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[ Case Studies ]

Client Success Stories

Case studies highlighting how Chaka Strategy helps lawyers move with clarity, confidence, and purpose.

When False Information Hit the Market — We Put a Stop to It

Reclaiming a 20% Stock Loss in a Single Trading Day

A $2B public industrial-maintenance company operating in a heavily regulated environment woke up to a nightmare: a major piece of equipment on which the company had worked had failed. Before the company could even respond, a research analyst at a well-known investment bank issued a note blaming the failure on the company.

The market reacted instantly.
Shares opened down more than 20%.

There was only one issue:

The analyst’s conclusion was scientifically and technically wrong.

That’s when the General Counsel called Chaka Strategy.

  • A rapid valuation collapse driven by misinformation
  • A research note filled with technical errors
  • Customers, regulators, and the media paying close attention
  • Investors beginning to panicA GC who needed a fast, credible, multidimensional strategy

This wasn’t just a legal problem.

It was a strategic problem requiring precision, speed, and judgment.

We deployed a coordinated, four-part plan that combined legal pressure, regulatory tools, media credibility, and investor communication — all designed to stop the misinformation and stabilize the market.


  1. Confront the False Narrative Head-On

    We advised the GC to send a cease-and-desist letter to the investment bank detailing every scientific and technical flaw in the research note and demanding its withdrawal. The letter also reserved the company’s right to sue.

    Why it mattered:

    Silence allows false narratives to take root. Immediate legal pressure changes the dynamics — fast.
    

  2. Put Credibility on Air

    The company had a former regulator on its board. We recommended getting that director on cable news immediately to explain why the company’s work could not have caused the failure.

    Why it mattered:

    A credible, independent expert reframed the story in minutes — not days.


  3. Stop the Market Damage

    We advised the CFO to request a trading halt due to false information impacting the stock.

    Why it mattered:

    A halt prevents further erosion, buys time to correct the record, and demonstrates leadership under pressure.


  4. Reassure Investors and Set the Record Straight
    Before trading resumed, the CEO and CFO met with top investors to walk through the facts. The company then issued an 8-K laying out the truth publicly.

    Why it mattered:

    Direct communication builds trust. A timely 8-K closes the information gap for the entire market.

By the close of trading:

  • The stock regained all of its losses
  • Shares finished the day in the black
  • The research note was withdrawn
  • Investors were reassured
  • The GC emerged as the leader who saved the day


A crisis that could have spiraled into long-term damage was contained — and reversed — in hours.

  • We don’t think like traditional lawyers.
  • We think like business leaders who understand capital markets, regulators, investors, and the media — and how they interact under pressure.
  • When the stakes are high, you don’t need a memo.
  • You need a strategy.
  • At Chaka Strategy, we help General Counsels lead with confidence, protect enterprise value, and turn crisis moments into demonstrations of strength.
  • This is what strategic legal leadership looks like.

Turning a Deputy GC Into a General Counsel

How Chaka Strategy Helped Jane Smith Earn the Top Job

Jane Smith was the Deputy General Counsel of a privately held, global education company generating over $1 billion in annual revenue. Six months earlier, the company’s General Counsel had resigned. The CEO told Jane he was keeping the role open for her.


There was just one problem:

Jane wasn’t landing her one-on-ones with the CEO.

Despite her strong legal credentials and deep knowledge of the business, the CEO consistently walked away from their meetings frustrated and unconvinced that Jane was ready for the GC role.

That’s when Jane called Chaka Strategy.

Within days, we conducted a simulated CEO one-on-one to diagnose the issue. The problem became clear almost immediately:

  • Jane briefed the CEO the same way she would brief another lawyer.
  • She delivered dense legal recitations, case by case, issue by issue.
  • She used legalese instead of the language of business.
  • She focused on legal process instead of business outcomes.
  • She never connected legal work to revenue, expenses, cash flow, or enterprise risk.

In short:

  • Jane was giving excellent legal briefings — to the wrong audience.
  • The CEO didn’t want to hear about motions, filings, or precedents.
  • He wanted to know: What does this mean for the business?

We worked with Jane to fundamentally reframe how she communicated with the CEO — shifting her from legal technician to business strategist.


  • Replace Legal Briefings with Business Briefings
    We coached Jane to speak through a business lens. Every legal issue had to connect to at least one core business driver:
    • Revenue

    • Expenses

    • Net Income

    • Cash Flow

    • Enterprise Risk

    • We taught her to lead with the bottom line, not the docket.
      

  • Use the Language of Finance and Accounting

    CEOs think in metrics.
They prioritize financial impact above legal detail.

    We helped Jane translate her legal work into:

    • Cost exposure

    • Margin impact

    • Cash timing

    • Scenario planning

    • EBITDA sensitivity

    • Upside opportunities

    • Legal issues became business issues — clearly framed, measurable, and actionable.


  • Demonstrate Strategic Value

    We coached Jane to proactively answer questions the CEO wasn’t asking yet:

    • What can legal do to increase revenue or accelerate cash collections?

    • Where can legal reduce expenses or avoid future costs?

    • How can legal de-risk international operations?

    • How does the regulatory environment create headwinds or tailwinds?

    • Where are there opportunities to shape regulation, rather than just react to it?

    • Jane learned to shift from reporter to strategist.


  • Show Leadership Beyond Legal

    Finally, we trained Jane to speak as an executive — not a department head.
    She began framing legal’s role in driving enterprise value:

    • Increasing operational agility

    • Improving compliance efficiency

    • Supporting global expansion

    • Creating regulatory advantages

    • Protecting the company’s reputation

    • Strengthening long-term growth

    • She positioned herself not just as the future GC — but as a future business leader.

Within three months of adopting her new communication style:


  • CEO confidence in Jane grew dramatically.
  • Their one-on-ones became high-value strategic discussions.
  • Jane demonstrated clear executive presence and commercial judgment.
  • Leadership saw her as someone who could guide the business — not just the legal department.


Jane Smith was promoted to General Counsel.



Great lawyers don’t automatically become great executives.
But with the right coaching, they can become exceptional business leaders.
At Chaka Strategy, we help attorneys:


  • Speak the language of the C-suite
  • Connect legal work to business value
  • Strengthen executive presence
  • Build trust with CEOs, CFOs, and boards
  • Operate as strategic partners, not technical advisors


We turn legal leaders into enterprise leaders.

Turning a Cybersecurity Executive Into a Strategic Value Creator

How Chaka Strategy Helped John Secure Mission-Critical Investment Through Financial Leadership

  • John joined a large, publicly traded defense contractor as Vice President of Cybersecurity after a successful career at a major law firm.
  • In the law firm environment, John was a revenue generator — support, budgets, and resources flowed to him without friction.
  • At the company, things were different. Resources were constrained. Everything required justification. And the legal/cyber function was viewed strictly as a cost center.
  • Last quarter, John requested funding for a modern cybersecurity platform. The CFO rejected it:

    “Not enough ROI.”


John knew the investment was critical. He knew the team’s work mattered. What he didn’t know was how to communicate that value in financial terms that business leadership — especially the CFO — would respect.


That’s when John called Chaka Strategy.

John was being asked to do something he had never done at the law firm:
build a full capital budgeting business case.
Finance told him plainly that to win approval he needed to demonstrate:


  • ROI
  • IRR (Internal Rate of Return)
  • Payback Period
  • NPV (Net Present Value)
  • Sensitivity analysis
  • Proof that the project exceeded the company’s hurdle rate


John wasn’t lacking judgment or strategic insight — he was lacking the financial toolkit necessary to translate legal and cybersecurity value into language the C-suite could act on.

Chaka Strategy coached John on the exact capital budgeting techniques CFOs expect leaders to use when requesting investment dollars.

We trained him in:

  • 
ROI calculations linked to cost avoidance and risk reduction
  • IRR modeling for project-based investment
  • Payback period framing designed to appeal to finance leadership
  • NPV using risk-adjusted discount rates
  • Sensitivity analysis illustrating best, base, and worst-case scenarios
  • Hurdle rate logic and how to show the project clears the company’s investment threshold


We then helped John translate his cybersecurity needs into financial outcomes:


  • Reduction in downtime
  • Reduction in breach probability and incident response costs
  • Increased operational continuity
  • Cost savings from automation
  • Risk-adjusted financial impact tied to regulatory obligations and defense contract requirements


John wasn’t just speaking the CFO’s language — he was demonstrating mastery of it.



John presented the investment case to the CFO using the financial tools we taught him.

The reaction was immediate.

The CFO was stunned — and pleasantly surprised — to hear a cybersecurity leader articulate:


  • Net Present Value
  • Internal Rate of Return
  • Margin impact
  • Cash-flow timing
  • Sensitivity scenarios


For the first time, legal/cyber was not asking for money.

It was making a business case.

  • The investment is approved.
  • The cybersecurity platform is implemented within six months.
  • Operational efficiency improves dramatically — cycle time drops by 62%.
  • The legal/cyber budget grows, but more importantly, so does its influence.
  • Six months later, John is asked to help evaluate other enterprise software proposals —
not as the head of a cost center, but as a strategic business partner.

John didn’t just get his tool funded.

He reshaped how the company views the legal and cybersecurity function.

We help legal and cybersecurity leaders:


  • Speak the language of finance
  • Build investment cases CFOs cannot ignore
  • Connect risk management to enterprise value
  • Shift from cost center to value creator
  • Operate as true business leaders inside their organizations

When lawyers speak in financial terms, their influence multiplies.


Chaka Strategy teaches them how.

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