18 Jan Leaders in Legal Consulting: Hall of Famer Michael Sitrick
Lawdragon has listed Mike Sitrick on its “Global 100 Leaders in Legal Strategy & Consulting” every year from 2017 – 2021, and this year inducted him into its Hall of Fame. As part of Lawdragon’s Legal Consultant Limelights, he was interviewed about his success over the years and to what he attributes those achievements.
From Lawdragon:
You know Michael Sitrick.
Even if you don’t know his name, you know his work. And even if you don’t know his work, you know the people and companies that are indebted to him. He has advised presidential candidates, helped launch companies, tackled mammoth scandals, provided litigation support for big cases and small and put pressure on some of the world’s highest profile executives and largest companies. He is, unquestionably, who you call in a crisis.
Sitrick is a PR mogul. The Los Angeles Times called him, “The Wizard of Spin.” Forbes dubbed him, “The Flack For When You’re Under Attack.” The Financial Times said he is “The spin doctor’s spin doctor.” If a high-powered person or company is in trouble, he knows how to flip the narrative on its head without ever uttering a false word. His reputation is warranted by a lengthy, successful track record: Sitrick first exploded onto the crisis management scene 33 years ago, immediately taking on noteworthy clients. Those early clients included the son of the co-founder of The Walt Disney Company, Roy Disney, who was navigating the acquisition of Polaroid at the time. He later developed and implemented the communications strategy for the withhold vote he led against Michael Eisner, then Chairman and CEO of The Walt Disney Company. Roy Disney remained a client of Sitrick’s until his death 20 years later. Such high-profile clientele triggered the need for a firm, so, in February 1989, Sitrick And Company was born.
