What We Do
A corporate crisis can come in many shapes and sizes, but regardless of the form it takes, every crisis has the potential to harm a company’s reputation, business continuity, license to operate, and enterprise value. FTI’s Crisis and Litigation team specializes in helping clients to prepare for and respond to these kinds of threats, whether a cybersecurity incident, multi-district litigation, a government investigation, operational disruption or a case of employee misconduct, to name a few.
We provide our clients with real-time incident response counsel, deliver comprehensive strategy and a robust set of supporting materials, conduct scenario planning and preparedness exercises, and define a process for communicating with internal and external audiences to ensure the efficient and effective flow of information. Our ultimate objectives are to help our clients protect their reputations and preserve relationships with their most important stakeholders. We draw upon our prior experience, breadth of industry and subject matter expertise, and deep bench of talent to guide our clients as they navigate challenges to their business and seek to emerge stronger.
Subject Matter Expertise:
Crisis Preparedness: In the face of potential threats to an organization’s continuity and reputation, preparedness is key. We conduct organizational preparedness audits of our clients’ current state of readiness, develop integrated crisis communications and business continuity preparedness plans, and stress test our clients’ operational and communications capabilities through realistic simulations and tabletop exercises designed to mimic a real crisis scenario.
Cybersecurity & Data Privacy: A cyber incident can cripple an organization, threaten its operational continuity, permanently damage its reputation, and subject it to legal liability and Congressional inquiry. We are integrated members of our clients’ core incident response team, and partner with client management, external counsel, and forensic investigators to help our clients navigate the incident, mitigate reputation and business risk, and communicate around cybersecurity incidents involving PII, IP, PHI, business email compromise, phishing and spear phishing, DDoS, credential stuffing, nation-state and large-scale incidents, advanced persistent threats and double-extortion ransomware attacks.
Government Investigations: Companies face substantial legal and reputational risks when they are embroiled in a government investigation, striving to defend their conduct, while at the same time avoiding antagonizing the government prosecutors. We work with clients and their external legal counsel throughout investigations to develop communications strategies and materials that help explain the underlying issue, address damaging misinformation, highlight corrective measures that are being taken, and ensure the company’s narrative is accurately conveyed.
Litigation: When a company is engaged in high-stakes litigation, the challenges it faces are rarely confined to the courtroom. At FTI, we help our clients tell their story outside the courtroom in a way that resonates with their most important stakeholders, manages reputational impact, and helps condition the environment in their favor. We work with our clients and legal teams to thoroughly understand the case, develop messages that explain what’s at stake, develop answers to the difficult questions, provide media training to the legal team, identify third party validators, and engage with the media, as necessary. The goal is to ensure our client’s reputation is preserved, both inside and outside the courtroom.
Operational Disruptions: Whether it is an oil spill, a manufacturing shutdown, or an act of nature, the way an organization responds can significantly influence its reputation and relationships with stakeholders. We support clients preparing for, or experiencing, a disruption to their operations or the implications of a disaster or emergency event. We partner with client management, business continuity and risk management personnel, and legal counsel to design and implement plans and develop communications materials that support our clients’ continuity of operations, the safety of their stakeholders, and their go-forward reputation.
Personnel Issues: Personnel issues in the workplace – whether union disputes or employee misconduct – can become a flashpoint in a company’s workforce and culture. We help our clients anticipate and navigate risks around these kinds of issues, maintain or rebuild a strong company culture, encourage employee retention, protect its reputation, and preserve license to operate.
What You Will Do
As a Crisis & Litigation intern or Consultant, you will have the opportunity to participate in a fast-paced and constantly evolving specialty area, play an active role on our team, and gain exposure to our practice’s full suite of capabilities – including, but not limited to: crisis preparedness, plan development, and crisis simulations; cybersecurity communications and incident response; multi-stakeholder strategy and communications around mass tort, multi-district, and class action litigation, government investigations and Congressional inquiries, disruptions to operational continuity and threats to safety, and employee misconduct, union disputes, and contract negotiations.
This role will present you with an opportunity to work on a variety of projects and deliverables across both crisis preparedness and real-time incident response. Tasks can include: conducting research and analysis for existing and prospective clients, monitoring media and consolidating industry trends, developing first drafts of multi-stakeholder communications materials, scenario planning and conducting risks assessments, developing crisis preparedness and plans, and conducting crisis simulations.
What We Offer You
This role provides the unique opportunity to work with and learn from teammates from a range of backgrounds and with a breadth of specialty expertise. With an emphasis on a collaborative team approach, we all learn from each other as we share diverse perspectives and ways of working to best meet client challenges and continue to grow the firm.
FTI Strategic Communications interns and consultants are an immediate member of the team and are viewed as key players in our ability to service clients. Upon starting, you will participate in a training program, which includes an introduction to FTI’s business offerings, as well as more functional trainings on the databases and processes we utilize to service clients each day. Our training program is designed to introduce entry-level candidates to the inner workings of an international communications firm and to help develop essential written and oral communication skills required for this industry. We also utilize in-house and third-party learning platforms to offer ongoing training sessions to ensure that you continue to build on your analytical, writing and management skills as you continue to grow at FTI.
FTI is prides itself on teaching, growing and building talent internally and is repeatedly recognized as a Top Place to Work in PR in part because we take the time to understand individual career goals, train you to achieve them and provide opportunities to do so.
Given how we staff accounts, we also offer early and direct exposure to a wide array of senior level leadership and clients, opportunities to work across the business and flexible work schedules.
The Crisis & Litigation team is based in New York City, Washington, D.C., and Chicago – but we proudly deliver unmatched breadth and depth of expertise across our worldwide network. We often collaborate with engagement teams across North America, Latin America, Asia Pacific and Europe, Middle East, and Africa.
Apply here
At this time, we are recruiting for Traditional Internship, Consultant, Sr. Consultant (MBA) and MBA Internships. To view open positions click here and select the category that fits with where you are in your recruiting journey.
