John comments on how susceptible law firms are to crises, and how to prepare for and respond to them, in Sarah Kellogg’s recent Washington Lawyer article, “Crisis Management: A Survival Guide for Law Firms.”

The best vehicle to respond is the one that is going to give you the fairest hearing and that has the most credibility.

John on reputational risk:

“There are a lot of current risks for firms that didn’t exist just a few years ago. Firms are really not paying as much attention to themselves as corporations do. They’re not looking enough at their firms as a business vis-à-vis reputational risk.”

John on responding to crises:

“If it’s appropriate, the best way to respond is through the channel where it started and where it’s going nutty. But in the long run, the best vehicle to respond is the one that is going to give you the fairest hearing and that has the most credibility, whether that’s social media or The New York Times.”

Click to read John’s article, “Crisis Communications 101,” where he discusses the 11 steps necessary to prepare for and manage communications for a crisis, including a significant discussion about “decision paralysis,” a concept John also shared with Ms. Kellogg.