Financial public relations firms earn their crust advising clients how to gild their reputations. Now Brunswick, the self-styled McKinsey of the spin industry, is having to polish its own. One of the firm's New York-based partners has been revealed as the source for an insider trading ring that netted profits of over $4m. Her husband, a Lehman Brothers trader, called her his "golden goose" as he passed his co-conspirators information gleaned across the pillow relating to at least 12 takeovers.
The Brunswick partner herself, Nina Devlin, has not been accused of any wrongdoing. Brunswick says that she was the victim of a tragic violation of trust between husband and wife and that responsibility for egregious breaches of client confidentiality lies all with him. Nevertheless, the episode risks undermining the industry's attempt to professionalise itself - just as many firms are coming under pressure from the decline in lucrative mergers and acquisition fees.
