We all know about Andy Warhol’s 15 minutes of fame, but in this rapidly changing media environment there’s a component to the 24/7 news cycle and multiplying social media platforms that can be terrifying to businesses. After all, a contentious lawsuit, a misguided communication, or a particularly vehement onslaught of client complaints can clog the gears of any business, bringing the usually well-oiled company machine to a grinding halt and—perhaps even worse— ruining the company’s reputation.

A new Androvett Legal Media & Marketing white paper, “The Lawyer’s Role in the Company Crisis,” provides a broad overview to help law firms prepare for and deal with a public relations crisis.

In the paper, Androvett Legal Media’s Mike Androvett, Mark Annick and Mary Flood describe key considerations that firms should review before a crisis occurs. The white paper addresses basics such as assembling a crisis team, identifying key stakeholders, designating spokespeople, crafting an honest, comprehensive message and, where appropriate, gracefully admitting guilt. To that end, it includes a list of questions all response messages must answer, including “What impact does this have on the customer?” and “What is the company doing to ensure this never happens again?”

In today’s 24/7 news cycle, a company easily can become a punch line overnight, even if eventually it wins in court. Said another way, the value lost in diminished reputation may far outweigh the cost of litigation…There should be an emphasis on speed, clarity and truth-telling, even in the face of negative publicity. Although the facts may be against you, many companies learn a painful lesson when they try to run away from bad news or, worse, fudge the facts.

“The Lawyer’s Role in the Company Crisis” also fiercely attacks the ‘no comment’ tactic taken by so many businesses today.  “The tension between the lawyerly instinct to stay mum in anticipation of litigation, and the need to speak candidly internally and externally to soothe and reassure stakeholders is a classic tug of war in many crisis situations.”

The paper underscores the essential irony of crisis communications that many learn only after it’s too late: companies are often punished more for how they mishandle a crisis than for the crisis itself.

Click here to read “The Lawyer’s Role in the Company Crisis.”