It also requires a higher commitment of time and resources. In the age of larger and larger law firms, it is easy to forget that clients buy legal services by individual lawyer and practice expertise in categories defined by the purchaser. The firm's reputation is secondary to the sale - big companies go to big law firms, but firm reputation reassures the sale, it does not drive it. To make a prospect's short list you must be acknowledged publicly as among the best in the market or category. To dominate a category you must be more than just a good lawyer.
Excellence is assumed by the purchaser prior to placing an attorney on the short list.
The category can be broader, but if so, will include more competition by definition and will require a great deal more time and effort for fewer results. Of course, public relations has its limits. Getting important, substantive articles takes time and is not completely controllable. Reporters and editors have a thing or two to say about what they put under their byline or on their programs. But if you are willing to invest the time and money, you can associate an individual, practice area, or firm with an issue so that nearly every time there is an article on that subject, the firm's expert is quoted.