The advice Elon Musk's lawyer gives his high-profile clients in times of crisis

Business Insider

07-06-2025

High profile attorney Alex Spiro has one key piece of advice for clients wading through tricky times: Don't panic.
The words of wisdom were shared as one of his most high-profile clients, Elon Musk, is in the midst of a public feud with President Donald Trump. It's unclear if or how the attorney is guiding him through this particular debacle.
The lawyer, who has also represented Alec Baldwin, Mayor Eric Adams, and Jay-Z, through muddy legal waters, shared the advice he gives to clients during times of crisis at the Forbes Iconoclast Summit on Thursday.
"You got to get people to take a breath and not panic," Spiro said, adding that it's easier for some people to do so more than others.
A source close to Spiro got more specific. Those who know him know that his No. 1 piece of advice is to "have an ice-cream cone."
In other words, step away from the keyboard and cool off. "Nothing is better than chocolate ice cream," the source close to Spiro said.
The attorney isn't certain whether clients listen to the advice, but they at least pretend to, the source said.
Spiro, who spends a good chunk of his time on risk mitigation, told the Iconoclast Summit attendees that he tries to get clients to put their situation into perspective and focus on the facts and evidence in front of them.
"The sky is not falling," Sprio said. "The things that we think are a big deal today won't be a big deal in a month."
While most CEOs aren't publicly blasting the president on social media, many are navigating global and economic uncertainty, from looming tariffs to market volatility. Spiro said the best CEOs and CFOs he knows know how to take a "methodical" approach to uncertainty, which in the case of tariffs, would involve looking into their supply chains and preparing for what may happen next.
"I try to follow and steal the best ideas from the smartest people I know and then tell others about it," Spiro said. "That works out usually."
Musk is one of those people.
Spiro said on Thursday that Musk likes to cut costs during times of uncertainty because it leaves organizations more nimble on the other side. The billionaire is most recently known for doing so in the government, where he led efforts to slash about 20,000 federal employees, or about 1% of its workforce. Musk also laid off 10% of Tesla's workforce in waves last year and cut Twitter's workforce in half after he purchased it in 2022.