Reputation Management

A Rep To Protect…

Being the coolest kid on the block isn’t easy. Sure, you have loads of mates, get invited to all the cool parties and have a very impressive Twitter following. However, your reign at the top can all come crashing down if your parents reveal that you routinely sing along to The Human League’s ‘Don’t You Want Me’.

It’s not just ‘on tha streetz’ where reputation has to be managed. Businesses and prominent individuals need to protect their brand, no matter the sector in which they operate.

What Does Reputation Management Involve?

Specialising in this area will combine expertise from sports and media law, intellectual property law, and commercial law. Reputation is the most easily targeted asset of a business or brand – consumers can get aggravated and complain via social media, protests can lead to criminal damage and undercover journalists can infiltrate organisations.

Being a reputation management lawyer means you have to get your head around defamation, confidentiality and privacy laws and advise your client how they can best utilise this legislation. There’s also an element of press and media relations involved, and reputation management lawyers will often find themselves working with, and advising, the PR teams of their clients. As time is critical in managing reputation, long hours and weekend work may be involved, and managing media profiles of corporations and high profile individuals includes keeping damaging or untrue stories away from the press.

You will also be responsible for obtaining and defending injunctions and could even be involved in litigation involving defamation, privacy and reporting restrictions.

On the flip side of the coin, you may also find yourself working with national press and media outlets to ensure that their journalists don’t break defamation and privacy laws, checking over material before it is published and providing clearance and advice to publishers.

What Makes A Good Reputation Management Lawyer?

You’ll need a thorough knowledge of defamation and privacy laws, plus loads of commercial awareness about how specific laws will be applicable to your client’s situation.

As managing reputations can be particularly time sensitive, you’ll need to be able to remain calm under pressure and be prepared to work at all hours and be able to react within minutes – the client’s entire business may be on the line!