Definitely talk to the lawyer before talking to a journalist, and ask them about talking to the journalist! And if you go the public-attack route you should hav

Definitely talk to the lawyer before talking to a journalist, and ask them about talking to the journalist! And if you go the public-attack route you should have a careful strategy and plan before you start, because you lose control of it after that. A journalist is not in the business of helping you, they are in the business of writing what the person who signs their pay check wants. Keep that in mind. They will ask other parties to the story for their side of it. Journalists also spin, twist, omit, and sometimes even lie. All that is before the public makes their opinions about the story or reposts it on facebook. And even if you do get a favorable and sympathetic story, there will always be some people who don't take your side of it and will question it or even become quite unhinged about it especially if there are children involved. You need to think very hard about what you want to achieve before you go to a journalist, and possibly even engage a PR agency to advise you if this is part of a legal or lobbying strategy.