The cost of scandals to business is at an all-time high. Time was when a bow held for 10 seconds by executives in a news conference, plus the resignation of a top official, would clear the air for business as usual.
But now, as accounting tricks at Seibu Railway Co. and pharmaceuticals maker Kanebo Ltd. illustrate, a good scandal and bad press can flatten stock prices, delist companies from stock exchanges and threaten survival.
Enter lawyer Lanny Davis and other crisis managers at the law firm Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP. As special counsel to the White House from 1996 to 1998, Davis was former U.S. President Bill Clinton's "scandal spokesman," guiding the Clintons through charges of improper campaign contributions and leaving just 10 days after the Monica Lewinsky story broke.