Karv Communications: PR Communications Support
Strategic communications agency Karv Communications is one of the country’s top firms providing PR support to the legal profession, according to Chambers & Partners, an independent research firm. In addition to ranking lawyers in more than 200 locations, Chambers’ 200 researchers also review and rank firms that support the legal profession to arrive at their ratings.
Founded in 2012 by Andrew Frank, Karv is based in New York City and also focuses on financial and corporate communications, public affairs and crisis management to companies operating in the technology, energy, media, finance, healthcare, entertainment, consumer goods, and gaming sectors, as well as government. Karv has an additional office in Santa Monica, California.
Leadership
Frank, who’s also Karv’s CEO, has a deep and extensive background in consulting. Prior to launching Karv, he managed the U.S. Information Center’s New York Foreign Press Center during President Bill Clinton’s first term, where he also made trips for the White House and other agencies in advance of their scheduled trips. After leaving the center, Frank served as director at Strategy XXI Group, a cross-cultural problem-solving organization. When he left, he had been their managing partner in New York for the last two years.
Legal media company Lawdragon recognized Frank in both 2018 and 2019 as one of the top 100 “Leading Legal Consultants and Strategists” globally. Besides honoring him as an expert communications strategist for high profile legal cases, the strength of Karv’s team and the advisory services they provide to leading law firms was also acknowledged. This award supplements Lawdragon’s primary mission, which is to recognize the top 500 lawyers in all practice areas in the U.S.
Another key to Karv’s success is Eric Andrus, who joined the agency in 2014 and is the firm’s executive vice president. He, too, brought extensive and diverse experience that’s proven valuable to the firm. Between 1983 and 1987, he served as assistant press secretary in Iowa to the John Glenn for President campaign, assistant for NBC network radio news, and assistant director of communications for Financial Services Corporation.
In Joe Biden’s first run for president, Andrus was press secretary in New Hampshire before serving as Director of Media Relations for the NYC Commission’s Operation Welcome Home. He then spent two years at Geto & de Milly, a public affairs agency similar to Karv, before joining the U.S. Information Agency/N.Y. Foreign Press Center as its managing director.
Andrus’ experience then continued in 1994 and 1995 as communications director/transition committee spokesperson for the Glendenning for (Maryland) Governor transition team, after which he returned to the federal government as director for communications for the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service in Washing, D.C., a post he held for three years. His last position before joining Karv was as a partner in Finsbury, another global strategic communications firm.
Andrus has also been active in the New York Community and serving on the board of United Neighborhood Houses since 2000. The 100-year-old policy and social change nonprofit serves nearly 800,000 New Yorkers in more than 80 sites at 44 neighborhood settlement houses.
With a team of five others, Karv is assisted by a group of three senior advisers, as well as eight global communications experts. Since the pandemic, the firm has been focused on adapting strategies on COVID-19 litigation communications and preparing clients for what they see as likely communications challenges as business reopens.
