Addressing Sociopolitical Events: Exploring Legal's Role in Handling Public Communications

Errol Cockfield is a global crisis management expert and C-Suite advisor with deep experience across public affairs, media and societal issues. He has counseled the leaders of top corporations to help protect their reputations and advance brand goals at key moments of change. Errol is the head of Weber Shandwick’s North America Crisis and Issues team. He has extensive experience in litigation support, brand safety, supply chain and regulatory affairs across various sectors including food and beverage, personal care and apparel.

Prior to Weber Shandwick, Errol led retained accounts in leadership roles at Brunswick Group and Edelman - two of the world’s largest critical issues agencies. He specializes in designing issues campaigns to impact stakeholder sentiment, managing proactive and defensive media relations, and running tabletop exercises for C-suite teams. He is also a media trainer and executive coach.

A journalist by training, Errol has deep knowledge of the changing media landscape. In addition to his consulting experience, he helped lead communications at NBC News. He was principally in charge of external relations for MSNBC as the news division evolved to a multi-platform digital destination.

Earlier in his career, Errol served as press secretary to two New York governors and was chief of staff to the majority leader of the NY State Senate. He is a graduate of Stony Brook University and serves on several nonprofit boards.

Alix James is an experienced legal professional currently serving as Senior Corporate Counsel at Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield since June 2023, where Alix leads legal counsel for the Airports Division, including major airports such as JFK, LAX, ORD, and WTC Oculus.

Prior to this role, Alix was General Counsel at US Masters Residential Property Fund from April 2016 to June 2023, overseeing legal, compliance, government affairs, and community engagement for a real estate investment trust with over 600 properties in the NYC metropolitan area, while managing a legal team. Alix also held positions as In-House Counsel and Associate at Genova Burns LLC, focusing on real estate and corporate political activity, as well as internships at the United States Attorney's Office, New Jersey Attorney General's Office, and The Port Authority of New York & New Jersey. Alix holds a BA in History from Vanderbilt University and a JD from Rutgers Law School.

Jessica Leinwand serves as Chief Legal Officer and General Counsel of UNICEF USA, overseeing all legal, regulatory, compliance, and governance matters on behalf of the organization. She also leads the organization’s public policy and government affairs work. Prior to joining UNICEF USA, Jessica served as Strategic Counsel to the Chief Legal Officer of Meta Platforms, Inc. (formerly Facebook), where she assisted in overseeing a global legal organization of over 1200 attorneys, and managed legal, regulatory and compliance matters for the company spanning privacy, content, antitrust, and securities issues. At Meta and in private practice with a global law firm, Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale & Dorr LLP, Jessica’s legal practice has focused on regulatory compliance, litigation, policy, and enforcement matters.

Jessica also has served in several senior roles in government at the Department of Justice and the White House Counsel’s Office (2009-2014). At the White House, she managed congressional oversight and investigations related to, among other things, the attack on the U.S. Embassy in Benghazi, Libya, the Department of Energy’s Loan Guarantee Program, and implementation of the Affordable Care Act.

Jessica serves on the Next Generation Board of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum and as an agent of the Dartmouth College Fund. She graduated from Dartmouth College in 2004 and from Columbia Law School in 2009.

Megan C. Ryan, Esq. serves as Executive Vice President and General Counsel for NuHealth/NUMC. She is the corporation’s Chief Legal Officer, overseeing all legal, corporate governance, privacy and ethics functions. She serves as Secretary to the corporation and attorney to the Board of Directors. Ms. Ryan has served as NuHealth/NUMC’s Chief Compliance, Privacy and Ethics officer responsible for investigating any suspicion of fraud, waste, or abuse and has been responsible for maintaining our strong compliance program since 2016. Additionally, she has served as the Chief Compliance Officer for the Nassau Queens Performing Provider System (“NQP”) in the New York State Delivery System Reform Incentive Payment Program (DSRIP) implementing and overseeing the execution of DSRIP, compliance practices at the NQP level and its partnering hubs (NUMC, North Shore and Catholic Health Systems).

Ms. Ryan brings a wealth of experience and impressive achievements, with extensive academic and legal skills that have prepared her well for the challenges and opportunities of this crucial position. Ms. Ryan is admitted to the New York State Bar and the United States Supreme Court.

Ms. Ryan earned her Bachelor of Science degree from Fordham University as a Dean’s Scholar and Biology Chairman Circle honoree and earned her Juris Doctor from Saint John’s University School of Law. She is a member of the Nassau County Bar Association, Nassau County Women’s Bar Association, New York State Bar Association and the American College of Hospital Executives. Her paper entitled “An Examination of Regulations and Decisions Concerning the Mandatory Retirement of State Judges” was published nationally in Court Review and was awarded first prize by the AJA.

She is also a member of the Nassau County Women’s Bar Association. Ms. Ryan is the recipient of the 2016 Long Island Power Woman Award. In 2017, Ms. Ryan presented at ALM’s national General Counsel Conference on the matter of “Building a High Value Corporate Legal Department in Transformative Times”. She was recognized as a Power Woman in Business in 2016 and 2019 and a LIBN Leader in the Law in 2017 and a Health Care Law Leader in 2018. Megan was distinguished as a “Forty Under Forty “Award recipient in her role as General Counsel in 2018. She has is the 2019 NYS Assembly Woman of Distinction Award recipient and received Nassau County’s Human Rights Commission World Aids Day Award in 2020. Ms Ryan serves as the President of the North Merrick Board of Education.