Why your lawyers can make your crisis worse

Often, the actions of an attorney don’t take into account the reputational cost of a crisis. Ask these three questions when dealing with legal during such a time.

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That’s because an attorney’s primary job is to minimize future financial payouts and, in cases of criminal wrongdoing, to reduce your culpability.

But that’s a narrow prism through which to view a crisis, and it may not be sufficient to keep your business afloat. Too often, attorneys fail to take your long-term reputation into account.

They also neglect to consider the impact of a crisis on employee recruitment, retention, productivity, and morale, as well as customer, shareholder, and donor loyalty.

In some crises, the amount of damage to your reputation can exceed the legal payout. Sure, your lawyer’s legal strategy may result in a courthouse victory three years from now, but it may come at the steep cost of years of unflattering headlines.

Crises require you to make tough choices, occasionally ones that pit sound legal advice against sound communications advice.

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