I started to get a lot of inquiries from companies and business owners and executives wondering if they should start planning PR contingencies for percolating, ancillary COVID-19 issues. Grumblings from a disgruntled employee not happy with their reduced work hours or “work from home” order or a dissatisfied customer who still can’t find their products could exacerbate in this tense, anxiety-ridden environment. More specifically, these uncomfortable interactions could lead to lawsuits.

I think there’s a false sense of security by a lot of business owners that those activities will ultimately just go away as people start getting back to work and start generating an income. The risk of litigation, many argue, is low.

Well, I’m not so sure. Instead, I believe we’ll see a surge of cases when the courts reopen. Start getting your communication plans in place. Start thinking about how you’re going to talk to other people to mitigate those litigation distractions because they’re going to be huge.