Hogan Lovells firm has created the global, multidisciplinary crisis leadership team as a dedicated resource to help clients make their organizations more resilient to future negative events, as well as equip them to lead when a crisis does strike.

Unplanned challenges

The crisis leadership team prepares clients to be ready to lead through crisis scenarios such as sensitive investigations, product recalls, government investigations, cyber incidents, #metoo issues, workplace violence and fatalities, and other employment-related matters. “It used to be that clients could handle crises in a relatively deliberate manner, and that placing the ‘right’ phone call would carry the day,” said Hogan Lovells partner Lillian Hardy, who heads the crisis leadership team. “Today, however, there are numerous factors that make incident response more complex. We believe simply managing a crisis is insufficient for the type of clients we serve, so we prepare them to be ready to respond appropriately and lead successfully through unplanned challenges.” Ms Hardy added, “We offer clients highly experienced teams that approach problems from various backgrounds and legal perspectives, speak multiple languages, and can connect with client constituencies across generations.” The team has built an online portal and an app with resources to help in-house counsel plan for potential crisis situations, such as an assessment of their organization’s crisis readiness, case studies, and guides.

Tailored packages

The team has also developed tailored guidance packages focused on both preparedness and emergency response. “We saw we could meet a need by formalizing a practice that offers our clients cohesive, coordinated crisis leadership to address regulatory, legal, and reputational risks,” said Stephen Immelt, ceo of Hogan Lovells. “Our clients are facing challenging issues that can make or break a brand’s reputation and ultimately threaten the survival of a business. Our team has the experience to offer clients full support through any predicament.” The crisis leadership team spans firm a range of practices and represent clients around the world in variety of industry sectors. Importantly, Hogan Lovells notes, it has an in-house strategic communications group that works full-time to provide crisis communications and reputation management solutions that work seamlessly with the team’s legal strategies.