Crisis Communications

Our crisis communications practice assists clients when unplanned circumstances threaten public perception of their organizations and businesses. Such crises include product failures or recalls, facilities disasters, employee strikes, consumer boycotts, class action litigation, regulatory sanctions and criminal prosecutions.

Crises happen when unplanned circumstances arise to endanger an organization. A product fails or is recalled. A regulator threatens sanctions. Financial results collapse. Workers strike. Consumers boycott. Employees commit a crime. Hackers compromise computer or Web security. Activists demonstrate. A hurricane levels a factory. A prosecutor files charges.

In these and other crises, there are several missions: deal with the problem itself; communicate in ways that limit the spread of the problem; reassure those most directly concerned; and start the organization on the road back to normalcy. Opinions form rapidly in a crisis situation, and their effect can be lasting. But crisis response is often hindered by the unfamiliarity of the circumstances, by lack of preparedness, by strong emotion, and by issues of legal liability.

We assist clients in all phases of crisis planning and response. We advocate a crisis preparedness discipline that involves identifying areas of vulnerability, establishing procedures, training spokespeople and agreeing to broad principles of crisis conduct. Both in preparation and in crisis management, we prefer to work closely with a team made up of a client’s operating management and legal advisors.

Most crises can be mitigated. Some can be managed to avoid measurable impact on a company’s operations or on the attitudes of employees, customers, shareholders and other key constituencies. When crises arise, we most often recommend taking the initiative, controlling dialogue, accepting responsibility, making full disclosure, fixing what’s broken, helping those harmed by the events and mobilizing friends and supporters. We urge caution with the news media, which can make a small issue seem much larger; we urge sensitivity to the increasing role of the Internet in spreading information and shaping opinions.

Most major insurance companies recognize the importance of crisis communications. Excess liability insurance policies written by several major insurers pay the fees of a communications firm in defined crisis situations, including those involving directors and officers, employment practices, securities law, and the environment. Our firm participated in the initial design of this initiative and is preapproved by several of the insurers who offer this coverage.