BulletProofBlog the blog on crisis communications

On Tuesday, regulators and corporate compliance officers from top companies around the world gathered at the Eighth Annual Corporate Accountability Conference in London to discuss the most pressing issues, trends, and challenges that are evident in today’s complex global regulatory environment. If one thing is clear after listening to many of the leading compliance experts at work today, it’s that the rules that govern the way companies do business are evolving at a feverish pace ... READ MORE

Too Big To Fail, Andrew Ross Sorkin’s critically-acclaimed examination of how Wall Street and Washington responded to the greatest financial crisis since the Great Depression, is as detailed and insightful a study of the subject as has yet been written. From the frenetic pace with which the drama unfolds to the inside accounts of one excruciating decision after another, the book captures the essence of crisis in the Age of Accountability and offers indelible lessons ... READ MORE

Each week, Bulletproof Blog features exclusive interviews with thought leaders on issues of critical importance to companies and countries. This week, as an increasing number of indicators point to impending economic recovery, we spoke with Greg Farrell, a reporter for the Financial Times who had a ringside view of the best and worst financial communications strategies deployed during the economic crisis. Mr. Farrell believes that communications was a key contributing factor to the survival or failure ... READ MORE

Ask you average American what reinsurance is and the response will likely amount to little more than a blank stare. It's an industry that has flown below the radar for years - quietly going about its business without ever really having to deal with intense media scrutiny, government intervention, or an angry constituency. And that's just the way they liked it. With a very public postmortem of the financial crisis lurking on the horizon, however, that ... READ MORE

In sharing his insights on how the recent financial meltdown changed his leadership style with The New York Times' DealBook blog on Monday, I couldn't help but be struck by how much emphasis Goldman Sachs Chairman and CEO Lloyd Blankfein puts on communicating effectively in crisis. At times when it would have been easier to remain in the cozy confines of the C-Suite and limit access to only a handful of trusted advisors, Mr. Blankfein took ... READ MORE

Each week, Bulletproof Blog features exclusive interviews with thought leaders on issues of critical importance to companies and countries. This week, with executive compensation issues creeping back into the news despite an increasingly positive economic outlook, we interview Robin Bond, Founder and Managing Partner of Transition Strategies, LLC. A nationally-recognized attorney and thought leader in the areas of workplace law and executive compensation matters who has made numerous appearances on CNN and other national and local ... READ MORE

At the turn of the century, Sarbanes-Oxley brought about an era of unprecedented corporate transparency. Today, the current global financial crisis has put the spotlight on corporate accountability. As a result, boards of directors must not only take a more active and engaged role in how their companies respond to myriad crisis situations, they must also understand how an impending regulatory sea change will impact their responsibilities and liabilities. In this month's edition of Levick's e-newsletter, High ... READ MORE

The action that had been expected for almost a month - and what, it now turns out, had been in the offing since before the subprime mortgage meltdown publicly gave way to a global financial crisis - finally came to pass yesterday when the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) brought civil charges of fraud and insider trading against former Countrywide Financial Chairman and CEO Angelo Mozilo. As the face of the company at the center of ... READ MORE

In this regular feature, Bulletproof interviews top plaintiffs' attorneys for their perspective on the crises likely to affect businesses in the near future. Today we talk to Jack Olender, president and principal trial lawyer of Jack H. Olender and Associates in Washington, DC. The Washington Post dubbed Mr. Olender the "King of Personal injury - the undisputed champion," while the Washingtonian observed that "no attorney in Washington is more feared than this medical - malpractice ... READ MORE

In the wake of near-complete financial breakdown, an uptick in the volume of securities lawsuits is hardly surprising. But the numbers are still sobering. In March 2009, for example, Navigant Consulting, Inc. released a ground-breaking report titled "2008: Seeking Relief" that showed a whopping 576 new litigation matters filed in federal courts in 2008 as a direct result of the severe market downturn. The subprime-related issues driving these increases were already in full play before the ... READ MORE