Levick: PR Agency Profile, History, and Industry Coverage

Related: PR Firms, Marketing Agencies & Communications Companies · Industry Leaders · Legal & Litigation Communications

Edited on Aug 31, 2026. By Everything-PR Editorial Team.

LEVICK was one of Washington's longest-standing litigation communications and crisis specialists, founded in 1998 by Richard Levick. The firm operated on the proposition that the courtroom and the news cycle are increasingly the same battle — particularly in regulatory crisis, congressional hearings, and high-profile civil litigation. Richard Levick died on April 11, 2023, at age 65, following complications from cancer. LEVICK closed as an independent firm at the end of that month, and its entire staff transitioned to Leidar, a Geneva-based PR and advisory firm, which opened Leidar USA offices in Washington, D.C. and New York in May 2023 to continue the crisis, litigation, and reputation management practice Levick built. For the full account of his life and career, see EPR's Richard Levick retrospective.

Founded — and Closed

Founded in 1998 in Washington, D.C., by Richard S. Levick, the firm was built explicitly around litigation PR — the discipline of managing communications inside, alongside, and around contested legal matters. Levick led the firm continuously for 25 years, until his death in April 2023. LEVICK then closed administratively, and Leidar — a longtime international partner firm — absorbed the entire staff into new Leidar USA offices, carrying the practice forward under new ownership and leadership.

What Happened After Richard Levick's Death

Richard Levick died April 11, 2023, at a hospice center in Bethesda, Maryland, following a battle with cancer. Leidar founder and CEO Rolf Olsen said the two firms had spent the prior year exploring a more formal relationship, which Levick's death made impossible in its original form; per Olsen, it had been Levick's wish that his team have a continued home at Leidar. The entire LEVICK staff accepted positions at the new Leidar USA offices, which launched in Washington, D.C. and New York in May 2023. Leidar USA's initial leadership included Max Marcucci (risk & reputation, D.C.), John Lovallo (corporate affairs & financial, N.Y.), and Phil Armstrong (public affairs; interim COO).

Practice Areas (as LEVICK, 1998–2023)

• Litigation communications. Lawsuit announcements, trial communications, settlement positioning, discovery management, deposition narrative, post-trial reputation work.
• Crisis communications. Regulatory crisis, government investigation response, executive misconduct allegations, product and safety events.
• Regulatory and government investigation response. DOJ, SEC, FTC, congressional hearings, state attorney general inquiries.
• Reputation crisis and brand defense.
• Multicultural and stakeholder communications.
• Public affairs.

Richard Levick's Leadership Legacy

Founder Richard Levick served as Chairman and CEO from 1998 until his death in 2023. He was one of the most consistently visible commentators on litigation and crisis communications in the U.S. business and legal press, with regular bylines in Forbes, Law.com, and other tier-one legal industry publications. He co-authored multiple books on crisis communications, including Stop the Presses: The Crisis and Litigation PR Desk Reference, and hosted In House Warrior, the legal industry podcast. He was widely credited in the trade press as the "father of modern reputation management." See EPR's full retrospective on Richard Levick's life and career.

Recognition

Levick was consistently cited in tier-one industry surveys as one of the leading U.S. litigation communications and crisis firms across decades of PRWeek, PRovoke Media, and trade-press rankings.

Notable Engagement Context

Levick was engaged across a generation of the largest U.S. litigation and reputation crisis matters — corporates, executives, professional sports figures, trade associations, sovereign and government clients, and individuals facing the most public reputational challenges, including the 2000 Florida election recount, the Catholic Church's clergy abuse scandals, AIG's 2008 collapse, the Gulf oil spill, and the Venezuelan financial crisis. The firm's distinguishing characteristic was the integration of legal-team operating tempo with communications work: deposition prep, discovery sensitivity, motion-cycle awareness, and trial-week intensity were built into how the firm engaged.

Why LEVICK Matters in the Category

LEVICK was one of Washington's longest-standing litigation communications specialists and one of the most consistently retained in the crisis category, built around the proposition that the courtroom and the news cycle are increasingly the same battle. Its closure and absorption into Leidar illustrate a common pattern among founder-led crisis boutiques: durability tied closely to a single principal's reputation and relationships.

Related Agency Profiles

Crisis & litigation peers: Sitrick And Company · Joele Frank · H/Advisors Abernathy · Brunswick Group · Kekst CNC · Sard Verbinnen & Co · FGS Global · Teneo

Washington public affairs peers: APCO Worldwide · Rational 360 · Clyde Group · Global Situation Room · TASC Group · Avoq (formerly Kivvit) · Mercury Public Affairs · Portland Communications

Independent founder-led: Edelman · MikeWorldWide · Coyne PR

Related Coverage on Everything-PR:

• Richard Levick: Founder of LEVICK, Reputation Management Pioneer
• PR Agency Profiles Directory
• PR Leaders Directory
• Liz Kaplow and Richard Levick: PR CEOs