Introducing FGS Global

We are excited to announce that today we are launching our new brand — FGS Global. We asked our Global Design Lead David Somerville for a peek under the hood of our new identity.

What’s the promise of the new company that animates the brand?

Our clients are living in a fast-moving world without silos, where audiences overlap and external stakeholders are shaping reputations and operating environments. Our goal is to a build a firm that meets the moment with the right experts, geographic reach and capabilities to credibly reach the people who matter most to our clients, wherever they are. 

What were your key priorities in developing the new brand? 

We had three priorities. The new identity had to be:

1. Appropriate across a huge diversity of markets, languages, demographics, practice areas and client situations.

2. Effective at catching the eye in a crowded field and evoking our brilliant, people-focused business.

3. Useful in a way that made work faster and easier—gorgeous but impractical designs were a nonstarter.

What advice do you have for clients undergoing or about to undergo a rebrand?

Good design takes time. Great design takes a lot of time, trust and communication at the executive level. Visual identity is among the most powerful communication tools and should not be rushed or delegated. Solve for outside pressures so the rebrand can unfold at a thoughtful pace, then start by exploring the deeply-held values, vision and virtues of the company. If the design expresses those, you'll be far ahead of the competition

Seven FGS Global partners have been recognized in Lawdragon’s 2022 "Global 100 Leaders in Legal Strategy & Consulting" for their expertise in crisis communications. We’re proud our firm has been named to the list three years in a row.

Here at Capital in Context, no recognition goes without us gleaning some wisdom for our readers, so we asked each of them for one insight that guides their approach to crisis communications. Here’s what they said:

Paul Holmes: "Determine your strategy based on where you want to be on the other side of the crisis, not on where you are now."

James Leviton: "Clients can spend hours debating what went wrong or how it went wrong, but I always get the CEO to focus on one thing - how and when he or she says sorry."

Jennifer Loven: "Don’t mistake mere bad news for a crisis, but once you’re in a true firestorm your worst enemies are: 

• Panicking 

• Not having done the hard work of building key external relationships and understanding of your values ahead of time

• Giving into the temptation to be defensive and aggressive instead of engaging and humble."

Jeff McAndrews: "Taking the time for even the most basic crisis preparation can help ensure your response to a crisis doesn’t become the crisis itself."

Sydney Neuhaus: "In any crisis situation, it’s important to remember the three C’s – Command, Control and Contain the situation. This means taking a highly disciplined and strategic approach to external and internal communications to ensure your response is consistent while remaining flexible enough to evolve as the situation unfolds."

George Sard: "Always ask the rude questions people don’t want to deal with."

Paul Verbinnen: "Stay calm and deliberate, work collaboratively with the client’s internal decision makers and help attend to the concerns of impacted stakeholders."

All eyes remain on the Senate’s bipartisan talks led by Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT) as some optimism persists about a deal on gun reform as early as this week.  

It seems progress is being made after a slew of meetings yesterday. It’s important to caution what might work for Sens. Murphy and John Cornyn (R-TX) might not work for either ends of their respective caucuses. But enthusiasm and talks continue. 

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell signaled optimism yesterday the senators could reach a bipartisan agreement by the end of the week. And Sens. Cornyn and Murphy have each indicated the other is negotiating in good faith. 

This week’s talks come on the heels of last week’s meeting between Murphy, Cornyn, Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) and Thom Tillis (R-NC) to discuss a framework on a narrow bipartisan deal on new gun legislation. The talks focused on state-based red flag programs, background checks, school safety and mental health programs. 

The House also considered a broader package of gun violence prevention measures last week. Although it’s expected to pass later this week, the package does not have the 60 votes it would need to advance in the Senate. 

At the state level, Texas Governor Greg Abbott (R) last week called on the state legislature to make recommendations on "school safety, mental health, social media, police training and firearm safety."

And the Ohio state legislature passed a bill last week that would empower local boards of education to allow teachers to carry a gun in the classroom with only 24 hours of training—down from 700.