DRD Partnership

Chairman: Alasdair Douglas

Number of employees: 22

Overview & Expertise: 

DRD Partnership (DRD), founded in 2012, is a strategic communications consultancy with expertise in litigation and the management of reputation risk. Based in London, DRD works internationally in multiple jurisdictions across all major geographies. Clients include corporates, investment firms, international governments, institutions and charities, trustees and high-net-worth individuals.

The team has expertise in a number of specialist areas including the education and charity sectors, public bodies and industry groups, pension trustees, and private clients. It works to protect and build value, moderating those factors which can have an impact on clients' brands, their licence to do business, their access to capital markets or their relationships with stakeholders.

DRD's litigation and crisis team has five partners with expertise across a full range of issues, disputes and conflicts. It includes former practicing lawyers, investment analysts, public affairs experts and former members of large well-known agencies and in-house corporate affairs teams.

DRD works across communications disciplines, sectors and geographies to deliver analysis, insight and multi-channel, multi-stakeholder programmes, aligned to business goals.The team is available at short notice to assist managing crises on both a national and international level. Triggers include: internal events, for example governance failures, regulatory scrutiny, health & safety, cyber attacks or activist interventions; or external factors, such as political unrest, economic or regulatory upheaval, supply chain disruption and climate change. In the longer term, DRD helps clients protect and build value in their operations and understands the constraints and opportunities of communicating during legal and regulatory processes.

In many instances DRD works with its public affairs and regulatory teams to understand the impact and influence of political audiences in challenging or contentious situations.

Services: 

■ Civil & criminal proceedings

■ Competition & regulatory

■ Data & IP

■ Diversity and activism

■ Family & trust

■ Insolvency & restructuring

■ Internal reviews

■ Investigations

■ Governance

■ Media & defamation

Notable Practitioners: 

Claire Davidson – Founding Partner  

A co-founder of DRD and former Chief Executive of Weber Shandwick, Claire has worked across a wide spectrum of sectors and delivered strategic communications programmes in over 100 countries. Claire works with clients on value protection, risk mitigation, litigation communications and issues management, providing guidance on communications strategies addressing regulation and market access, as well as counsel to international corporate leadership teams, international NGOs and leaders of campaigns for human rights.

Email: [email protected]

Lawrence Dore – Founding Partner 

Prior to co-founding DRD, Lawrence was a City investment analyst, moving first into investor relations and then financial communications at firms including CitigateDeweRogerson and Brunswick. He co-founded Mantra PR in 2000, then joined M&S plc as Interim Head of Financial and Corporate PR. Lawrence advises a range of clients with a particular focus on litigation, risk preparedness, crisis management and reputation management.

Email: [email protected]

Jon McLeod – Partner 

Jon leads DRD’s competition and regulatory practice and has worked alongside leading legal firms in a wide range of transactions and investigations. Before joining DRD, Jon helped set up the Business Banking Resolution Service. Previously, Jon was a Partner and Head of Public Affairs at Brunswick Group and the Chair of Weber Shandwick’s UK corporate, financial and public affairs practice.

Email: [email protected]

Kate Miller – Partner 

Kate advises corporates, institutions and individuals on critical communications issues including media and stakeholder relations, reputation and crisis management, litigation, campaigns and cyber. Kate started her career as a litigator at Allen & Overy, moving to Brunswick in 2000 to specialize in financial and corporate communications. Since 2012 she has focused on reputation management.

Email: [email protected]

Pete Bowyer – Partner 

As the leader of DRD’s public affairs team, Pete is an expert at creating and running integrated government and media relations campaigns to influence public policy. Before, Pete was a Senior Director at Weber Shandwick and Managing Partner at Maitland Political in addition to being an active member of the Labour Party.

Email: [email protected]

Practice Areas: 

■ Litigation & Disputes

■ Crisis & Reputation Management

■ Competition & Regulatory

■ Public Affairs & Campaigns

Recent work has included acting for: 

■ Advising clients in relation to mitigating and managing regulatory and political risk and environmental issues

■ Companies and institutions responding to governance, safeguarding, harassment and misconduct issues

■ Clients preparing for public inquiries and select committee hearings

■ Clients undergoing refinancing and restructuring while facing investigation, creditor disputes and litigation in multiple jurisdictions

■ Corporates, institutions and private individuals facing the threat of incorrect, inaccurate and damaging media reporting

■ Institutions suffering data breaches and cyber security incidents