® By in-house counsel, for in-house counsel.® InfoPAKSM Crisis Management in Litigation and Investigations: Parallel Proceedings, Competing Stakeholders, and Multiple Venues in a Global Environment Sponsored by: Association of Corporate Counsel Association of Corporate Counsel 1025 Connecticut Avenue, NW, Suite 200 1025 Connecticut Avenue, NW, Suite 200 Washington, DC 20036 USA Washington, DC 20036 USA tel +1 202.293.4103, fax +1 202.293.4701 tel +1 202.293.4103, fax +1 202.293.4701 www.acc.com www.acc.com 2 Crisis Management: in Litigation and Investigations: Parallel Proceedings, Competing Stakeholders, and Multiple Venues in a Global Environment Crisis Management in Litigation and Investigations: Parallel Proceedings, Competing Stakeholders, and Multiple Venues in a Global Environment November 2016 Provided by the Association of Corporate Counsel 1025 Connecticut Avenue, NW, Suite 200 Washington, DC 20036 tel +1 202.293.4103 fax +1 202.293.4107 www.acc.com Corporate crises, by their very nature, can severely disrupt a company and jeopardize its future. Effective management of the crisis is essential to minimizing disruptions to a company’s ongoing operations, protecting its brand and image, and ensuring its overall survival. This InfoPAKSM addresses a wide range of issues that commonly arise when a crisis hits, such as media relations, document preservation requirements, international issues, communications with authorities, public disclosure obligations, and data privacy, employee and human resources considerations. It also offers practical tips to in-house counsel with respect to both preparing for and handling a crisis. The information in this InfoPAKSM should not be construed as legal advice or legal opinion on specific facts, and should not be considered representative of the views of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP or of ACC or any of its lawyers, unless so stated. Further, this InfoPAKSM is not intended as a definitive statement on the subject and should not be construed as legal advice. Rather, this InfoPAKSM is intended to serve as a tool for readers, providing practical information to the in-house practitioner. This material was compiled by Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP. For more information about Skadden, please visit their website at http://www.skadden.com or see the “About the Author” section of this document. The ACC wishes to thank the members of the Litigation Committee for their contributions to the development of this InfoPAKSM. Contents I. Introduction ...................................................................................................................................... 5 II. Preparing for and Managing the Crisis ........................................................................................... 8 A. Crisis Management Plan .......................................................................................................................................................... 8 B. Preliminary Steps for Managing a Crisis .............................................................................................................................. 9 C. Step-By-Step Crisis Management ....................................................................................................................................... 11 III. Dealing with the Media .................................................................................................................. 12 A. Media Relations Plan .............................................................................................................................................................. 12 B. Strategic Considerations ...................................................................................................................................................... 16 C. Special Concerns Regarding Sensitive Information Provided to Public Relations Professionals ......................... 18 IV. Preserving Documents ................................................................................................................... 20 A. When the Duty to Preserve Arises ................................................................................................................................... 20 B. Content and Dissemination of a Document Preservation Directive ......................................................................... 22 C. Practical Considerations and Suggestions for Compliance .......................................................................................... 23 V. Considering the International Dimensions of a Crisis ................................................................ 26 A. Legal Obstacles to Foreign Document Discovery ......................................................................................................... 26 B. Cultural Differences .............................................................................................................................................................. 31 C. Privilege .................................................................................................................................................................................... 31 VI. Interacting with Insurers and Auditors ........................................................................................ 33 A. Insurance Coverage ............................................................................................................................................................... 33 B. Independent Auditors ........................................................................................................................................................... 34 VII. Communicating with the Government ........................................................................................ 39 A. Knowing the Company’s Regulators and Enforcement Authorities .......................................................................... 39 B. Cooperating with Government Entities ........................................................................................................................... 41 C. Reporting to Government Entities .................................................................................................................................... 44 VIII. Meeting the Company’s Public Disclosure Obligations .............................................................. 46 A. Regulatory Provisions Bearing on Disclosure ................................................................................................................. 46 B. Duty to Disclose in Special Circumstances ..................................................................................................................... 48 C. Voluntary Disclosure ............................................................................................................................................................. 48 4 Crisis Management: in Litigation and Investigations: Parallel Proceedings, Competing Stakeholders, and Multiple Venues in a Global Environment D. Practical Considerations ....................................................................................................................................................... 48 IX. Conducting Internal Investigations ............................................................................................... 50 A. Defining the Proper Scope and Scale of the Investigation ............................................................................................ 50 B. Establishing Appropriate Processes ................................................................................................................................... 51 C. Ensuring an Unbiased Approach ......................................................................................................................................... 54 D. Providing Untainted Analysis ............................................................................................................................................... 54 E. Documenting Findings and Conclusions of Investigation .............................................................................................. 54 X. Minimizing Privilege Waivers ........................................................................................................ 56 A. Government Investigations .................................................................................................................................................. 56 B. Intra-Company and Common-Interest Communications ............................................................................................. 59 C. Parallel Shareholder Lawsuits and Civil Settlements ..................................................................................................... 60 D. Cross-Border Investigations ................................................................................................................................................ 61 XI. Anticipating Employee Issues ........................................................................................................ 63 A. Legal Representation of Employees ................................................................................................................................... 63 B. Discipline .................................................................................................................................................................................