Jaffe Associates Adds Six to Law Firm PR Staff as More Law Firms Seek Reputation Counsel During Economic Downturn

WASHINGTON (October 14, 2009)  – Jaffe Associates Inc., the leading public relations agency counseling law firms and the legal community on public reputation issues, has selected six legal marketing professionals to join the agency in its virtual offices nationwide.  With these additions, Jaffe has grown its total staff by 17 percent. 

"We are thrilled to add this talented group of professionals to our staff, and grateful that our business is strong enough for us to be in the unique position to do so,” said Shani Magosky, Jaffe's Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer.  "Now more than ever in these challenging economic times, law firms realize they must proactively address the management of their public reputations with the type of very strategic positioning that our consultants bring to the table."

"No one ever goes to law school to learn about sales and marketing, yet business development is the single most important skill set a lawyer can have today in the face of tremendous competitive pressures and dramatic changes in the legal marketplace,” said John Reed, Jaffe’s new Senior Vice President, Marketing Consulting & Business and Product Development. “The economic changes bring challenges to law firms but also an opportunity to use marketing and public relations to solidify their reputations.”


Biographies of Six New Hires:

John Reed, Senior Vice President, Marketing Consulting & Business and Product Development

John Reed, Esq. brings a wealth of legal industry insight to Jaffe, stemming from his experience both within the practice of law and as a trusted advisor to the legal community.  After earning his undergraduate degree in marketing from Babson College, working for an international advertising agency, and later attending law school at Michigan State University, John joined the litigation group of a large, Michigan-based firm.  Looking to merge his marketing and legal backgrounds, he parlayed his skills into successively larger roles with a legal staffing company and the preeminent legal information provider in North America, where he received various accolades for his sales and sales management successes.  John's interest in helping lawyers to understand the concepts and techniques associated with business development led him to start his own consulting firm and to become certified to administer and interpret the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator assessment as a means to assist attorneys in building stronger, more profitable relationships with their clients.  John is based in Detroit, Mich.  linkedin.com/in/johnreedesq

Lisa Sachdev, Vice President, Public Relations

Lisa Sachdev, based in Chicago, has 20 years of legal public relations and marketing experience.  She has provided strategic public relations counsel to many of the nation’s most prominent attorneys, through her work at the American Bar Association and in-house at AmLaw 100 and 200 law firms.  In her 10 years at the American Bar Association she was responsible for publicizing the organization’s most consumer-oriented groups.  While there, Sachdev won national industry awards for her strategic vision and expertise in executing major national advocacy programs.  She understands the challenges in-house marketing professionals face, based on experience of nearly 10 years leading the public relations function at major law firms, and has particular expertise in messaging, media training and crisis communications.  She holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Kansas.
www.linkedin.com/in/LisaSachdev

Michelle King, Vice President, Public Relations

Based in Birmingham, Ala., Michelle King’s PR and marketing experience spans more than 10 years and three continents.  Before joining Jaffe Associates, Michelle was a successful consultant in Florida, North Carolina, London and Australia, working with professional services firms and some of the world’s largest companies such as MTV, Mitsubishi and Genentech.  Previously, Michelle led the PR group of a leading marketing consulting firm in Jacksonville, Fla., where she grew her department by 85 percent in just two years.  A specialist in crisis communications, Michelle has served as a spokesperson for national public companies and small private firms.  Michelle holds both a bachelor’s degree in public relations and a master’s degree in mass communications from the University of Florida.  linkedin.com/in/michellecking

Shannon K. Stevens, Account Supervisor, Public Relations

Shannon K. Stevens, based in New York City, brings her strategic reputation management expertise to Jaffe’s clients, particularly relating to Jaffe’s proprietary tools LexSpeak™ and RankingsForLawyers™. She began her career in corporate and financial PR and has represented The New York Bar Association, prominent law firms, and well-known consumer products companies.  Most recently, Shannon worked with M Booth & Associates in New York, where she was an integral part of the Vaseline, JC Penney, and Tropicana sustainable initiatives teams.  Her work on the Vaseline “Skin is Amazing” and “Skinvoice” campaigns helped yield several PR industry awards.  She earned her bachelor’s degree in public relations from the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University. linkedin.com/in/shannonstevens

Carole Keller, SEO Manager and Strategist

Carole Keller is based in Littleton, Colo.  She is responsible for creating and managing Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and Web 2.0 marketing strategies including Digital Asset Optimization (DAO), defensive SEO, Optimized Online Advertising, and Web Analytics.  With 10 years of web marketing experience, as well as an extensive traditional marketing background, Carole’s expertise has successfully improved the Web site effectiveness and online promotion of numerous legal industry clients as well as for global and U.S. companies in the real estate, technology, nonprofit, travel, and financial markets. Carole is a graduate of the University of Colorado, Boulder.   linkedin.com/in/SEOAce

Soo-yeon Dawson, Marketing Manager

Based in Eagle, Colo., Soo-yeon Dawson brings to Jaffe her experience in Web site content management, CRM database administration, collateral production and event/tradeshow management. She graduated from the University of California, San Diego with a master's degree in Literature.  linkedin.com/in/dawsonsoo