Practice Areas
JFWBK Areas of Expertise
Our team of 50 professionals has wide-ranging experience in corporate communications, investor relations, transaction and crisis communications including:
- Friendly Transactions
- Contested Transactions
- IPOs/Spin-Offs
- Shareholder Activism/Proxy Fights
- Management Changes
- Bankruptcies/Restructurings
- Earnings Surprises/Restatements
- Litigation Support/Regulatory Actions/“Toxic Torts”
- Media Outreach
- Corporate Repositioning
- Earnings Preparation
- Investor Surveys
- Shareholder and Analyst Targeting
Investor Relations
At JFWBK, we believe that investor and public relations go hand in hand. Our Investor Relations practice helps publicly-traded companies to communicate clearly and effectively with professional fund and portfolio managers, securities analysts and the individuals who buy, sell and/or recommend securities.
We believe the most effective investor relations programs share certain factors: simple, strong statements on the reasons to own a company’s stock; strict and consistent disclosure policies; personal relationships between a company and its investors; established benchmarks to evaluate performance; ongoing investor targeting; and the solicitation of candid shareholder feedback.
We achieve results by first helping our clients develop an effective investor relations positioning based on a clear, compelling value proposition. With this in place, we then reach out to the appropriate audiences with the two-pronged goal of supporting the company’s stock price and attracting desirable shareholders. JFWBK has designed and implemented successful investor relations programs for many U.S. companies, large and small. For public corporations based outside the United States, we employ a variety of strategies and tactics to help them develop or improve their access to the U.S. capital markets.
Corporate Communications
Our Corporate Communications practice is centered on the premise that communications must support a company’s corporate and business strategies while enhancing and protecting one of its most valuable corporate assets – its reputation.
We base our corporate public relations work on each client’s specific business needs and circumstances and work to help our clients to develop constructive, long-lasting relationships with their key stakeholders. At JFWBK, we work to identify the most relevant and effective messages and the best means to communicate the desired positioning to targeted audiences. We are results-oriented and operate at the precise level – from the global stage to local communities – where tactical initiatives can make a difference.
JFWBK is often retained to help companies with their public image before, during or after a major change, whether in management, corporate governance or strategic direction. In many instances, several of these changes may occur in rapid succession. By working with our clients to design communications programs that establish realistic and reasonable expectations and effectively manage potential uncertainties, we can help stabilize a volatile situation and positively influence public perceptions of a company’s corporate character, values and stability over the longer-term.
Transaction Communications
Our Transaction Communications practice helps clients manage communications for domestic and cross-border friendly mergers and acquisitions, unsolicited acquisition proposals and tender offers and proxy contests. We also work with companies and their advisors to prepare for initial public offerings (IPOs) and spin-offs.
Foremost among our goals in these situations is to help our clients effectively address the potential concerns of investors and other key constituencies – including customers, regulators, employees, the media, local communities and others – who could possibly influence the outcome of a transaction. We also play an important project management role by coordinating around-the-clock communications between a company and its team of advisors. Our knowledge of the laws and regulations that govern merger activity and our well-established relationships with the major law firms, investment banks and proxy solicitors that specialize in M&A work, as well as the financial journalists who cover these transactions, are also critical ingredients in our success. JFWBK is widely respected for having one of the premier track records in transaction communications among firms in our industry. We participate regularly in complex, visible and significant corporate transactions and our principals have collectively managed hundreds of transactions over the last decade with an aggregate value of hundreds of billions of dollars.
Crisis Communications
In times of crisis, communications require rapid, intensive action to prevent or mitigate serious harm to a corporation. Our Crisis Communications practice assists clients when unforeseen or unplanned events threaten to disrupt their businesses or organizations. Our work in crisis communications has included class action litigation, earnings surprises, shareholder lawsuits, regulatory actions, downsizings, restructurings, bankruptcies, union campaigns, employee strikes, other labor actions and consumer boycotts.
When a company is under fire, we advocate: controlling the dialogue; taking the initiative; fixing what's broken; and gathering support. We look to provide our clients with immediate and productive help in all phases of crisis planning and response. Our general approach involves first determining the most desirable business or institutional outcome of the crisis, then identifying the needs and vulnerabilities of key constituencies – especially customers, employees, regulators, shareholders (if appropriate) and communities. We help develop contingency plans – typically in close coordination with a client’s management team and legal and financial advisors for possible event scenarios and reinforce client procedures and appropriate training of client personnel. We actively manage or support the implementation of the communications strategy. Once the crisis has passed, we help a company and its management to restore its credibility.
In addition to our strategic counsel, JFWBK’s exceptional commitment to superior client service brings an added dimension when managing through a crisis. Quick response, 24/7 professional support and extensive experience in delivering on both big and small details distinguish us as a valued collaborator when a company needs help the most.