Reputational risk
Reputational risk arises when a matter creates perceived or actual negative associations with an organisation or individual. Unmanaged, the impact of reputational risk can include serious consequences including loss of key clients and staff, loss of revenue and more.
Reputation management involves proactive efforts to prevent or minimise harm to reputation and potential damage and loss. Protect your greatest asset by accessing specialised legal expertise from lawyers that understand the legal and commercial reality of defamation and reputational risk.
Your reputation lawyers will deploy strategic crisis management and risk assessment frameworks following an adverse event or misstep to limit harm. This may mean issuing notices to offending parties, removing content from the internet, or working with a public relations team to minimise further damage.
Brand and reputation
Reputational risks are dangers to an individual or company's most important asset—the brand reputation, public perception, or market standing. Dangers or threats arise from direct actions or inaction of the company or board, conduct of employees, ethical breaches, or from a failure to meet social expectations.
Defamation lawyers and brand protection specialists work with businesses to reduce risks related to sensitive matters. Your legal counsel will take a whole-of-matter approach working with public relations teams to reduce risk or minimise damage if unavoidable. We have proven experience in high profile disputes and we work with some of Australia's best-known brands to proactively manage brand and reputation.
Examples of reputational risk
- A company discovers that one of its managers has engaged in potentially corrupt conduct with respect to a major project. Lawyers work with the company to investigate the allegations and inform stakeholders of the allegations in a way that manages reputational risk and ensures the company is not exposed to claims of defamation by the parties that are subject to the allegations.
- A disgruntled former employee begins a campaign on social media attacking the organisation they once worked for and maliciously defaming its CEO. Lawyers work with the company to correspond with the administrators of social media pages that were republishing the content to stop its spread. PR strategies are developed, and statements prepared in case the allegations receive more mainstream attention and a public response is required.
- A serious workplace safety incident occurs, attracting significant media attention. A crisis management team is dispatched to assist the client to engage with and respond to media enquiries in a way that manages reputational risk and provide advice and responses to early disparaging misreporting of the incident.
Proactive brand management - manage, repair and defend
When it comes to how to assess reputational risk, your specialist adviser will support your business with brand strategies and legal risk assessments. For example, to guide you through publications or public statements, complaints made against the company by an employee or client, or the impacts of a regulatory investigation. We take a broad view of the issues to reduce the immediate risk, including the development of public-facing communications strategies or active engagement with key stakeholders, including regulatory bodies. Your crisis management response plan will align with your business or profile strategy, ensuring brand protection and reducing reputation risk.
Proactive brand management includes managing the online reputation and identity of the business. Defamation and reputation specialists will assist to remove defamatory material from the internet and social media. And we can unearth the identities of anonymous publications and help minimise unwarranted criticism of your business.