Crisis Communication Basics For Attorneys

In today’s 24/7 news environment coupled with the increasing rising influence of blogs on media, attorneys are expected to provide counsel to clients when facing or anticipating a media firestorm. Though attorneys and journalists have often been at loggerheads, attorneys must have a basic skill set to work effectively with the media and be cognizant of their role in crisis communication plans.
At their very basic, these plans show the flow of information to constituents both internal and external: media, clients, staff and other key groups involved.

Recent events, such as the shootings at Virginia Tech, Katrina and the fires in Southern California, demonstrate how well prepared the organizations involved were. No organization, business, government or high profile individual is exempt from a crisis played out in the public arena. Last year’s report by the Institute for Crisis Management lists the most prone industries to crisis ICM

A crisis is essentially, any situation that threatens the integrity or reputation of an organization. Crisis can range from a class action suit, high profile client involved in some criminal activity, product recall to a man-made disaster.

They can be short or long term. An issue that internal staff is aware of but has not yet broken out in the public arena. What is certain is that the lines of communication must be open. Keeping the lines of communication open involve several strategies including legal and media strategies.

Having a one sided strategy such as winning in a court of law will be minimized, if the firm’s or client’s reputation has been destroyed in the public opinion court.

Put another way, if marketing and public relations builds brands and reputations, then crisis communication is all about prevention and or minimizing the loss of reputation in the court of public opinion.

In the final outcome, an ounce of prevention is far better than reaction, devaluing credibility, therefore being prepared is critical. With that in mind you need to have a couple of things in place: a crisis communication plan and crisis communication team. Crisis communication plans are templates, they provide an organization framework of who will be responsible for what when and if a crisis should occur, without them, whether you are a solo attorney or the law firm has a high profile client or are representing a large corporation, you will be viewed as inept.

It’s important to note, that these templates must be fluid, each crisis will be different. So adjustments to the plans will be necessary as these are living organisms.