Franklin Templeton has likely had more media exposure in the past few days than the investment firm has experienced in its entire 73-year history. 

So far, the San Mateo, California-based company has deftly dealt with a highly charged and potentially catastrophic public relations situation that unfolded during a holiday. And its relatively quick, succinct response might serve as a model for other corporate legal and PR departments facing a sudden crisis. 

"Getting the facts, acting speedily and acting decisively are three key tenets of effective crisis management," said Billy Warden, a crisis management specialist at GBW Strategies. 

The national spotlight turned on Franklin Templeton on Memorial Day when a video of an employee named Amy Cooper went viral. Cooper, who is white, called the police on a black man after he asked her to follow the rules and leash her dog in Central Park. 

The man, a birdwatcher, Harvard graduate, writer and editor named Christian Cooper, no relation to Amy Cooper, filmed the encounter on his phone. In the recording, Amy Cooper says: "I'm going to tell them there's an African American man threatening my life," as she dials the police and appears to choke her dog by hoisting it up with its collar.  

Christian Cooper's sister posted the video to Twitter shortly after 1 p.m. the same day. Widespread outrage and condemnation quickly followed and Amy Cooper became yet another viral "Karen," a slang term used to describe middle-aged white women caught raging in public over a perceived injustice. The video now has more than 40 million views.

Franklin Templeton issued its first response at 10:43 p.m. EST. 

"We take these matters very seriously, and we do not condone racism of any kind. While we are in the process of investigating the situation, the employee involved has been put on administrative leave," the company stated. 

Franklin Templeton's initial statement drew widespread criticism as Twitter users called for her to be fired. 

One wrote: "'Administrative leave' here meaning 'until this blows over.' There's a video of her explicitly telling the cops an African American man is threatening her life while he's just standing there. What exactly are you waiting to see? She basically tried to call a hit on the guy."

Franklin Templeton issued a second statement the day after the incident at 2:24 p.m. EST. The company stated that Amy Cooper, who had served as head of insurance portfolio management, had been fired following an internal view. It also reiterated: "We do not tolerate racism of any kind at Franklin Templeton." 

This time the reaction on social media was far more favorable. 

"This was the right thing to do," wrote one Twitter user. "Think of all the people who are employees or customers of Franklin Templeton who would feel uncomfortable dealing with someone who showed such obvious racist tendencies."

A spokeswoman for Franklin Templeton declined a request to interview the company's general counsel, Craig Tyle, and stated that the firm did not have any comment beyond its public statements. 

"Franklin Templeton took longer to act than some observers wanted, but the company can reasonably argue it needed to take a beat and examine the situation before acting," Warden said. "Franklin's two public statements—first regarding putting the employee on administrative leave, then announcing her termination—were concise and clear."

He added that the firm's "legal department was likely pressed to quickly advise communications staff on just how explicitly and forcefully the company could distance itself from the employee and the behavior seen on the viral video.

"The crisis team may also be thinking through responses to what might come next—if anything—related to the incident and terminated employee. Effective crisis management also involves trying to think ahead," Warden added. 

Meanwhile, Amy Cooper, who also surrendered her dog to a rescue group, has issued an apology—and Christian Cooper has called for people who are outraged about the situation to remain civil. 

"It's a little bit of a frenzy, and I am uncomfortable with that," he told The New York Times. 

He added, "If our goal is to change the underlying factors, I am not sure that this young woman having her life completely torn apart serves that goal." 

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