Firms Are Assembling Multidisciplinary Teams to Help Clients Anticipate, Navigate and Contain Crises Before They Explode

Public Policy & Regulation Group Leader Emeritus Rich Gold was quoted in an ABA Journal article examining how law firms are assembling multidisciplinary teams to help clients anticipate, navigate and contain crises before they escalate. The article highlighted the growing trend in which firms integrate legal, regulatory, communications and industry-specific capabilities to address complex challenges that can quickly evolve across multiple fronts, including government scrutiny, reputational risks and political pressures. It also noted increasing client demand for guidance on politically sensitive issues such as environmental, social and governance (ESG) considerations and diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, alongside other significant legal or policy developments. Mr. Gold described Holland & Knight's focus on political risk management in addition to general crisis counsel, saying today's environment demands a comprehensive approach that lays out multiple outcomes in anticipation of a range of stakeholder reactions.

"A lot of what we do is scenario planning. In the olden days, we would think about this from the perspective of 'We want to take our product to market. It could be opposed by folks on the right for this reason and by folks on the left for this reason.' Today, that's not the case. You're in a situation where you can't do scenario planning with just two scenarios. You have to do scenario planning with, like, seven scenarios," he said.

READ: Firms Are Assembling Multidisciplinary Teams to Help Clients Anticipate, Navigate and Contain Crises Before They Explode (Subscription required)