Reputation in a Long-Term Crisis

News that three lawyers at Jenkens & Gilchrist are under investigation by federal prosecutors as part of the governement's continuing tax shelter investigation of accounting firm KPMG proves that attorneys and law firms can be in crisis mode for extended periods of time. 

Of course, the Dallas law firm, since 2003, has gotten used to dealing with a crisis as it has faced a series of lawsuits and federal investigations over its work on tax shelters. 

The days when law firms can expect to be shielded from client actions are over. It's high time for law firms to do a better job at preparing not just for quick-moving crisis situations, but for long-term, consistent attacks on their reputations.

Therefore, every firm should have a crisis communications plan that includes:

• One designated spokesperson, not an Executive Committee
• The ability to quickly update its homepage for the delivery of critical information to stakeholders
• A registered blog that can be posted quickly to defend against attacks on reputation over the long term
• Draft message points and media statements that can be customized for a variety of crisis scenarios
• Phone numbers and email addresses for key local, national and international media
• Detailed instructions to attorneys and staff about how to handle/direct phone calls and emails from clients, the community, and the media during a crisis

The managing partner, the Executive Committee, the Chief Marketing Officer and public relations staff must be able to rely on their current PR firm for crisis communications planning and execution.

Unfortunately, law firms in the process or retaining a PR firm for the first time, or when making a change, often focus too much on press clippings.

A good PR firm today should also know how to write a detailed crisis communications plan, to advise law firm leaders on internal/external communications during the outbreak of any crisis across many offices, and to be available 24/7 to identify and respond to a wide variety of attacks on the firm's reputation.