Reputation Management and Crisis Response

Overview

Astraea deploys multi-disciplinary teams of experts to deal with actions and events that threaten to sink businesses, blow up brands and damage personal reputations.

No crisis is the same, so Astraea curates the right team with relevant skills to deal with the specific event and its aftermath. This often includes obtaining urgent legal advice on any interim steps that can be taken to mitigate the damage. It may involve investigating the source of the threat, so that actions can be taken to combat it, if it is ongoing. These stress events are frequently characterised by their complexity, and they can involve commercial, communications and regulatory considerations. We help clients map out the priorities and execute, bringing in PR and communications experts as needed, to ensure stakeholders are managed, so that the client can take hold of and control the narrative around the event or situation, and their response to it.

Being able to get to the right person at the right time is often critical in crisis events – that may be a journalist, a regulator or a politician. Where appropriate, Astraea calls upon its Special Situations Advisory Panel to leverage their expertise and networks.

Astraea’s particular areas of expertise include:

  • Responding to regulatory or law enforcement investigations
  • Responding to pre-publication press enquiries or adverse media stories
  • Challenging the publication of damaging or private material
  • Responding to online/social media attacks
  • Responding to blackmail and/or threats to release private/confidential information or threats to publish damaging allegations
  • Obtaining, defending and discharging emergency injunctions

Focus Areas

Defamation and Media Management

We help clients respond to defamatory statements made in the press, on social media, or by individuals.  This includes taking legal action to prevent the publication of damaging material, seeking retractions or corrections, and pursuing claims for damages.  We are also able to provide strategic advice on managing media relations and controlling the narrative in the public domain.

Social Media and Online Reputation

We advise clients on managing their online presence and responding to social media crises.  This can include dealing with false or harmful content posted online, addressing cyber defamation, and working to remove or suppress damaging search engine results.  We also provide guidance on legal options for dealing with online harassment or misinformation.

Crisis Governance and Strategic Counsel

During a crisis, we often play a key role in advising senior management and boards of directors on governance issues, ensuring that decisions made during a crisis are legally sound and strategically wise.  This includes advising on crisis response protocols, decision-making frameworks, and the legal implications of various response options.

Crisis Communication Strategy

During a crisis, such as a corporate scandal, data breach or public relations disaster, we work with our clients to develop and implement a communications strategy. This involves coordinating with PR teams to ensure that public statements are legally sound, managing stakeholder communications, and advising on the timing and content of public disclosures.

Litigation PR and High-Profile Cases

We work with clients involved in high-profile litigation to manage the public and media perception of the case.  This involves coordinating with PR professionals to craft messaging, managing media coverage, and ensuring that public communications align with legal strategy.  The goal is to protect the client’s reputation while the legal process unfolds.

Representative Experience

Blackmail Threats

Successfully acting for the victim of an attempted blackmail relating to their personal life, which involved work with counterparties in Lebanon, Morocco and UAE.

Disinformation Campaigns

Successfully acting for clients who were subject to lobbying campaigns aimed at achieving their designation under international sanctions regimes.

Black PR Operations

Successfully acting for advisors who were subject to a “black PR” campaign by rogue operators acting for a nation state adverse to their client.