Lisa Solbakken recently spoke with Digiday about the legal battles facing advertising giant WPP, including a whistleblower lawsuit over rebate practices as well as a consolidated securities class action, and how the high-profile litigation could threaten not only the company’s finances but its credibility, market value and leadership.
In the article, titled “Media Buying Briefing: Legal woes can hurt a holdco, but will it matter to clients?” Lisa helps shed light on the business impacts that extend beyond the courtroom.
“The exposure can be in billions of dollars of market value that can vanish,” Lisa tells Digiday, emphasizing that the consequences of complex litigation can extend well beyond potential financial liability. “Beyond dollars, it turns into a business setback that raises very serious credibility issues, all of which can bring in years of discovery and disclosure obligations.”
Lisa also highlights that the protracted, extensive discovery associated with litigating cases like these can ultimately affect the professional livelihoods of individual executives.
“The reality is that as folks dig down deeper into this stuff, ultimately, there are individuals involved, and individuals’ credibility, and individuals’professional livelihoods,” Lisa shares. “And so, the worst case scenario is that this type of case goes all the way, and that there’s liability found, and that it extends not just to the company but to individuals.”
Read more in Digiday (Subscription required).