James Packer's Crown Resorts has assembled a "war room" of highly paid lawyers and advisers as the casino giant prepares for the legal fallout of having 18 of its staff detained in China for breaching the country's strict gambling laws.

Crown has engaged top-tier legal firm Minter Ellison to investigate the potential culpability of its own management team after staff were raided by Chinese authorities last month. Asked what the review was for, one senior Crown figure said: "I would typify it as an act of corporate, legal and reputational arse-covering of the first order."

Fairfax Media has been told Minter Ellison will determine what potential exposure Crown has to lawsuits or class actions from the families of arrested staff or disgruntled shareholders, who have seen Crown's share price tumble in the wake of the crisis.

The review will also examine allegations that Crown had persisted with its sales and marketing activities within mainland China despite being warned explicitly by local authorities to stop.