Meeting/Event Information

Sexual misconduct…data theft… OSHA complaints…
mergers & acquisitions…active shooter…malpractice accusations…employee fraud
bill padding…the New York Times is on line 3 looking for comment

The traditional media leaps on stories like these.  And social media – Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat and more – are now the places where a reputation built up over years of
good work can be shattered in an instant.

Media veterans have spent their entire careers getting
ready to interview you, your attorneys and other stakeholders.

So, wouldn’t it make sense for you to spend a little time preparing for that interview,
to help make your side of the story part of the story?

“Reputation” is the largest uninsured organizational asset.  And since it takes a lifetime to build a reputation and only a few seconds to destroy one, in a split second leaders can find themselves in a position where they need to know how to manage a crisis situation.  Especially in today’s world of “gotcha” journalism, “managing the message” is a necessary skill set for attorneys.

This fast-paced talk by veteran crisis communications and media specialist Bruce Hennes, from Hennes Communications in Cleveland (www.crisiscommunications.com), will focus on a highly-strategic approach to communicating during a wide variety of situations, offering methods for establishing and maintaining “control of the message,” enabling you to move your message forward or mount a defense against a sudden press onslaught.

Mr. Hennes has done this seminar for the last three years as a plenary for the American Bar Association’s Leadership Conference.  He’s also done similar seminars for the International Municipal Lawyers Association; Greater Cleveland General Counsel Association; Ohio Prosecuting Attorneys Association; the New York State, State of Nevada, Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati, Akron & Toledo Bar Associations; Ohio Mayors Association; American Association of Corporate Counsel; Maritime Lawyers of The United States; Cuyahoga County Law Directors Association; Ohio Municipal League; and the Ohio Office of Emergency Management. 

Seminar Speaker: Bruce M. Hennes, Managing Partner of Hennes Communications. 

Hennes Communications is one of the few agencies in the U.S. focused exclusively on crisis communications and crisis management.  Serving corporations, government agencies, educational and healthcare institutions and nonprofits that are “on trial” in the Court of Public Opinion, Hennes Communications also offers media training and litigation communication support to their clients.

Hennes has over 35 years’ experience working in politics and public relations.  He now counts among his current and former clients such companies as Avery Dennison, the 2016 Cleveland Host Committee (for the recent Republican National Convention), Lubrizol, ThyssenKrupp, Kent State University, Kenyon College, Akron General Health System, The Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority, Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District, NASA and Westfield Insurance, as well as scores of law firms, municipalities and school districts.

Hennes serves on the board of the Cleveland Leadership Center and he is one of the founders of the FBI Citizens Academy Foundation of Cleveland.  He is also an adjunct professor in the Levin College of Urban Affairs at Cleveland State University and he frequently speaks before bar and trade associations.  Hennes is also a member of The Press Club of Cleveland and he’s on the executive committee of The Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association and recipient of the bar association’s first-ever President’s Award.  He is also President of Leadership Cleveland’s Class of 2008.

Hennes Communications has won five Gold “Rocks” awards from the Cleveland Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America; one for its Crisis Management Newsletter; and four for crisis work on behalf of clients, including two coveted “Best of Show” awards, for its work with another agency on the national peanut butter recall, and again for its work on a ferry boat crash in New York City’s Financial District. For more information, please go to www.crisiscommunications.com .