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6 communication priorities for schools
In the era of the coronavirus pandemic, reopening plans for private schools have become even more complex. Parents, students, teachers, staff, and the broader community have questions and concerns that must be addressed before, during, and after reopening. It is critical that schools understand ea...
CSI - Courtroom Sciences Inc
— September 2020 — 343 views Communications COVID-19 Crisis Planning Social media


Communications preparation key to successful school reopenings
As summer wanes, states are finalizing and implementing plans for the most complicated school reopenings ever. In trying to keep students, educators and staff safe from coronavirus, school districts have adopted recommendations regarding facilities, classroom layouts, scheduling and student behavi...
Jennifer Eidson
— August 2020 — 594 views Communications COVID-19 Crisis Planning Social media


The Litigation Psychology Podcast - Episode 19
This video episode of The Litigation Psychology Podcast features Sean Murphy, Practice Leader of the CSI Critical Communications team, explaining the difference between Critical Communications and PR, plus the impact that COVID-19 is having on the reputation of the trucking and transportation indu...
CSI - Courtroom Sciences Inc
— June 2020 — 1087 views Communications COVID-19 Crisis Enterprise risk management Litigation psychology Planning Social media Trucking


Insurance is not enough in managing a crisis
With the proliferation of social media, all companies are in a state of pre-crisis. According to commercial insurance executives, having insurance isn’t enough for dealing with this new reality. A company’s best chance for weathering a crisis is having a robust risk management program that include...
Sean Murphy - Litigation Psychology
— April 2020 — 1268 views Communications Crisis Enterprise risk management Planning Social media


The Litigation Psychology Podcast - Episode 5
The Litigation Psychology Podcast, presented by Courtroom Sciences, Inc. (CSI) presents a special episode dedicated to crisis communications [1] . In this episode we highlight the mistakes and missteps that businesses are making when communicating with customers, employees, and their communities a...
CSI - Courtroom Sciences Inc
— April 2020 — 1405 views Anti-reptile Communications COVID-19 Crisis Enterprise risk management Litigation psychology Reptile


Is "health and safety" really your top priority?
Companies that have been saying, “your health and safety is our first priority” in response to the novel coronavirus crisis may want to reconsider their messaging. At issue is a common plaintiffs’ strategy known as the “ reptile attack [1] ,” where attorneys use sophisticated psychological methods...
Sean Murphy - Litigation Psychology
— April 2020 — 1354 views Anti-reptile Communications COVID-19 Crisis Enterprise risk management Reptile Witness training


Planning for your next crisis
In a crisis, there are four questions that need to be addressed: 1)  How did this happen? 2)  Who is to blame? 3)  Is it going to happen again? and 4)  What are you doing to prevent this in the future? If a leader errs in how they respond to the first question, they risk setting the stage for the ...
Sean Murphy - Litigation Psychology
— April 2020 — 1260 views Communications Crisis Enterprise risk management Planning


How to communicate about COVID-19
As a company leader, there’s a lot you’ll need to communicate as the coronavirus crisis progresses. For employees, it’s coming to terms with new work rules, layoffs, furloughs, or temporary wage reductions. For customers, it’s about how you’re prepared to meet their needs. Your job is to communica...
Sean Murphy - Litigation Psychology
— March 2020 — 1575 views Communications COVID-19 Crisis Enterprise risk management Planning Social media


Four priorities for communicating about COVID-19
The coronavirus pandemic is unprecedented in its scope and uncertainty—causing many to react as the situation evolves, including how and what they’re communicating to stakeholders, from employees to customers. People are looking for reliable information and steady leadership. Here are four priorit...
Sean Murphy - Litigation Psychology
— March 2020 — 2083 views Communications COVID-19 Crisis Enterprise risk management Planning Social media


Your coronavirus messaging might land you in court
If you’re sending customer and employee communications about the novel coronavirus that say “health and safety is our highest priority,” you’re sending the wrong message and potentially setting your company up for a future lawsuit. Almost everyone’s email has been inundated with these messages fro...
Sean Murphy - Litigation Psychology
— March 2020 — 2657 views Communications COVID-19 Crisis Enterprise risk management Social media


Don't underestimate your response to a crisis
Every company exists in a state of pre-crisis. Although the specifics of when or what may not be known, it seems increasingly likely that something will occur in the lifespan of a company that will be deemed a crisis. And all of the organization’s stakeholders: customers, employees, shareholders, ...
Sean Murphy & Dr. George Speckart - CSI - Corporate, TX
— February 2020 — 1514 views Communications Crisis Enterprise risk management Planning Social media


Enterprise risk management in the private equity world
Private equity (PE) firms are enjoying record years in terms of available capital and deal flow. But PE firms that are not focused on enterprise risk management (ERM) across their portfolio are at risk. There is an unprecedented level of disruption, change and risk in every industry that must be a...
CSI - Courtroom Sciences Inc
— February 2020 — 1667 views Communications Crisis Enterprise risk management Planning Social media


Strategies for managing the realities of a "pre-crisis"   business climate
* Introduction * The fact is, all companies are in a state of pre-crisis, and it’s precisely the time to analyze operations, envision what could go wrong and plan how your organization would respond. Preparation is key because managing a crisis demands that leaders exercise the wisdom to not jump...
CSI - Courtroom Sciences Inc
— January 2020 — 1521 views Communications Crisis Enterprise risk management Litigation psychology Planning


How to manage a social media crisis
*A new world* The powerful influence of social media is changing the way crisis communications [1] is practiced and companies should be demanding a more sophisticated level of expertise from their crisis teams. The fact is, any such team is incomplete unless it includes social psychology experts w...
Sean Murphy - Litigation Psychology
— January 2020 — 1565 views Communications Crisis Enterprise risk management Litigation psychology Planning Social media


FedEx and why combative PR tactics don't work
FedEx founder and CEO Frederick Smith touched off a firestorm when he challenged New York Times publisher, A.G. Sulzberger, to a public debate about U.S. tax policy. At issue was a New York Times story [1] that said FedEx’s 2018-tax bill was $0—a direct benefit of Mr. Smith’s highly public lobb...
Sean Murphy & Adam Boesen
— December 2019 — 2049 views Communications Crisis Enterprise risk management


The new crisis management playbook
In today’s hyper-reactive, social media driven world your organization’s response to a crisis needs to be more sophisticated than ever because the stage where it will inevitably play out has never been bigger, louder, or faster moving. But you are not powerless. Companies looking to protect their ...
Sean Murphy & Adam Boesen
— November 2019 — 2123 views Communications Crisis Enterprise risk management Planning Social media


3-step crisis planning for mid-market companies
Crisis planning [1] can be a challenge for middle market companies that often lack the resources to staff large internal legal or communications teams. It’s an important issue because these companies can be even more vulnerable to the effects of a crisis than larger organizations—particularly in a...
Sean Murphy & Adam Boesen
— November 2019 — 2325 views Communications Crisis Enterprise risk management Planning


The most important non-legal tactical measure you can take in your case:
At Courtroom Sciences, Inc. more than a dozen Ph.D.’s have been studying witness performance in over 20,000 cases since the 1980’s.  Together through a creative synthesis of impressions and research-based analyses we have developed what we call the Cognitive Map that jurors use to problem-solve ca...
George R. Speckart, Ph.D. - Litigation Psychology
— October 2019 — 2435 views Communications Depositions Jurors Litigation psychology Research Witness training


Character under fire: what makes strong witnesses and spokespersons
There’s often a distinction made between the two arenas where litigation plays out: the courtroom and the court of public opinion. Certainly these venues have different sets of rules. But what they share is the critical need that the primary storytellers—witnesses and spokespersons—demonstrate cha...
Sean Murphy & Adam Boesen
— October 2019 — 2326 views Communications Crisis Litigation psychology Witness training


Why enterprise risk management is such a hot topic in corporate board rooms
Sean Murphy, Principal, CSI Crisis & Litigation Communications and LoriAnn Lowery-Biggers, former President of Lloyd’s of London for North America, speak on today’s edition of A.M. Best’s  Insurance Law Podcast , the broadcast about timely and important legal issues affecting the insurance indus...
CSI - Courtroom Sciences Inc
— October 2019 — 2469 views Communications Crisis Enterprise risk management Planning