The Intersection: Where the Court of Public Opinion and the Court of Law Collide

This week on The Intersection, Mike and Sallie sit down with Rick Chesley, global managing partner of DLA Piper and Co. His focus is in bankruptcy and corporate restructuring, working on the sale and acquisition of various distressed businesses, such as Brooks Brothers, Nine West, and Aeropostale. Rick discusses how he educates journalists about the complexities of restructuring cases and the importance of making sure the messaging is clear, especially when thousands of jobs in a community are at stake. Is he tempted to correct misinformation being spread on social media? He says he typically advises clients to stay clear of the online conversations and focus instead on reinforcing consistent messaging through more conventional channels. “The rest of this will take care of itself,” he says. He talks about how his experience working as an investment banker shaped his perception of bankruptcy litigation.About Sitrick and CompanySitrick and Company is a Los Angeles-based public relations firm founded by Michael Sitrick specializing in corporate, financial, and crisis communications. Known for its expertise in high-stakes situations, the firm has handled reputation management, litigation support, and media strategy for high-profile clients. It operates offices in New York City and Washington, DC, and is recognized as a leader in strategic communications and crisis management.

Mike and Sallie are joined this week by Giel Stein, a member of Clark Hill, PLC in Chicago. He is a trial lawyer with an impressive and extensive record of successfully leading internal investigations.Giel discusses his childhood and the impact on him from growing up on a Kibbutz in Israel and his studies at the University of Chicago, before delving into one of his most high-profile cases, representing author, salesman,  TV personality and convicted felon Kevin Trudeau, who was threatened with “coersive incarceration” for hiding from the court funds owed to victims.  Giel talks about the challenges of representing a personality with a deep and vocal fan base on social media and the difficulties of convincing the court and the public of his innocence. He also discusses his work with Mike on the criminal case defending Dr. John Kapoor, who was convicted in a bribery and kickback scheme that prosecutors said helped fuel the opioid crisis. Giel says some of his greatest career satisfaction stems from pro-bono cases he’s taken on, including one representing an ex-con who lost his vision and ability to work after being mistreated in prison. About Sitrick and CompanySitrick and Company is a Los Angeles-based public relations firm founded by Michael Sitrick, specializing in corporate, financial, and crisis communications. Known for its expertise in high-stakes situations, the firm has handled reputation management, litigation support, and media strategy for high-profile clients. It operates offices in New York City and Washington, DC, and is recognized as a leader in strategic communications and crisis management.

This week on The Intersection, Mike and Sallie welcome Dan Bergeson, the founding partner of Bergeson LLP in San Jose, CA, one of Silicon Valley’s leading litigation firms. Dan’s clients range from Fortune 500 companies to startups, representing founders, C-level executives, directors, and special committees in high stakes litigation and investigations.Dan discusses his victory defending Al Shugart, founder and CEO of Seagate Technology, in a defamation case against sponsors of a TV commercial comparing him to convicted swindler Charles Keating. He also discusses  litigation in a digital age, often reminding clients “anything you post in social media--that's there forever, and I'm going to have to deal with that in trial.” He is an advocate for bringing on a competent media relations team to handle situations where clients don’t listen to that advice to manage the media.About Sitrick and CompanySitrick and Company is a Los Angeles-based public relations firm founded by Michael Sitrick specializing in corporate, financial, and crisis communications. Known for its expertise in high-stakes situations, the firm has handled reputation management, litigation support, and media strategy for high-profile clients. It operates offices in New York City and Washington, DC, and is recognized as a leader in strategic communications and crisis management.

Jessica Rosenberg, a Chambers USA-ranked lawyer and partner at Akin Gump, is this week’s guest on The Intersection.  Born and raised on Long Island,  Jessica’s father was a personal injury lawyer who instilled in her a love for the law from a very young age. Her work focuses on workplace issues such as discrimination, harassment, compensation, and tort claims, including fraud, defamation, and breach of fiduciary duty.Jessica talks about her approach  to dealing with highly publicized cases, setting out a strategy at the get-go, then asking clients who want to stop negative articles, "Does this really matter to us? To our strategy? The strategy we set out in the beginning? Being reactive doesn't get us to our goal." She goes on to discuss her work with Me Too-related cases and  explains how different jurisdictions define workplace harassment. She discusses a favorite  “battle in court” where an employee believed she was retaliated against by a supervisor, with video evidence.About Sitrick and CompanySitrick and Company is a Los Angeles-based public relations firm founded by Michael Sitrick specializing in corporate, financial, and crisis communications. Known for its expertise in high-stakes situations, the firm has handled reputation management, litigation support, and media strategy for high-profile clients. It operates offices in New York City and Washington, DC, and is recognized as a leader in strategic communications and crisis management.

Aryeh Kaplan, a top litigator at Sidley Austin’s Miami office, joins Mike for a special one-on-one episode of The Intersection podcast this week to discuss his expansive career from serving as counsel for sovereign governments, financial institutions, manufacturers and high-profile individuals in the US and abroad. Aryeh talks about the process of communicating with clients, joking that "Nobody is very happy to get a call from me. You may be happy to get a call from your child, but nobody's dying to hear from their lawyer." He discusses how the process of preparing a client for litigation has changed in an age where “everything is searchable.” Asked about social media and how Aryeh handles clients who post irresponsibly? Aryeh replies: “I tell them we all have to row in the same direction, you’re not paying me to be your spokesperson… to analogize it to medicine – you ought not be going into surgery to cut yourself open.” When asked about his favorite case, he simply says he’s just happy every time he wins: “My expectation for myself is that when I deliver something to a client, when I pick up the phone or when I show up, or when I'm in court, or when a judgment comes in, that I can look myself in the mirror and say, ‘There was nothing else I could have done.’”About Sitrick and CompanySitrick and Company is a Los Angeles-based public relations firm founded by Michael Sitrick specializing in corporate, financial, and crisis communications. Known for its expertise in high-stakes situations, the firm has handled reputation management, litigation support, and media strategy for high-profile clients. It operates offices in New York City and Washington, DC, and is recognized as a leader in strategic communications and crisis management.

Legendary entertainment lawyer Marty Singer joins Michael Sitrick and Sallie Hoffmeister to talk all about the origins of cancel culture, and what it’s like to represent celebrities.Described by celebrity clients as a “lifesaver” and “real-life superhero,” Singer has represented Hollywood’s biggest names—including Eddie Murphy, Nicolas Cage, Stevie Wonder, Sylvester Stallone, Scarlett Johansson, and Magic Johnson—through some of their most public legal and reputational battles. Singer opens up about his combative legal letters to newsroom general counsels and how his legal communication strategy has adapted over time. He discusses how public relations in law has become essential to protecting reputations in high-profile litigation, especially as cancel culture accelerates consequences before facts are confirmed.The conversation explores how the rise of the #MeToo movement and the age of cancel culture shifted the balance between courts and headlines. He also shares how public relations in law must now grapple with narratives that spread faster than facts. Singer also explains how he selects credible media outlets to counteract false claims and how his legal media strategies aim to shift momentum in both courtrooms and the press.Martin Singer also shares real stories from major cases, including his defense of Charlie Sheen during his fallout from Two and a Half Men, how he helped Jim Gandolfini secure a landmark payday from The Sopranos, and the behind-the-scenes tactics that kept a damaging Bruce Willis documentary from ever airing.With decades of experience in crisis management in law and PR, Singer offers an unfiltered look at how to defend a reputation when it matters most.This episode is about cancel culture and its legal implications, litigation as a tool for crisis management, PR strategies in litigation, reputation defense and the shifting burden of proof in high-profile allegations.About Sitrick and CompanySitrick and Company is a Los Angeles-based public relations firm founded by Michael Sitrick, specializing in corporate, financial, and crisis communications. Known for its expertise in high-stakes situations, the firm has handled reputation management, litigation support, and media strategy for high-profile clients. It operates offices in New York City and Washington, DC, and is recognized as a leader in strategic communications and crisis management