The Brief
Through no fault of his own, a partner at a this law firm found himself at the centre of world media attention – as the press believed he was the defence lawyer for Saddam Hussein.
He little realised that giving informal advice to an ad hoc group of lawyers would be interpreted as playing a major role in defending the former Iraqi leader and his partners at the firm, noted for its corporate practice, were deeply concerned at the message it sent out. Our Crisis Communications team was appointed immediately and handled inquiries 24/7 from media organisations around the globe and gave strategic advice to the partnership on how to handle the situation.
The Result
We turned the potential crisis into positive media by making the most of the name recognition opportunities while creating alternative messages about the partner’s role and giving him full support. As a result the firm achieved tremendous publicity, the ‘volunteer’ role of the partner was clarified and the core practice areas of the firm fully explained in contrast to this dramatic incident.