Few recent controversies better illustrate the difference between legal liability and social vulnerability than the Joe Paterno case.
Here is how Paterno's attorney described his client's situation to the Washington Post:
According to Sollers, the attorney, Paterno has no legal exposure in the Sandusky case. Paterno has cooperated fully with the investigation, and has “met on multiple occasions voluntarily” with representatives from the attorney general’s office, Sollers said. “In my judgment Coach Paterno has no legal liability in this matter. In fact, he acted completely appropriately in reporting the only allegation he received to his superiors and had every expectation that the allegation would be investigated thoroughly.”
Now here is how the Post describes Paterno's social situation:
His son Scott says Paterno has been “shunned” by many in the university, though he did hear from current Penn State President Rodney Erickson last week when he made a $100,000 donation to the school. His name has been removed from trophies. The Maxwell Football Club of Philadelphia has discontinued its Joseph V. Paterno Award, which was to be given to coaches who made a positive impact. A nomination for the Presidential Medal of Freedom was withdrawn.
In short: Though Paterno apparently fulfilled his legal obligation, he has been judged (fairly or unfairly) to have failed to meet his social contract. When you are a living legend like Paterno, society expects you to do more than hand off a serious problem. That's part of the social contract. As a result, Paterno has lost everything that really matters to him -- except his family.
There is a clear difference between a client's legal responsibilities and a client's social responsibilities. Lawyers like to pretend that if you take care of the first, the second will take care of itself. And clients -- particularly CEOs and their companies -- tend to believe them.
It's total crap. The legal and the social are almost always in conflict. That's why a client should have a legal counsel AND a public relations counsel when caught in a high profile controversy, and should insist that the two work together to chart a course that best serves the client.
