BDO Seidman, a national accounting firm, discovered that three partners of its Atlanta office were in breach of their fiduciary responsibilities to BDO. The partners were fired immediately and BDO turned to Duffey to help mitigate the damage that adverse publicity might cause.

The overriding priority of this project was to reduce the amount of coverage of the partner defections from the Atlanta office and the related litigation, while preventing the loss of revenue to the firm. The main threat was identified as news leaks via a court reporter or one of the local trade sources. Duffey and BDO initiated proactive measures by developing key messages and identifying the appropriate publications to involve in the release of information. In addition, a letter to BDO's client was sent expressing the firm's disappointment in the conduct of the accused.

The cautious release of information continued as Duffey informed key media sources of important developments in the case. BDO Seidman lost no customers to rival accounting firms during the transition. No leaks of information occurred as a result of the firm's planning and training efforts. Within two weeks of the initial coverage all media attention turned elsewhere and BDO Seidman enjoyed no further attention to the matter.