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Planning for the Crisis That Will Strike Your Law Firm

By Gina Rubel
February 01, 2019

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.

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