Michael Sitrick Goes on the Record with New Podcast “The Intersection – Between the Court of Law and the Court of Public Opinion”

In today’s world where news – or what passes for news – travels faster than light and leaves impressions permanently tattooed in its careless wake, reputation is truly everything. And Michael Sitrick is the master at the creation, manipulation and curation of reputation.

Since the ‘90s, Sitrick has been seamlessly representing headline-making corporations, executives, sports figures, politicians and celebrities, during the best of times and the worst of times – the launch of Oaktree Capital, Roy Disney until his death, Kobe Bryant, MGM Studios and MGM Grand, the Grammys, Enron, Paris Hilton, Harvey Weinstein, the list goes on and on. His firm has represented well over 1,000 clients since its founding 36 years ago.

In his brand-new podcast, “The Intersection – Between the Court of Law and the Court of Public Opinion,” Sitrick teams up with co-host Sallie Hofmeister, a senior partner at Sitrick and Company, and former editor of both the New York Times and L.A. Times. The hosts interview the cream of the crop of the legal industry, getting their views on how reputation, press and PR play a significant role in the lifecycle of a case and can irrefutably impact the outcome for clients – inside the courtroom and out.

Sitrick knows the value of taking control of the narrative and has a knack for the inception of perception. His firm, Sitrick And Company, is continually ranked among the nation’s top strategic communication firms. With offices in L.A., New York and D.C., Sitrick is widely celebrated as the finest crisis manager in the business. With a comprehensive understanding of the law, complex societal ecosystems and the echo-chambers that resound, Sitrick’s ability to carve powerful and staying narratives is unmatched.

The podcast is a new format for Sitrick; previously, he’s shared his insights through the written word. His first book, “Spin,” published in 1998, focuses on harnessing the power of the press and using it to your own advantage. Don’t get it twisted, Sitrick is all about truth – the cold and hard, sure, but Sitrick has the savvy to lean into the strategic and compelling elements of the truth. The pieces of the truth that serve Sitrick’s story become building blocks that he expertly employs to extract the desired trickle-down effect as the story inevitably bleeds its way through the press cycle.

“When someone files a lawsuit and the lawsuit is picked up, in a court of law you're innocent until proven guilty,” says Sitrick. “In the court of public opinion, more and more today, you're guilty until proven innocent – and sometimes you can't prove yourself innocent.”

He’s been called a “puppet master,” a “fixer,” a “spin doctor,” famous for successfully weaving the fabric of the truth to achieve his texture of choice, but Sitrick is surprisingly and refreshingly no-nonsense.

“Every once in a while, I have to say to a client, if you lie to me, I'll fire you,” says Sitrick. “And I have terminated a client or two for doing so. It affects not only their credibility, it affects our credibility – and that's all you have is your credibility.”

The podcast unpacks the idea that though you can win in the court of law, you can still be absolutely annihilated in the court of public opinion. According to Sitrick, this is especially true in high-profile cases. Take the rapidly unfolding Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni legal drama – a crisis management case exploding in real time at breakneck speed, that highlights the powerful and fast force of social media.

In upcoming episodes of “The Intersection,” Stirick welcomes Patricia Glaser, one of Hollywood’s most sought-after high-stakes litigators, who talks about the sticky narrative of the Lively v. Baldoni situation, Jeffrey Kessler, co-executive chairman of Winston & Strawn and one of the country’s top sports lawyers, and Marty Singer, one of the country’s best-known defamation attorneys.

The podcast unpacks the idea that though you can win in the court of law, you can still be absolutely annihilated in the court of public opinion.

Sitrick’s second book, which came out in 2018, addresses social media’s explosive impact on public opinion in high-profile cases. “The Fixer: Secrets for Saving Your Reputation in the Age of Viral Media” explains Sitrick’s position that having “no comment” is PR malpractice in most instances. Sitrick explains the ramifications of not being the one to tell your own story: Someone else will tell it for you. Most likely, that someone won’t house the truth in the same context you would, and that truth, devoid of nuance or consideration, can forever damage a reputation, no matter the legal outcome.

“The Intersection” podcast, set for release on Feb. 3, is the perfect next step for Sitrick. The natural storyteller truly shines in the longform. The format creates space for nuanced, in-depth conversations and “The Intersection,” is, as a result, refreshingly able to explore complex and unabbreviated ideas with some of the top litigators in the country – folks who are oftentimes understandably cautious about speaking on the record.

In the pilot episode, Sitrick and Hofmeister sit down with Matthew Schwartz, who succeeded David Boies as chairman of Boies Schiller Flexner in January of this year. The former Assistant U.S. Attorney gets candid with Sitrick about his past involvement in the prosecution of Bernie Madoff and shares his experience navigating the press while in trial, his vision for Boies Schiller and the importance he places on maintaining an active trial practice.

Throughout this season on “The Intersection,” Sitrick also talks to legendary trial lawyer Marc Kasowitz, co-founder of Kasowitz, Benson Torres. Kasowitz recently sued a number of Ivy League universities for antisemitism. The presidents of some of the most prestigious and renowned universities in the world faced prompt and profound backlash for their responses when asked whether calls for violence against Jews violated their institutions' codes of conduct. The tone-deaf congressional hearing that resulted from the lawsuit is part of what inspired Sitrick to create his podcast in the first place.

“Watching the Ivy presidents testify on antisemitism, however they might have been prepped, they appeared to be only concerned about the court of law and not the court of public opinion,” says Sitrick. “And of course they all paid the price.”

New episodes of “The Intersection – Between the Court of Law and the Court of Public Opinion” are released every other Monday. Sitrick, Hofmeister and their guests pull back the curtain on some of the most newsworthy cases of our time and examine the dangers of ignoring the pivotal role the media can play in the lifespan of a case.

After all these years pulling the strings behind the scenes, “The Intersection” podcast puts Sitrick right out front. And center-stage – directly in the spotlight – is a place where Sitrick certainly shines. His wealth of knowledge and incredible caliber of guests gives the podcast a compelling grit, making this “Intersection” one you won’t want to turn away from.