• Own the metrics: Define PR impact, set goals, and report results to refine pitching and coverage.

Skills

PR strategy

Media relations

Executive communications

Digital PR

Metrics & analytics

Copywriting

Reputation management

Tools

Media databases

Monitoring tools

Job description

Sweet James Accident Attorneys is a rapidly growing, AI-powered personal injury firm based in Orange County, CA. In less than a decade, we've built a nationally recognized brand and a proprietary AI and automation stack that make us one of the largest and most efficient providers of legal services in the country. Our growth runs on a culture of excellence, compassion, and results: Our team is committed to exceptional client experience and to supporting one another in a fast-paced, collaborative environment. We invest in our people, encourage professional growth, and provide meaningful opportunities to build rewarding careers while making a real impact in our clients' lives.

The role

Sweet James has built one of the most recognized brands in personal injury. As a Senior Public Relations Manager, you will turn that recognition into earned credibility: Raising the profile of the firm and of the attorneys on our executive leadership team through high-impact press, thought leadership, and industry recognition.

You will own public relations strategy and our employer brand from start to finish and build both from the ground up. The work runs in step with our search, content, and marketing teams, so the coverage you earn builds links and search visibility as well as awareness. You will report to the Chief Marketing Officer, set out the measures of success, and be held accountable for the results.

Responsibilities

• Set the strategy: Own and execute a public relations strategy that elevates the Sweet James brand as a whole and builds distinct public profiles for the attorneys on our executive leadership team as trusted voices in their areas.
• Land the press: Build relationships with reporters, editors, producers, and podcast hosts; proactively pitch and land high-impact coverage in national, regional, local, and trade outlets; and respond quickly to news and trends where our attorneys can add expert comment.
• Prepare the spokespeople: Prepare attorneys for interviews, panels, and media appearances, and ensure public statements follow the professional-responsibility rules that govern attorney communications, under attorney guidance.
• Build thought leadership: Develop bylines, data studies, safety reports, and expert commentary that drive press interest, earn high-quality backlinks, and reach both the legal industry and consumer audiences, and pursue awards, speaking opportunities, and industry recognition.
• Integrate with search and content: Build a public relations framework that runs in sync with search, content, and marketing, aligning topics, keywords, and timing with those teams.
• Own the employer brand: Shape how Sweet James is seen as a place to work (e.g., careers site content, professional social media presence, employee review sites, recruiting collateral), and partner with recruiting so the firm's coverage and leadership profiles strengthen how we attract talent.
• Own the metrics: Define how public relations impact is measured (e.g., coverage quality and reach, share of voice, backlinks and referring domains, branded search lift, contribution to leads), set goals, report results at the team's cadence, and use them to refine what you pitch and where.

Qualifications

Required

• 10+ years in public relations, communications, or media relations, in-house or agency.
• Track record of landing top-tier coverage through your own pitching: You can name the placements and how you earned them.
• Spokesperson development: You have built public profiles for executives or spokespeople and prepared them for media appearances.
• Digital public relations: Working knowledge of how public relations supports search, including link earning.
• Metrics orientation: You have set public relations goals, tracked them, and explained the results to leadership.
• Strong writing and editing across press releases, bylines, and pitches.
• Sound judgment on reputation and sensitive topics.

Preferred

• Experience in legal, professional services, or consumer brands.
• Employer brand experience: You have built or managed how a company is seen as a place to work, in partnership with recruiting or human resources.
• Existing relationships with legal, business, or local news media.
• Experience with media databases and monitoring tools.
• Experience securing broadcast, podcast, or video placements.

Who succeeds here

You are resourceful, you move fast, and you are comfortable building a function with little structure. You would rather pitch a story than wait for one to come to you, and you judge your work by the coverage, links, and leads it produces rather than the volume of activity behind it.

You are also comfortable operating inside a law firm: Attorneys are the voice, and you shape where and how they are heard. You earn the trust of busy senior attorneys, prepare them well, and protect the firm's reputation when a topic turns sensitive.

Sweet James is an equal opportunity employer. We welcome applicants of every background and do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local law.

We will consider qualified applicants with arrest or conviction records in accordance with the California Fair Chance Act and applicable local law.