Incident Prevention & Response

A Comprehensive, Integrated Approach

No other US law firm provides the range of services that Bracewell provides before, during and after a crisis.

Our 50-member incident prevention and response team includes lawyers, strategic communications and government relations professionals — a unique offering among law firms. We work together seamlessly to provide integrated legal advice, crisis communications and government relations services after “trigger events” that cause a crisis, such as:

• explosions and toxic releases in the petrochemical and manufacturing industries
• high-profile product recalls
• social protests related to the construction of energy infrastructure projects
• civil and criminal enforcement, including in response to financial crimes
• supply chain disruptions
• labor and employment matters, including whistleblower allegations and workplace discrimination allegations
• cyber intrusions

Our comprehensive approach includes identifying risks; developing appropriate responses to both traditional and social media coverage; helping clients inform government representatives on the local, state and national levels; preserving and pursuing insurance coverages and indemnification; and managing the wide range of individuals and disciplines necessary to effectively respond to a crisis.

We work with clients to avoid crises through risk preparedness. Our lawyers guide companies through business-continuity planning and facilitate “table top exercises” to role play what a company’s executive team might do in response to a hypothetical triggering event.

Our crisis experience runs deep. We have provided strategic legal advice on a broad range of matters, including:

• issues related to the Republic Services environmental superfund site, which is the subject of the HBO documentary Atomic Homefront
• Halliburton in the various investigations that arose from the Deepwater Horizon explosion, including President Obama’s Special Task Force, the US Congress and the US CSB
• securing safe and legal passage to the US for young girls kidnapped by a major international terrorist organization
• ensuring that acutely at-risk populations, such as LGBTQ+ youth, received specialized services when calling the national suicide prevention lifeline
• investigating BP’s North American refineries after the Texas City explosion

We are particularly well positioned to handle crises in the petrochemical industry. Our team members have completed a formal incident-response training program, which includes earning AIChE safety and chemical engineering certificates in process safety and risk assessment. Our team includes experienced, nationally recognized environmental safety and defense lawyers, who are skilled in developing and presenting highly technical issues and data to government investigators, judges and juries. We have extensive experience responding to investigations by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Chemical Safety Board (CSB), the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the Pipeline and Hazardous Material Safety Administration (PHMSA), the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ), the Contra Costa County Health Services Hazardous Materials Programs office (CCHMP), CalOSHA, and state and federal prosecutors.