Event Report

With the role of the in-house counsel in a constant state of evolution – particularly on the commercial side – the question of crisis management has taken on an increased importance for the legal team.

In light of this, in October the Legal 500 in partnership with Shearman & Sterling and FTI Consulting invited a selection of senior in-house counsel to Eye of the Storm: Crisis Prevention and Management, a closed-door roundtable discussion in the centre of Hong Kong for participants to discuss all things crisis management and share experience, expertise and ideas on how businesses should direct their efforts before, during and after crises and how the legal team can leverage their skills and position within the company to guide the business through what may be its most trying times.

Counsel from a range of sectors were represented, as well as Brian Burke (partner at Shearman & Sterling and head of the firm’s Asia litigation practice), Sandeep Jadav (managing director – head of technology for Asia at FTI Consulting) and Mark Rushton (Managing Director at FTI Consulting Strategic Communications), who were on hand to lend their extensive first-hand knowledge and experience of helping global organizations in preparing for managing crises of many kinds.

Much discussion focussed on who within an organization is best placed to take the lead on crisis management – how senior should they be? From which department should the come? What is a suitable hierarchical distance to keep between the leader and those that are the subject of a crisis investigation? Focus was also given to the finer details, such as how organizations can spread awareness of cyber threats throughout the business and how to effectively stress test their crisis management plans.

Discussion points

• • What are the key principles to observe, and actions to take, during and after a crisis?

• • Benchmarking on best practices for crisis management, including “lessons learned” analysis drawing on previous cases and examples.

• • An overview and outlook on types of potential crises a company can face – white-collar crime, data privacy breaches, the impact of cyber-squatting – and how to avoid them.

• • How can companies anticipate and mitigate the likelihood of a crisis before one occurs? How can companies build effective risk and crisis management systems?

• • Global implications: How to manage fallout from a crisis in one country to avoid spill over internationally.

• • What are regulators’ expectations in relation to risk assessments and handling crises? What risks do changing regulations in this arena pose? How and when should a company communicate with regulators in relation to a crisis.
  • What are the roles of in-house legal and compliance functions in a crisis?

The discussion between participants continued afterwards with complimentary drinks and canapes in the offices of Shearman & Sterling. The Legal 500 would like to thank all attendees, as well as Shearman & Sterling and FTI Consulting for the support, partnership and expertise they brought to the event.

Speakers included:

Brian Burke (Partner at Shearman & Sterling and head of the firm’s Asia litigation practice)

Sandeep Jadav (Managing Director at FTI Consulting & Head of Technology – Asia)

Mark Rushton (Managing Director at FTI Consulting Strategic Communications)