Let's take a look at a few unpleasant realities confronting professional service firms in the 21st century. First, as corporations become targets in civil litigation, so do
their law, accounting, and consulting firms. For plaintiffs' attorneys, that's simply where the proverbial money is. If a lawyer or accountant merely said hello to Enron's
Skilling or Fastow during the last few years, his or her entire firm may now be named in some class action somewhere.
Second, it's not just plaintiff firms fishing in deep pockets. DOJ and SEC interest in allegedly errant firms is acute. Third, magazines now publish annually law and
accounting firms' per-partner-profits and revenues. It's an editorial feature that has changed the complexion of these professions profoundly. It means that everyone can peek
into their business and draw whatever conclusions they want as to their competitive viability.
Professional service firms' lives are not their own. They are being assaulted at both the professional and economic levels.
Optimal Middle Ground
A virtual paranoia about how clients will react to public comments paralyzes many firms confronted with crisis. The result is that they exert little or no control over what
reporters wind up writing, and what the marketplace winds up thinking.
Conversely, many professionals are also inclined to want to control messages. Their circumspection can prove utterly crippling if the news topic at hand is an SEC
investigation or a client representation that went seriously awry.
As media attention will predictably continue to increase, both in the professional and general press, it is therefore imperative that firms evolve media plans and best media
practices, just as their clients in the tobacco and gun industries have done under the withering scrutiny of regulators and reporters.
Here's a prescription for professional service firms, to be administered as prophylaxis before a crisis occurs, and to control the damage once the bad news goes public.
Codify Your Policy. All organizations need to designate crisis spokespersons and, as appropriate, control press access to that spokesperson. With professional service firms,
the need is acute. In a flat and politically charged organization, random and contradictory statements by partners can be deadly. The flip side of professional service firm
paralysis is entropy; that is, any number of self-justifying or self-interested partners may feel no constraint about taking their personal agenda to the press.
Put it in your partnership agreement. "The partnership agreement itself should contain a crisis clause that assigns exclusive authority to a single person, usually the managing
partner, to speak for the firm," says Les Corwin, a lawyer at Greenberg Traurig.
The Buck Stops Here. As the firm spokesperson, the managing partner should be trained to deal with the press. Inexplicably, professional services firms often choose their
leaders with absolutely no regard for their ability to communicate with the outside world, either during crises or in the normal course of business. It should be as basic a job
skill as the ability to read a financial statement.
Don't Let Them See It First In The Newspaper. There are two specific audiences that you need to immediately speak to at the first whiff of public crisis. The first is
internal.
The largest corporations in the world take pains to advise their employees when a major scandal or investigation is occurring. For professional service firms, the need is,
again, uniquely acute. If partners feel blindsided, the negative effects on the firm, in terms of internal comity, will likely be worse, and go on longer, than the crisis
itself.
Externally, consider contacting every key client whom you believe might care about the unfolding situation. Done properly, it's a courtesy, and relationship builder. At best,
it defuses any real concerns they may have about your ability to continue doing their work.
Enlist Third-Party Support. Once you've contacted clients on the eve of crisis, it then becomes easier to solicit their public statements of support. During the Savings &
Loan scandals of the early 1990s, one major law firm's very ability to function was directly questioned in the press. Such endorsements begin the process of converting negative
messages into positive ones.
Take The Initiative. Often, you can be sure that a bad story about your firm will not be ignored; it will be publicly dissected. Professional services firms seldom have
enough nerve to proactively tell the story first. But it can sometimes be the best practice for major events like a government investigation (subject to advice from outside
counsel) as well as less cataclysmic partner defections or branch office closings.
The advantages are threefold:
First, it takes you off the defensive. Reporters see the story differently when they see you're unafraid to discuss it. Second, it gives you the first shot at making your
point - the investigation is without merit, or the firm is still strong despite so-and-so's departure for a competitor. Third, it sets you apart from other professional services
firms. Reporters are often impatient with institutional foot-dragging. A bold, proactive disclosure helps define you as a no-nonsense organization. It suggests that you are
well run and decisive.
Don't Fly Solo. The same rule applies in PR as in litigation: Outside advisors not only know more about the press than you do, they're dispassionate as well. Their decisions
are grounded in reason, not self-defensive emotion.