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A Case Study in Crisis PR

I just finished reading, Stop the Presses: The Crisis and Litigation PR Desk Reference, by Richard S. Levick and Larry Smith of Levick Strategic Communications. Drawing on a mix of experience and common sense, the authors provide practical advice for businesses and law firms facing media challenges to their reputations or brands. So the issue of crisis PR was very much in my mind when I picked up yesterday's Boston Globe and read that a former Bingham McCutchen associate, Michelle Moor, was claiming the firm failed to promptly investigate her allegation that she had been drugged at a firm holiday party, that another female associate had been drugged and raped a year earlier by a Bingham employee, and that a Bingham employee remarked at a firm dinner that he enjoyed giving women date-rape drugs and having sex with them. The story was also reported by Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly and on Law.com.

Needless to say, this was a made-for-the-blogosphere story, where it was soon picked up by the Wall St. Journal's Law Blog, which called it a "strange and frightening little tale from Boston," by Above the Law, which asked, "At what kind of firm dinner does an attorney feel comfortable talking about taking advantage of passed-out women?" and by the ABA Journal news blog, under the headline, "Lawyers Drugged at Bingham Events, Ex-Associate says." Here at Legal Blog Watch, my colleague Carolyn Elefant also picked up on it, questioning whether Bingham acted on the former associate's complaint as it would have advised a client to do.

Here was a PR crisis if ever there was one. So what would Levick and Smith advise? Not to put words in their mouths, but as the story unfolded, a few points from their book seemed salient:

• Don't explain, narrate. "Explanations sound like excuses," they write. "Instead, leaders describe the steps they've taken, and the steps they're going to take to solve the problem."
• Go beyond what is expected. "If consumers are waiting for an apology, leaders go further and provide a full-blown bill of rights. If regulators want information, leaders provide more than what the law requires."
• "Have an alternative story to tell: positive, equally impressive, equally important."

Before I go any further, in the interest of full disclosure I have to say that Bingham's PR director, Claire Papanastasiou, is a former colleague and a long-time friend. I have not discussed this story with her and have no idea what role she played other than the formal statement she issued.

That said, Bingham's handling of the situation seemed to be a textbook example of crisis PR done right. First it issued a statement, published on Above the Law, which made three key points: 1. that it took the complaint "extremely seriously," 2. that it acted "diligently, responsibly and fairly" in investigating the complaint, and 3. that it "went beyond what is expected," as the Levick book counsels, and had developed and was providing its staff with  personal-safety training. Later, the firm's general counsel, William Southard, sent an e-mail to the entire staff that provided more details about the firm's investigation and response. Among the key points here: the firm wanted to investigate the matter immediately but held off at Michelle Moor's request, the eventual investigation was unable to determine the drug's source, the firm had initiated personal-safety training for all lawyers and staff, the other associate alleged to have been drugged had contacted the firm and indicated that was "fundamentally inaccurate," and the firm had investigated and terminated the employee whom Moor alleged had made inappropriate comments over dinner.

Southard's e-mail was "internal" and we can only guess at whether he thought it would be leaked to a blogger such as Above the Law's David Lat. But we do know that a day that started with Lat referring to the "worst holiday office party ever" ended with him writing that there are two sides to every story and that Bingham seemed to have "handled this difficult situation with sensitivity." Bingham took control of the story, presented an equally (if not more) important alternative story, and showed that its response went beyond expectations through a serious investigation, termination of one employee and institution of firm-wide training. Levick and Smith, I suspect, would approve.

Posted by Robert J. Ambrogi on May 9, 2008 at 08:47 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

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