# Smith & Company

> Smith & Company is a privately held global strategic advisory firm founded by lawyer, former federal prosecutor and White House deputy press secretary Judy Smith. From Washington, New York, Los Angeles and London, its senior counselors help corporations, nonprofits, public figures, sports organizations and institutions prepare for crises, manage reputation risk, communicate through litigation and regulatory scrutiny, and handle pivotal public moments.

- **Founded:** 1993
- **Headquarters:** Washington, United States
- **Founders:** Judy A. Smith (Founder and CEO)
- **Products:** Strategic Advice & Counsel, Crisis Management, Crisis Readiness, Reputation and Issue Management, Corporate Communications and Media Relations
- **Notable:** Built a multi-million-dollar advisory firm with offices in Washington, New York, Los Angeles and London., Advised Sony Pictures during the communications fallout from its 2014 cyberattack., Judy Smith's work inspired ABC's Scandal, on which she served as co-executive producer and technical adviser.

## Products & services

- **Strategic Advice & Counsel** — Senior guidance on business-critical decisions, expansion, future planning and complex challenges.
- **Crisis Management** — Rapid counsel for investigations, product recalls, labor disputes, data breaches and other high-stakes events.
- **Crisis Readiness** — Risk assessments, crisis plans, playbooks and scenario preparation intended to improve response speed and consistency.
- **Reputation and Issue Management** — Positioning, message development, monitoring and stakeholder strategy for emerging or persistent reputational risks.
- **Corporate Communications and Media Relations** — Day-to-day and pivotal-moment communications, narrative development and engagement with journalists.
- **Public Affairs** — Research, grassroots initiatives, media outreach and stakeholder engagement around policy and public opinion; the firm explicitly says it is not a lobbyist.
- **Communications and Media Training** — Hands-on preparation for interviews, presentations, testimony and other high-pressure appearances.
- **C-suite and Board Counseling** — Confidential advice on governance, leadership transitions, corporate change and reputational risk.
- **Litigation Communications** — Communications strategy developed alongside legal counsel so public messaging complements the legal approach.

## Achievements

- Built a multi-million-dollar advisory firm with offices in Washington, New York, Los Angeles and London.
- Advised Sony Pictures during the communications fallout from its 2014 cyberattack.
- Judy Smith's work inspired ABC's Scandal, on which she served as co-executive producer and technical adviser.
- Judy Smith received the Women's Bar Association of the District of Columbia's 2014 Woman Lawyer of the Year award.
- The official site lists experience with major corporations, cultural institutions, nonprofits, sports organizations and international bodies across several sectors.

## Latest updates

- **2026-03** — The firm's news page featured Judy Smith discussing her path from Washington childhood to becoming the first Black woman to brief the White House press corps.
- **2026-03** — Smith discussed how leaders should have handled the CrowdStrike outage, emphasizing the trust-shaping decisions made in the first hours.
- **2026-01** — Smith joined retired four-star general Stan McChrystal for a conversation about transparency, integrity and agility in crisis leadership.
- **2025-06** — Smith delivered the Sunday keynote at the Government Finance Officers Association's annual conference on public opinion, political scenarios and emergency leadership.
- **2025-04** — Smith appeared at PRWeek's Crisis Comms Conference in Washington to discuss staying steady under pressure.

## Links

- Website: https://www.smithandcompany.com/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/smithandcompany
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/judysmith/

---

Profile page: https://yespress.io/smith-and-company
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-09-23