RHODE ISLAND
GoLocalProv
Wednesday, January 27, 2016
GoLocalProv News Team and Kate Nagle
Despite promises by the leadership of St. George’s to be transparent and get to the bottom of the sexual abuse scandal that has claimed more than 40 children as victims, the prep school has hired the controversial Boston public relations firm Rasky Baerlein. The firm worked to create the message for the Diocese of Boston’s effort to avoid payment to victims by declaring bankruptcy.
In 2002, Rasky Baerlein was hired by the Diocese’s law firm Goodwin Proctor “to advise the firm on communicating the complexities of a bankruptcy filing to several audiences, including priests, parishioners, and the wider public, according to the sources,” reported the Boston Globe.
Despite representing two of the most widespread sex abuse cases in New England history, the PR firm denies this is a specialty. In an email to GoLocal, President of Rasky Baerlein Joe Baerlein writes, “No (we do not have a sexual abuse specialty) we are a communications and public affairs firm with offices in Boston and DC. We have mostly corporate and institutional clients across a series of vertical industries, i.e., healthcare or energy. We do a significant amount of work in reputation and crisis management.”
The Board of St. George’s hired Rasky Baerlein to manage the communications tied to questions about the years of sexual abuse. The firm prominently claims that they are experts at crisis communications:
A smart, strategic communications plan – developed in close coordination with the legal team and executed with care – helps confront misinformation, advance positive messages, and condition the environment for a favorable result. We’ve worked with leading law firms to guide clients through contentious legal battles, including complex multi-state litigation, civil and criminal proceedings in state and federal courts, and class action lawsuits.
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.