Crisis Counsel
When something has gone badly wrong, the first 24 hours often decide how bad it gets. As outside general counsel, we are the senior attorney on the call when a regulator shows up, the press starts asking, a data incident hits, or an executive crisis breaks, to steady the response before missteps compound the problem.
Talk to an attorneyFounded
1965
Attorneys
11
AV-rated
Martindale-Hubbell
Office
Bellevue, WA
Founded
1965
Attorneys
4
AV-rated
Martindale-Hubbell
Office
Bellevue, WA
Crisis counsel for Bellevue and Seattle companies
Oseran Hahn serves as crisis counsel for companies in the moments that matter most: a regulator at the door, a reporter on the phone, a data breach, an executive misconduct allegation, a major customer or safety event. The first hours set the trajectory, and a senior attorney who already knows the business can triage fast, protect privilege, and direct the response while the company is still deciding what happened. Because we are standing counsel, the company is not finding a lawyer in the middle of the crisis; the call is already warm.
A crisis rewards speed and discipline and punishes improvisation, and most damage in the first day is self-inflicted. We take the first call and triage the situation; we protect privilege and control the communications that can otherwise make things worse; we manage regulators and government inquiries; we run the fast internal investigation that tells the company what actually happened; and we coordinate the specialists and outside experts into one response team.
The first call
A crisis usually announces itself suddenly, a regulator arrives, a reporter calls, an employee makes an allegation, a system is breached, and what the company does in the first hours matters more than almost anything that follows. We take that call as a senior attorney who already knows the business, triage what is actually happening, and tell the company what to do and, just as important, what not to do right now. The instinct to act fast is right; the instinct to act before understanding the situation is what creates the second problem.
Privilege and controlling communications
In a crisis, the company's own communications often become the worst evidence, so protecting attorney-client privilege from the first moment is critical. We direct how the company gathers facts and communicates internally so the sensitive analysis stays privileged, counsel the team on what not to put in an email, and coordinate with public relations and other advisors in a way that does not waive the protection. Getting the communications structure right at the start is far easier than trying to claw back privilege after the fact.
Regulators and government inquiries
When the crisis involves a regulator, a subpoena, or a government inquiry, the response has to be handled carefully and consistently. We manage the interaction: what the company is obligated to produce and preserve, who speaks for the company, how to respond to demands without volunteering exposure, and how to meet deadlines without overcommitting. A measured, credible response to an agency usually serves the company far better than either stonewalling or oversharing, and we set that posture from the start.
Internal investigation and fact-gathering
Before a company can decide what to do, it has to know what actually happened, and in a crisis that means a fast, privileged internal investigation. We gather the facts quickly and confidentially, issue a litigation hold to preserve relevant documents and data, and give leadership a clear-eyed read on the company's exposure rather than the optimistic or panicked version circulating internally. Where the crisis is a data incident, this work runs alongside the breach-notification clock (RCW 19.255.010), so the investigation and the legal deadlines move together.
Coordinating the response team
Real crises rarely fit one specialty, so part of crisis counsel is assembling and running the right team. We pull in the firm's employment, privacy, litigation, and insurance attorneys as the situation requires, bring in outside experts such as forensic investigators or communications advisors, and tender the matter to the company's insurers where coverage may apply. The company gets a single coordinated response with one lead point of contact, rather than a scramble of advisors working from different facts.
Sixty years of counsel to Pacific Northwest companies, with senior attorneys who can be on the phone fast when something has gone wrong and the full firm behind them. Because we already know the business, the crisis call starts with context instead of a cold introduction.
We're already on your team.
In a crisis you don't have time to brief a stranger. As standing counsel we know the business, so we can triage in the first call instead of spending it catching up.
We protect you from yourself.
Most first-day damage is self-inflicted: the wrong email, the offhand statement, the rushed admission. We control communications and privilege so the response doesn't become the evidence.
One coordinated response.
Employment, privacy, litigation, insurance, forensics, PR. We assemble and run the team as one, so the company isn't juggling advisors who don't talk to each other.
The attorneys behindthe work.
Our business and corporate attorneys handle this work alongside our litigation team, so you have coverage whether your matter stays transactional or becomes something more.
What clientsask us first.
Something just happened and we don't know who to call. Can you help right now?
Yes, that's the point of crisis counsel. Call us, and a senior attorney who knows your business will help you triage the first hours, what to preserve, what to say, what not to do, before missteps compound the problem. Because we're already your standing counsel, we start with context instead of spending the first hour getting up to speed.
How do we keep this from making things worse?
Control the communications and protect privilege from the first moment. The company's own emails and offhand statements often become the worst evidence in a crisis. We direct how facts are gathered and discussed so the sensitive analysis stays privileged, and we coordinate with PR and other advisors without waiving that protection. That discipline early is what keeps the response from becoming the problem.
A regulator contacted us. What do we do?
Respond carefully and consistently, and don't improvise. We manage the interaction: what you must preserve and produce, who speaks for the company, and how to meet the agency's demands without volunteering exposure. A measured, credible response usually serves a company far better than either stonewalling or oversharing, and we set that posture from the first contact.
Should we investigate internally before deciding what to do?
Almost always, and quickly. You can't decide the response until you know what actually happened, so we run a fast, privileged internal investigation and issue a litigation hold to preserve the relevant records. That gives leadership an honest read on exposure rather than the version rumor produces. Doing it under privilege, the right way, protects the company as the situation develops.
This involves several issues at once. Who handles all of it?
We do, by assembling and running the team. A real crisis rarely fits one specialty, so we pull in the firm's employment, privacy, litigation, and insurance attorneys as needed, bring in outside experts like forensics or communications, and tender to your insurers where coverage applies. You get one coordinated response with a single point of contact, not a scramble of disconnected advisors.
When should we call crisis counsel?
Immediately, when something has gone wrong and the first hours matter: a regulator, a press inquiry, a data incident, an executive allegation, a serious customer or safety event. The earlier the call, the more options the company still has. Waiting until after the company has reacted on its own is usually how a manageable problem becomes a lasting one.
Recentarticles.
Rapid-response crisis counsel for regulators, press inquiries, data incidents, and executive and customer crises, from a senior attorney who knows your business.
Oseran Hahn P.S. · 11225 SE 6th St, Suite 100 · Bellevue, WA 98004
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