Minimizing Reputation Damage During High-Profile Divorces

Navigating a divorce is challenging for anyone, but when you’re a public figure who attracts the attention of the community and the media, there’s another layer of difficulty. When everyone is watching your every move, trying to get through a divorce with your privacy and dignity intact can seem like an impossible challenge. It’s crucial to work with an attorney with experience in high-asset, public divorces. We can put your privacy first and work towards resolutions that allow you to move forward with ease.

It’s time to learn more about your options as you move forward with divorce. Call Pence Law Firm at 304-407-7852 to set up a consultation with our team right away.

Prioritize Maintaining Privacy for You and Loved Ones

For many high-profile individuals going through a Charleston divorce, privacy is of the utmost importance. Having the dirty details of your divorce aired in the media is perhaps the easiest way to tank your reputation and ensure that it’ll come up every time someone Googles you. Name for the rest of your life. Even if you and your spouse are ending on especially contentious terms, this is hopefully one area where you can come to an understanding—especially if you have children who could be harmed by eventually seeing the details of their parent’s divorce. Even if your children are young now, the Internet is forever. It’s worth it to put privacy first.

As you work with your attorney, consider utilizing confidentiality agreements that bind everyone who works with you during this process. While you are already protected by attorney-client privilege when it comes to your lawyer, any PR specialists or financial professionals you bring in may not have the same professional standards in their field.

You should also limit your public statements. In most cases, saying nothing is better than saying something that you haven’t carefully planned out and scripted. This is one area where you want to choose every single move carefully.

Figure Out Your Approach to the Media

The media will take any scrap of information it gets and run with it. Engaging with the media will almost always come back to bite you, so you should always be a few steps ahead of them. Communicate with media selectively and on your own terms. Working with a spokesperson or media liaison is one way to limit the amount of speaking you personally have to do, which lowers the risk of unintentionally saying something the media can spin against you.

In many cases, making a brief statement to the media and setting clear boundaries can limit the chatter around your divorce. A good statement addresses the divorce, gives no exciting details, and outlines your wish for privacy for your family during this time.

If unfortunate details of the divorce have already reached the media, this may be a good time to consult a PR specialist about limiting the damage to your reputation and putting your best face forward.

Work Through Issues in Mediation to Avoid Public Court Battles

Settling the key decisions of your divorce in mediation is one of the best ways to limit the information available to the public. When you let the judge make important decisions in your divorce, those court records become public records—and it won’t be long until the media starts picking it apart for details they can use to shape public opinion of you. 

Agreements reached in mediation are private and sealed, helping both parties to protect their and their loved ones’ privacy. Additionally, navigating complex issues in mediation allows you and your spouse to maintain control over the decision-making process. This is especially important when there are sizable assets being divided. Many divorcing couples find that discussing these issues during mediation paves the way for a strong co-parenting relationship and prevents the divorce from becoming too adversarial.

Prepare for Your Divorce with the Team at Pence Law Firm

If you’re concerned about preserving your reputation throughout the divorce process, the team at Pence Law Firm is here to help you. Call us at 304-407-7852 or fill out our online contact form to find out how we can support you as you prepare for the next chapter in life.