Crisis Management
Having served as counsel in some of the largest and most visible crises of the last several decades, Morgan Lewis recognizes the formidable challenges companies face in sudden or developing crises and has experience navigating through those challenges. Lawyers on our veteran crisis management team employ a coordinated and business-focused approach in helping our clients address and overcome crises, including sudden catastrophic events such as explosions and forces of nature; acute events like data security breaches; and developing crises like significant government investigations, product recalls, mass torts, or alleged compliance or governance failures.
For sudden crises, we are ready and available during the first critical hours and days of a crisis with strategic counsel that helps address immediate needs and minimize long-term legal, business, governmental, regulatory, constituent, and public relations impacts—an approach we have honed from our experience as counsel in some of the most high-profile crises in recent history.
For other significant crisis scenarios including developing or ongoing government investigations, high-profile employment matters, product recalls, or repetitive litigation, our team can step in at any stage to provide internal and external strategic advice to guide clients through the legal and business challenges.
CRISIS CAPABILITIES
- Industrial incidents
- Environmental incidents
- Data breaches
- Product recalls
- Employee or executive misconduct
- Government investigations
- Whistleblower allegations
- Mass or repetitive litigation
HOW WE CAN HELP
Our team helps alleviate the enormous strain that crises impose on those within an organization who must carry out their day-to-day duties while shepherding their businesses through ordeals of this nature. Our crisis managers understand that a crisis—even one with predominantly legal challenges—must be viewed from the client’s business perspective. Every day we work with clients to navigate existing or avoid potential crises and minimize risk. Our global crisis managers assist in:
- Prioritizing issues, developing and implementing communication strategies, securing and managing data, and formulating and executing legal strategy
- Getting in front of a crisis whenever possible to help clients avoid crises altogether or emerge from situations more quickly and with less financial, reputational, and political harm—making many of our greatest successes the mitigation or declination of actions
- Preparing up-to-date crisis management plans, conducting tabletop training exercises, and holding regular drills
- Developing and pressure-testing emergency response plans, with each incident response plan tailored to the types of crises anticipated by the particular client’s industry and geography