Every law firm will face some type of reputational threat this year. It's no longer a matter of if, but rather when. These threats come in various guises, ranging from employees behaving badly in the workplace to intense scrutiny of a controversial client, or from an operational challenge such as a data breach or failed merger, to—as seen most recently in the case of the Israel-Hamas war—pressure from stakeholders to publicly respond to a shocking or ethically-charged global event.

While a growing number of firms are beginning to view reputation management as a worthwhile commitment of time and resources, far too many continue to think of crisis response as something that is, by nature, a reactive practice—a sort of public relations war room that is only convened when a crisis sneaks up on the firm. We're here to tell you that the firms steadfastly building a positive reputation well in advance of any real or perceived threat are most likely to withstand a crisis when it does inevitably emerge.