Looking Ahead 2024

Trends in litigation strategy, crisis management, internet protects, and public relations in 2024

As we say goodbye to 2023, we look ahead to the changing landscape and emerging trends in crisis management, litigation strategy, and public relations that we believe will have a significant impact on 2024 and beyond.

These are the issues we feel will dominate the headlines in 2024:

Deep Fakes and Manufactured Evidence – So much of what we do each day is based on what we see and hear. From the food we eat and products we consume, to who we trust with the safety and security of our finances and our family, we make value judgements based on what we see and what we hear on TV and the internet.

Our justice system has always relied on eye-witness testimony, but the police and the courts have come to rely heavily on security camera footage, cell phone recordings, and photographic evidence.

Today, with a multitude of free or cheap apps and little to no skill, anyone can manipulate photos, videos and audio footage to transpose a face or voice. Many see the ability to swap their face with a celebrity actor or musician or their voice with a famous singer, as harmless fun. But others are using the technology to transpose faces of people into videos of illegal activities, into videos that create (or undermine) an alibi, even putting ex’s faces into porn or drug related videos that they then post of social media (and present to the court) in divorce and custody cases. Similarly, with a free or cheap app, anyone can be made to appear to say anything.

What happens to the value of video testimony, when it can so easily and seamlessly be manipulated?

Similarly, what are the rights of people to their own image? How do you feel about hologram concerts and movies where famous people are made to sing and perform new material, after their death?

Artificial Intelligence Backlash in Public Relations and Advertising – We are in an era of unrivalled change. From the cars we drive, the way we invest, to where and when we work, artificial intelligence and advanced technologies are creating change so rapidly, it can be almost impossible to keep up.

But generally, advances in technology are met with a longing for nostalgia. Over the coming year, we believe that the trend in for nostalgia content in films, tv and music will continue and many brands will adopt a more person-centic branding style featuring the “friendly spokesperson” or “real person you can trust” method of marketing.

Cybersecurity in the Courtroom – Across the country and around the world, hackers are accessing sealed records, private court information, and either exposing or extorting content. Easy access is putting the lives of witnesses, plaintiffs, defendants, judges, court personnel and lawyers in grave danger. It also opens the possibility of remotely removing records, altering sentences, changing incarceration dates, and other important sentence information.

Law firms are also being targeted as easy access to witness lists and statements, evidence, and sealed records are being exposed by hackers.

How will courts and law firms provide integrity to the judicial process and protection for participants?

The Right to be Forgotten – Europe’s “Right to be Forgotten” laws which allow people to have content about them removed from the internet is spreading around the globe. But so far, despite overwhelming support, similar laws have not been successful in the US. Multiple organizations are challenging that in hopes of giving Americans the right to have negative content and past misdeeds or mistakes removed from the internet.

In January, Merrell Strategy is launching www.RighttobeForgottenUSA.org a non-profit designed to research and advocate for American’s right to be forgotten on the internet.

Jury Influence and Crowd Sourcing Justice - Americans spend on average 2 and a half hours each day on social media, which is now considered American’s primary source of news and commentary. Of course, social media content can be manipulated, spoofed, and faked. We also have a growing group of so-called “armchair detectives,” people who get involved with police investigations and legal cases as a form of entertainment. How will the police and the justice system deal with the ease in which evidence can be faked? How will they handle a steady stream of wanna-be investigators, who don’t adhere to privacy rights or evidence gathering protocols.