Reputation Management

Originally, Reputation Management, was a public relations term that meant exactly what it said – managing your reputation. However, with the advent of the Internet and its social media components, reputation management has taken on a whole new meaning.

Sites like “The Dirty”, “Yelp” and others have found a huge niche for Internet users to damage the reputation of both individuals and businesses. Sometimes these public rants rise to the level of defamation which is actionable under law, but most times, they are just opinions that are not actionable but harm your reputation none the less.

I often say as cocktail chatter that “There is no gravity on the Internet; What goes up does not come down.” ™

That having been said, I have worked for dozens of clients to get information removed or search engine de-listed. I would say the success rate for these kinds of actions among Internet attorneys is around 70% and that the cost is from $1,000 to $1,500. It all depends on the circumstances.

If you know who the poster is, another avenue many clients take is to have a lawyer write a cease and desist letter to the person. While a cease and desist letter has little legal effect, it will tell the poster he could get in legal hot water which will cost him a lot of legal fees if nothing else. The cost of a cease and desist letter is usually only a few hundred dollars and will often get the offending party to stop harassing you.

If your reputation has been challenged on the Internet or other social media site, please feel free to call me for a free, no obligation consultation. We can discuss your options, and often can find ways for you to handle the situation without needing to hire a lawyer.