Views on Reputation/LawFirmsPR.com

Law Firm DLA Piper Severs Relationship With Dick Armey Over FreedomWorks' Fireworks

Dick Armey's resignation from law firm DLA Piper raises some interesting issues about law firm reputation. The former House Majority Leader left the firm late last week after questions were raised publicly about his position as chairman of FreedomWorks, the "grass roots" organization that has been accused of helping to orchestrate numerous angry outbursts at town hall meetings on the healthcare legislation debate. FreedomWorks' website says: FreedomWorks' aggressive, real-time campaigns activate a growing and permanent volunteer grassroots army to show up and demand policy change.

Most law firms are diligent about identifying conflicts when deciding on client representation. But when law firms have the opportunity to attract a high-powered, highly visible former government leader -- as DLA Piper did some six years ago -- they can sometimes overlook potential problems/conflicts that can harm the firm's reputation. 

Lawyers have always been involved in and at the forefront of politics . However, in the Internet age, it's much more difficult for attorneys to keep outside political/grassroots lobbying activities separate. The media's easy access to online databases (such as detailed information about individual political contributions) and other websites makes the task of keeping things quiet and separate even harder. 

Many attorneys also hold important leadership positions in their communities and in multiple national/international organizations. It's a centuries-old tradition of the profession and many are great humanitarian and pro-justice causes.

But law firm managing partners and executive committees need to ensure they have ironclad early-warning systems  to detect controversial issues that might arise from those organizations and that might be detrimental to the firm.  Once a firm has identified a problem, it can develop a communications strategy to aggressively counter negative media coverage and other public criticism that might show up online. These criticisms can, of course, wreck havoc on a firm's positive search engine results and remain on the Web for years. 

Law firms also have rushed out hastily-worded press statements that appear overly defensive or that are filled with legal jargon that don't help the firm's image at all. An internal strategy to deal with these issues in advance will go far in defending the firm's reputation in the eyes of clients and prospects.

Finally, every firm should have a crisis communications plan that takes into account a wide variety of scenarios. The participation of attorneys in controversial --or even hostile organizations  -- should be listed as one of those scenarios. 

K&L Gates, LA Fitness Now Have To Cope with Aftermath of Tragic Shooting

Law firm K&L Gates now has the tough task of calming employees shaken by news that one of their employees went on a shooting rampage that left four dead, including himself, and injuring nine others.  

So far, the firm has handled the crisis well by bringing in on-site grief counselors and issuing a statement:

 "K&L Gates is deeply saddened by last night's events, and offers its condolences to the families and friends of all who were involved in this terrible tragedy."

LA Fitness also issued a statement on the homepage of its website:

"Each of us in the LA Fitness family are shocked and saddened by the senseless act of violence against our members and one of our employees at our Bridgeville Club in Pittsburgh on the evening of Tuesday August 4, 2009. Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims, their families and friends. We are working with local law enforcement as they conduct their investigation."

Law firms, like all businesses and organizations, must be prepared to communicate effectively with all critical audiences when tragedies strike. 

That means some basics: 

1) Having a crisis communications plan that is readily available on a moment's notice

2) Designating an effective spokesperson

3) Drafting press statements as templates for a wide variety of crisis scenarios

4) Making sure that someone is monitoring the Internet for what's being said about the organization and deciding how to respond

As LA Fitness and K&L Gates continue to deal with this crisis in the days and weeks ahead, it may also provide an opportunity for the two organizations to show solidarity. For example, they could do something in the community that will honor the memory of the innocent victims and educate young people about senseless violence.

"Yesterday" Can Come Suddenly for Law Firms

Like I do every morning, I check Twitter to see what's happening in the world. Today someone Tweeted and linked to story about a law firm partner's alleged crimes. Since I lecture and write regularly about crisis communications and law firms, this would naturally be a story of great interest. 

To my surprise, the story was from 1994. Yet it has lived on virtually for 16 years!

The lesson here is that there is no longer anything known as yesterday's news. 

An old story can suddenly show up on the Internet -- thanks to Twitter and other social media sites -- and continue to damage a firm's reputation. This can also wreck havoc on a firm's positive search engine results.

I don't know why this person decided to post such an old story. It could have been an honest mistake or that person might have had an axe to grind with this firm.

Either way, it's a lesson for management and legal marketing staff to track all negative stories -- even from decades ago -- in what should be a continuous effort to protect the firm's reputation.