Planning ahead is the key to successfully managing a company in crisis, a panel of senior lawyers told corporate counsel at the New York State Bar Association's international section conference in London last week.

Marc Powers, partner in the New York office of Baker & Hostetler and head of the firm's securities litigation and regulatory enforcement practice, unveiled a ten-point plan - dubbed 'the ten commandments' - for managing cross-border legal risk.


On the first commandment - plan ahead - Randal Baker, general counsel of Genworth Financial's mortgage insurance business, told delegates that 'the most important thing is to have existing internal procedures in place'.


Rupert Bondy, general counsel at pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmith-Kline, agreed. 'Plan with specificity on some issues but be aware you can't plan for everything, so be flexible,' he suggested.


The second commandment was to 'know all relevant regulators'. Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer partner Stephen Revell also advised in-house lawyers to know all key internal and external contacts, including home and mobile numbers. 'Keep your eye on what other regulators and laws require your company to do - a US-style litigation approach may not work in all countries,' he added.


On point three, communications management, Mr Revell told general counsel to involve the company's PR advisers at an early stage and make sure they know what market announcements need to be made, as well as the rules that have to complied with in different countries.


But Lindsay Thomas, director of regulatory services at the Financial Services Authority, warned against trying to control developments with spin and emphasised the importance of having an internal group of people with a grip on the situation.


Other parts of the ten-point plan included considering the benefits and detriments of involving the regulator, managing attorney-client privilege, and keeping control of public disclosures. These highlighted the differences in approach taken on the two sides of the Atlantic - the co-operative UK style compared with the more litigious US culture.


On point eight - the requirement to revisit procedures and controls for best practice, Genworth's Mr Barker said: 'Make sure you do a proper debrief at the end of the process and update your policy to make sure you are prepared for the next potential crisis situation.'


The ninth commandment suggested that industry practice does not make an action right and the tenth rule was 'don't panic'.


But Mr Bondy warned: 'There is no magic answer - judgment is at the heart of all you do.'