Would You Want to Work for Charlie Sheen?

When the news broke yesterday that Charlie Sheen's longtime publicist quit and then was summarily fired by Charlie Sheen, believe it or not, we got some calls here at Media Masters from well-meaning folks alerting us to this "potential opportunity".

As kind the offer is, it illustrates the pitfalls and dangers lurking behind every client whether you are a PR flak or an attorney. What to do when your client doesn't listen to your advice? I get that question almost every time I present our "Controlling Media Publicity for a Client in Crisis" CLE. What can one do when its your job to get the client out of trouble and keep the client out of trouble but they won't listen to you? Whether they are delusional, or just not telling you the whole story- what can you do when a client goes rogue?

The attorney's ethical responsibility is to represent the client in the best possible way , if the attorney cannot do that because the client won't let them the only option is to fire the client. Its a bitter pill to swallow but a necessary one.

Publicists fire their clients all the time because they won't listen to their advice. Keep this in mind when you find yourself at odds with a client bent on self destruction.