University of Georgia School of Law Professor Patrick D. Conner recently traveled to Europe as part of the Crisis Communication Think Tank. Conner received financial support for his travel from the Dean Rusk International Law Center as a Rusk Scholar-in-Residence, an initiative promoting international opportunities for Georgia Law faculty that advance the mission of the Center.
Conner participated in a Q&A panel discussion on issues of organizational alignment at the 2026 European Public Relations Education and Research Association Annual Congress at the University of Málaga in Málaga, Spain. His co-authors from the University of Georgia, Ghent University in Belgium, and Boston University were invited to submit their paper (Alignment: A Core Concept for Organizational Connectivity and Elasticity in Crisis Management) for publication in the EUPRERA 2026 special issue of the Journal of Communication Management. EUPRERA has over 550 members across fifty countries with the goal of advancing research and knowledge in public relations and strategic communication. It organizes an annual conference each year for its membership in coordination with a prestigious European university.
Conner’s contribution to the paper addresses the difficulties in maintaining organizational alignment during a crisis involving internal wrongdoing, which can lead to conflicts of interest and confusion as to who is authorized to speak for an organization. This risk is particularly acute during internal investigations when a company is facing allegations that its senior leaders are involved in wrongdoing.
Conner also presented as part of the “Information Governance” panel at the Crisis Communication Think Tank’s Annual International Symposium hosted at the University of Amsterdam. Alongside co-presenters from the University of Oslo and Aarhus University in Denmark, Conner’s panel addressed information governance and the litigation risks that poorly managed communications can create for companies during a crisis.
Conner joined the University of Georgia School of Law in 2014, and he leads courses with a concentration in drafting for litigation, internal investigations and contracts. He was recognized with the school’s inaugural Carol A. Watson Award for Outstanding Legal Research or Writing Instructor in 2020 and then received the award again in 2021 and 2024. He is also a member of UGA’s Crisis Communication Coalition within the Crisis Communication Think Tank, which collaborates globally on advancing crisis communication leadership.
