Crisis & Litigation

Crisis

It’s no longer a question of whether crises happen. It’s a question of being prepared when they do. Ultimately, it’s all about protecting reputations – and the bottom line.

It’s not about the crisis plan. That has been sitting on the shelf too long, providing some confidence but no immediate readiness. Crisis avoidance and response must be in the corporate DNA.

We stand ready to send teams anywhere in the world at anytime to handle a crisis. Who is talking to the media? What is the internal message? How do we calm markets? What happens next matters most.

We are called in at the eleventh hour to assemble teams, quickly train team members, and work together to minimize damage to the client brand. Just as often, we are called in to read the tea leaves and anticipate what lies next ahead in order to best manage resources, train C-Suites or other spokespersons, dominate the digital conversation, recruit allies – whatever steps must be taken to protect the brand.  

We create Internet tools that can go live at the moment they’re needed. We launch social media campaigns so that, should a crisis occur, you already have a strong credible presence online, with far-flung followers rallying to your cause at the same speed with which adversaries attack it. We work hand-in-glove with Enterprise Risk Managers, legal counsel, and C-Suite executives to minimize exposure at every operational level.  

In most situations, we can also achieve much more than damage control. Because we can change the narrative – in the media, and among analysts, regulators, shareholders, and consumers online and off – we can ultimately transform the public dialogue into a story about corporate success and good citizenship. What began as a crisis can be turned into long-term opportunity. 

Litigation

The goals of litigation and communications sometimes conflict. The lawyers want, understandably, to win in court. The communicators want to preserve the brand equity – and its associated monetary value – that may be threatened by public reactions even when the company is vindicated at trial. The solution is to start early, to forge a legal and communications team built on trust that will synchronize and prioritize all corporate objectives.

By making the communications team part of the litigation team early, you are more likely to protect privilege. You can be certain that the trial argument and public messages are consistent and supportive. You can recruit amici filers, impactful in the media as well as persuasive in court. Seamlessly integrated team members can transform the digital conversation as well as provide assistance at the courthouse steps in high-profile trials. 

We can change the public dialogue to support your theory of the case, whether it’s a bet-the-company dispute or a potentially multi-billion dollar MDL; a trial before a federal judge or a hostile jury in judicial hellholes where the decks are stacked against corporate defendants. Litigation is public combat best waged with the weaponry of litigation communications.