Planning for the Crisis That Will Strike Your Law Firm

Negative law firm headlines often originate with some form of attorney misconduct, which affects the reputation of the law firm just as much as the bar license of the individual. However, law firm incidents come in all shapes and sizes. Natural disasters, legal malpractice claims, public conflict of interest controversies, negative revenue reports, firm-wide layoffs, the departure of a practice group and attorney-rainmakers with large books of business, and cybersecurity data breaches, are just some of the other scenarios that often necessitate crisis planning and management for law firms.

In business — as in life — reputation is everything. It only takes one misstep to cause irreparable damage to a law firm and its attorneys. As we get into 2019, it is imperative for law firms to plan for the effective management of myriad incidents that may have an adverse impact on the business of law and the reputation of the firm.

The moment an incident occurs is when an organization's leaders understand the value of its once stellar reputation. There have been many damning headlines in recent years. Consider:

• Baker Donelson and Butler Snow were accused of involvement in the Lamar Adams Ponzi Scheme.
• A Marquette University's professor is under investigation for an inappropriate relationship with a student.
• Dewey & LeBoeuf filed for bankruptcy.
• Foley & Lardner was hit by a cybersecurity incident.
• Latham & Watkins' former chair got caught up in a sexual misconduct scandal.
• David Boies' attempted to conceal allegations against Harvey Weinstein.
• An Eversheds Sutherland partner was found dead hours after allegations of inappropriate behavior were made against him.
• An ex-Skadden partner was disbarred over a child pornography conviction.
• A former New York prosecutor was sentenced to jail time for forging judges' signatures on phony wiretap orders.
• The Washington Bar Association president resigned amid anticipation of criminal charges.

And, the list goes on.

What is your law firm doing proactively to protect its reputation?

Crisis management plans, also known as incident response plans, are designed to protect and defend an individual, company or organization facing a challenge. They allow companies to manage incidents in the moment and as they unfold with precision and foresight — and today, time is always of the essence.

It is foolish for any organization to think they don't need a crisis response plan. During an incident is not the time to contemplate how to respond; response time is critical and the pressure is intense. You should know what to and how to do it, well in advance.

The Six Rs of Crisis Management

There are six phases to a crisis management plan:

1. Recognize the issue and response team
2. Restrict the damage
3. Remove the problem
4. Recover from the issue
5. Resolve the matter
6. Refine your crisis plan (post-mortem).

I've coined this the Six Rs of Crisis Management and each has a set of questions your firm leadership and marketing/PR team should answer while developing your crisis response plan.

Recognize the Issue and Response Team

• What is the issue?
• What is the current or potential impact/damage?
• Who is on the crisis response team and what are each individual's duties?
  • Who has the lead role?
  • What are the defined roles and responsibilities?
  • Who has the best demeanor for staying calm in a crisis?
  • Who has the authority to make critical decisions?
  • Who will serve as the best spokesperson on behalf of the law firm?
• Who needs to be informed about the incident and by when (timing)?
• What information/message do we need to communicate?
• What is our position statement as it relates to the matter (if, then)?
• What are the legal and ethical considerations?

Restrict the Damage

• How can the damage be restricted/limited?
• Who knows about the issue and who needs to know about it?
• What resources are required to mitigate current or future damage?
• Is there information that needs to be restricted and, if so, how?
• If you need to make a statement, what should it say and to whom?
• What can/can't the firm say and how can messages be manipulated?

Remove the Problem

• Is it possible to remove the problem or cause of the problem?
• If so, what do you need to do to get to a resolution?
• If the problem cannot be removed, how can you mitigate the damage?

Recover from the Issue

• What does recovery mean to your firm (regarding this incident)?
• Is it possible to fully recover from this incident?
• What resources are needed to recover?
• What, if anything, do you need to communicate to others about the recovery process?
• How will your firm handle future questions about this incident from clients, prospective clients, media?

Resolve the Matter

• Will you alert your key audiences about the resolution? If so, how?
• What has your firm done to resolve the matter and avoid (if possible) similar incidents in the future?
• What tools and resources are needed to repair damage to the firm's reputation (on and offline)?

Refine Your Crisis Plan

• Evaluate the effectiveness of the crisis response team, your response tactics and messages.
• Update scenarios and response tactics in your crisis plan.
• Update relevant contact lists in your crisis plan including firm leadership, IT, security, first responders, the media and other concerned parties.
• Conduct crisis response training to educate members of your crisis response team on changes to quality control and procedures moving forward.

The time is now to prepare for not “what if,” but “when.” Life happens, mistakes happen and crises happen. Every business needs a crisis management plan.

No business is immune. At the very least, law firm executives, marketers and public relations practitioners can sleep better at night knowing they are prepared to handle an incident when it arises.

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Gina Rubel leads Furia Rubel Communications, Inc., an agency supporting law firm growth through integrated legal marketing, crisis management, public relations, and content marketing. She can be reached at 215-340-0480, [email protected] or on Twitter @GinaRubel.