Photo by Pavel Danilyuk
Investigations now move faster than many boards expect. A text, a calendar invite, or a deleted chat can trigger a wide review that touches your company, your family, and your name.
If you hold a senior role, you need a plan before anything happens. Strong plans start with the right counsel. To see the caliber of experience that helps in high-stakes matters, read about Jeffrey Chabrowe, a former Manhattan prosecutor who now defends complex cases. The right background means faster triage, fewer mistakes, and fewer surprises.
Legal Risks For Leaders
Senior executives face personal exposure even when they follow policy. Government agencies can pursue individuals for conduct tied to securities, antitrust, public corruption, and tax matters.
Insider trading, false statements, and obstruction are common areas of focus for market regulators and federal prosecutors. The U.S. SEC describes insider trading rules and penalties in clear terms, including potential bars and fines that can be career-ending.
The risk is not only criminal. Parallel civil actions and shareholder suits can follow the same facts. Media coverage can last longer than any case. This is why early defense work should address legal exposure and reputational exposure at the same time.
Your First 24 Hours
Speed matters, but speed without a plan causes damage. Use a short checklist that you and your chief of staff or general counsel can trigger at any sign of an issue.
- Call outside criminal defense counsel first. Do not text about facts. Start with a short call to set attorney-client privilege, then follow counsel’s guidance on next steps.
- Preserve data. Send a hold notice to your assistants and IT. Pause auto-deletion for email, messages, and device backups. Deleting data can look like obstruction even if the removal was automatic.
- Centralize intake. Direct all media and third party queries to one point of contact, often counsel. Do not guess, speculate, or “clear the air.”
- Map the facts. With counsel, list who did what, where the records live, and who else knows. Identify quick wins, like locating board minutes or compliance approvals.
- Protect your schedule. Reschedule non-essential public events and earnings calls if needed. Keep the company running, but lower exposure until you have a plan.
Build the Right Defense Team
An effective defense team is small, senior, and aligned. You need a lead criminal defense lawyer, a point person in-house, and a communications partner who understands legal limits. Add a forensic accountant or e-discovery vendor only when counsel says it is time, not before.
Look for counsel with both prosecution and defense experience. Former prosecutors know how cases are built, what charging memos look like, and what facts change minds. They can sequence interviews, structure proffers, and choose when to push and when to wait.
They can also coordinate with parallel civil or regulatory counsel so your statements stay consistent across matters.
Your team should set clear workstreams. One for government contact, one for document review, one for witness strategy, and one for media. Use short written updates, not sprawling decks.
Decide who speaks to the board and who speaks to investors so the message stays steady and accurate.
Protect Data and Communications
Your phone, laptop, and cloud accounts carry risk. Treat data like evidence from the first hour. Do not use personal devices for work chats. Do not forward company mail to private accounts. Use company channels that can be preserved and searched.
Set rules with counsel for message apps. Some platforms delete by default. Disable disappearing messages for any business use. If you need to collect data, use a defensible process run by vendors who can testify to chain of custody later.
Coordinate with IT on access control. If assistants or consultants had device access, log it. If a shared drive contains drafts, set read-only permissions until counsel completes initial review. These simple steps reduce arguments about authenticity and scope, which can save months.
To strengthen preservation, create full system images of key endpoints. Enterprise-grade tools with robust disk imaging capabilities enable complete, verifiable snapshots of the OS, applications, and files to support legal holds, rapid restoration, and defensible e-discovery.
Handle Government Contact
Contact with government should be planned and documented. Do not volunteer interviews or meetings without counsel. Many cases hinge on early statements that later turn out to be incomplete.
The U.S. Department of Justice gives prosecutors a framework for charging decisions in matters involving businesses and individuals.
Understanding that framework helps your team focus on the facts that prosecutors weigh, such as cooperation, remediation, and the strength of evidence.
If agents appear with a subpoena or a warrant, stay calm. Ask for identification, accept the paperwork, and call counsel. Do not block access, do not consent to expand the search, and do not discuss the facts.
Your team will review the documents, negotiate scope when possible, and set a timeline for production.
When outreach to government may help, your counsel may consider a proffer session or a written submission. These steps require careful planning.
The goal is to present verified facts, not guesses, and to help the government see why charges are not appropriate or why narrow resolutions make sense.
Photo by August de Richelieu
Protect Your Public Image
Reputation risk moves in hours, not months. Your defense plan should include a calm, factual posture. If public comment is needed, use short statements that confirm process, not arguments. Avoid adjectives, avoid blame. Focus on cooperation and business continuity.
Prepare internal messages for staff and key partners. Keep it brief. Acknowledge the matter, thank the teams handling it, and ask employees to direct media to the proper contact. Consistency across internal and external messages reduces rumor and limits leaks.
Review trading windows, compensation events, and planned deals for optics and legal risk. Adjust timing when necessary. Align investor relations and legal so filings and earnings language are accurate and do not overstate or downplay material facts.
How A Defense Lawyer Helps
Experienced defense counsel does more than argue in court. They set rules of the road. They tell you when to speak and when to stay silent. They shape document production so it is complete and credible without giving up privilege.
They select experts, manage witnesses, and keep the board informed without creating discovery headaches.
Counsel with prosecution experience can spot proof gaps early and can route your team’s energy to the issues that matter.
They can also work with parallel regulators, coordinate with co-defendants or witnesses, and advise on remediation steps that reduce risk, like quick policy fixes or training. This practical approach often narrows issues before they threaten the business.
A good lawyer also protects your time. They filter noise, set a cadence for updates, and help you keep running the company. That balance is a form of defense, since sloppy operations and mixed messages can feed new allegations.
Put The Plan Into Action
Legal trouble rarely announces itself. Put a short plan on paper, pick your outside counsel now, and set rules for data and media. If something happens, act in the first hour, preserve records, and keep your messages brief and accurate.
The right criminal defense lawyer will guide the sequence, protect your rights, and help you reduce legal and reputational damage while your business keeps moving.
