If you’re a fan of The West-Wing or watched Eli Gold in action on The Good Wife, chances are that recall a time when a lawyer and PR manager butted heads over whether or not a client should give a statement on an emerging crisis, issue an apology, etc. The age-old conflict waged between legal and PR teams has been over whether or not their client should respond to a crisis or stay silent. Oftentimes, legal professionals want clients to respond with ‘no comment’ to avoid potential legal minefields. As lawyers know better than anyone, your statements can be used against you in a court of law. On the other hand, PR pros tend to prefer a speedy and thorough response that comes across as transparent and genuine. Given this conflict, how can decision-makers determine which action to take in a crisis?
Knowing which decision is best requires a complete understanding of the objectives of each of your advisors. Lawyers aim to protect clients from litigation costs while PR pros aim to defend and mend the client’s reputation in the court of public opinion. Since an adequately comprised crisis management team will include both legal and communications professionals, it will be crucial for these two arms to reach a unified objective ahead of a crisis outbreak. This will require finding a middle-ground when developing your crisis communication plan.
One example of an effective middle-ground position is to agree to make a statement immediately a tragic accident occurs, expressing condolences and announcing an investigation into the matter. This will help the client appear proactive and empathetic while avoiding liability (an expression of condolences is not an admission of guilt but rather, a show of human empathy). Ultimately, the decision on how to proceed will fall to the CEO, artist, politician etc. who will need to decide which they value more: reputation or avoidance of legal liability.
It’s also crucial to blend communications and legal for other reasons.
- Crisis communications whether they be via social media, blog, press release, internal memo or email, can be used in a trial so it’s important to ensure that the messages conveyed in them are in line with your legal strategy.
- Delays in disclosing information / withholding important information in a crisis response can contribute to a negative outcome in lawsuits.
- Ensuring the accuracy of crisis response statements is important to avoid potential lawsuits.
Bottom-line: There need not be a dichotomy between legal and PR in crisis management. Both teams need to unify to protect their reputation capital while minimizing future legal risk. While it can be confounding figuring out the optimal balance between the two for your crisis scenario, this process is much easier if planning is done ahead of time and not during your crisis.
CONTROL, by Fiayo. 