Davis+Gilbert: The Law Firm Behind the PR Industry Survey
Davis+Gilbert LLP is a New York law firm built on advertising, marketing communications and media law, and the firm that most openly serves the public relations industry. Its Public Relations Law practice, founded and chaired by Michael Lasky, publishes the annual PR Industry Trends Report, a confidential survey of PR firms that reached its 12th edition in 2024.
What is Davis+Gilbert?
Davis+Gilbert is a midsize New York firm, headquartered at 1675 Broadway, that offers a full range of corporate and litigation services but is best known for advertising, marketing communications and media law. Vault's firm profile counted just over 130 lawyers as of 2020 and traces the firm's advertising reputation to 1934, when it structured the first advertiser-created broadcast program, a radio soap opera.
Vault lists clients including J.M. Smucker, Little Caesar's, Resy and Nike. The firm brings and defends disputes before the National Advertising Division of the Council of Better Business Bureaus, the Children's Advertising Review Unit, the Federal Trade Commission, the Food and Drug Administration and the National Advertising Review Board.
Who is Michael Lasky?
Michael C. Lasky is a partner at Davis+Gilbert, the founder and chair of its Public Relations Law practice, and co-chair of its Litigation and Dispute Resolution group. His published biography describes the practice as the only group in the country devoted to the legal needs of public relations and marketing communications firms. It also says he serves as legal counsel to the Arthur Page Society and works with the Public Relations Society of America and the American Marketing Association.
What does the Public Relations Law practice cover?
The practice advises PR and marketing communications firms across the legal work that agencies generate most often. The biography lists employment, executive benefits, intellectual property, new media and marketing law, corporate and M&A, real estate and litigation. Brad J. Schwartzberg, co-chair of the Corporate and Transactions group, presents alongside Lasky on agency M&A, and the firm sponsors industry events such as the PRSA Counselors Academy conference and the Holmes Report Independent PR Firm Forum.
What is the Davis+Gilbert PR Industry Trends Report?
The report is the firm's annual confidential survey of public relations firms, covering revenue and profitability, service mix, AI use, staffing, DEI and M&A. The firm's own releases number the editions: the 10th came in 2022, the 11th in November 2023 and the 12th in October 2024, which puts the first edition around 2013. EPR has not verified editions after 2024, so check the firm's site for the latest.
Edition
Published
What the firm reported
10th
2022
81% of the more than 130 participating firms increased revenue, and 82% created more flexible working arrangements
11th
November 6, 2023
The highest participation in the report's history. Fewer firms than in 2022 grew revenue or profit. The survey asked about AI for the first time: nearly half of firms used it for written content and 37% for ideation. Half the firms had no firmwide AI policy
12th
October 28, 2024
A record number of respondents and the most diverse mix by size, specialty and geography. 57% expected 2024 revenue growth, up from 53% a year earlier. Revenue grew more easily than profit, AI use rose sharply, M&A activity continued to climb and DEI efforts slowed
Why does a law firm's survey matter to PR firms?
The survey gives agency principals a benchmark that PR firms rarely share publicly, because responses are collected confidentially and reported in aggregate. Two uses stand out. Principals compare their own revenue, profit, staffing and AI adoption against firms of similar size, and the M&A findings give buyers and sellers context for valuation conversations. EPR reads it alongside its own coverage of what PR firms charge and the firm profiles in the directory.
The 2023 and 2024 editions also record how quickly AI moved from experiment to workflow inside PR firms, a shift EPR tracks in The State of AI Regulation for Brands.
How does Davis+Gilbert connect to legal communications?
The firm sits where PR practice meets legal rules. Lasky has presented on applying attorney-client privilege to PR and crisis communications, including an April 2024 webinar listed by O'Dwyer's, which is the same question EPR covers for litigation teams: whether communications with a PR advisor stay privileged depends on how the engagement is structured. The privilege framework is in EPR's litigation PR guide, the older explainer on keeping PR material confidential and privileged, and the rules for AI tools in AI tools for legal communications teams. Advertising and endorsement rules, the firm's other core subject, are covered from the lawyer's side in What Lawyers Can Actually Say.
Advertising, marketing communications and media law, with a dedicated Public Relations Law practice that advises PR and marketing communications firms. The firm is based in New York.
What is the Davis+Gilbert PR Industry Trends Report?
An annual confidential survey of public relations firms covering revenue, profit, services, AI use, staffing, DEI and M&A. The firm numbered the 12th edition in October 2024.
Who leads the Public Relations Law practice?
Michael C. Lasky, who founded the practice and chairs it, and who also co-chairs the firm's Litigation and Dispute Resolution group.
What did the 2024 report find about AI?
The firm reported a sharp rise in AI use and applications among PR firms in a single year, after the 2023 edition first asked about AI and found nearly half of firms using it for written content.
Is communication with a PR firm privileged?
It depends on the jurisdiction and on how the engagement is structured, which is why many engagements run through outside counsel. Lasky has presented on the topic, and it is a question for the client's lawyers. Sources: Davis+Gilbert's published reports and releases (2022 to 2024), Vault's firm profile, O'Dwyer's and the firm's attorney biography. Nothing on this page is legal advice.
Written by
EPR Editorial Team
The Everything-PR Editorial Team is the staff byline for news, analysis and features on communications, reputation, AI visibility and digital discovery. Everything-PR has published since 2009. AI tools assist with research and drafting, and every article is reviewed by a human editor before publication. Coverage follows the Editorial Policy, and substantive corrections are noted on the article under the Corrections Policy.
