Crisis Management

Attacks on your reputation may come from both internal and external factors. You may find yourself in one of the following situations:

• In a dispute with a customer that has made its way online via a social media platform
• Facing a disgruntled employee who is threatening to publish commercially sensitive information
• Facing a former business partner who is publishing untrue and damaging statements online
• Facing a former partner who is threatening to publish private and intimate information online

Media crisis management can be extremely stressful, but it’s often necessary to prevent the spread of false information and protect your reputation. At JMW, we are on hand to support you in any reputation management crisis.

Often attacks on your reputation and/or brand are unforeseen and potentially devastating to a business, which may see a reputation hard earned over many years lost overnight.

We understand that these circumstances require a fast response and advice on the options available to you in what may be a complex and rapidly unfolding situation. We can work collaboratively with your PR teams and key stakeholders to guide you through what can be a difficult and stressful time.

To speak to a member of JMW’s Crisis Management team if your reputation is under attack, contact our solicitors today by calling 0345 872 6666, or fill in our online enquiry form to request a call back.

How Can JMW Help Your Business?

Our team is experienced in providing legal advice in what can often be a rapidly developing situation, and our team will work collaboratively with you to consider the legal options and commercial risks.

We are with you every step of the way to help you formulate a plan to deal with a crisis, alleviate the impact of worst-case scenario situations, and engage effectively with the media, internet users or key stakeholders to your business.

You may find yourself at the centre of a media storm during an investigation by a regulator into your business, or you may require advice on how to handle allegations of misconduct by an employee. These situations require quick, clear and real-world advice on the options available to you and your business.

As a full service law firm, we work collaboratively with our crime, regulatory, employment and commercial litigation teams to ensure that you receive advice that is personalised to your requirements. We can also work closely with your PR team on communicating with key stakeholders and the press.

Our Services

At JMW, we pride ourselves in working collaboratively and getting to know your business. We believe this approach makes us well placed to advise you on a range of situations and develop a bespoke strategy built around you and your business. Examples of the types of situations we can assist you with include:

• Managing an internal investigation into allegations of misconduct of an employee
• Responding to an unforeseen enquiry from a consumer affairs programme
• Managing internal and external communications with key stakeholders where there may be an ongoing investigation by a regulatory body
• Responding to enquiries received from a media outlet as part of an investigative piece of journalism
• Removal of online adverse or defamatory posts on a social media platform
• Preventing the publication of defamatory material by a newspaper

Even if content about you has been published online or in print before you were able to deal with it, it may not be too late to remove it or seek a correction to protect yourself and your reputation. As well as removing or correcting damaging content, you may also be entitled to compensation if the information is factually incorrect, malicious, or infringes on your rights in some way. The media are subject to codes of conduct, and we can often liaise with relevant regulatory bodies or submit complaints on your behalf, if this is relevant in your case. We can also advise on the ‘right to be forgotten’ and whether this might assist.

FAQs About Crisis Management

What is crisis management?

Crisis management is a process to identify and mount an effective response to threats to a business. Any business, large or small, can be hit by a crisis caused by internal or external situations, which results in lost sales, damage to its income, and a decrease in income.

A strong crisis management plan will include three key stages:

1. Warning and risk assessment - establish monitoring systems that can provide early warning signs of a crisis, for example, setting up a Google alert for the name of your business to monitor any mentions of your company’s name on the internet.
2. Crisis response and management - responding to a crisis can include a number of actions, including understanding who is and is not authorised to speak to the media, what messaging you are going to deliver to the media, and when you are going to provide a response.
3. Post-crisis and resolution - once a crisis has subsided, the recovery efforts should be evaluated and the situation should continue to be monitored. This is also a good time to review the actions taken to determine whether there are any aspects that need improvement or any learnings to be taken from the crisis.

Whenever a crisis arises, it is important to seek legal advice to ensure your business’s reputation is protected from threats.