Why I Work at Jaffe

Working for Jaffe allows me to be involved in some of the major, headline-making legal stories of the day.  Whether it’s pitching a white-collar partner with comments on the next Enron-like scandal, or helping a client trumpet a hard-fought win at trial, my job is always interesting.  I get a lot of laughs when I tell people I do PR for lawyers.  You hear all the old jokes.  But, in truth, lawyers are some of the best people to work with.  They are intelligent.  They don’t have a lot of time to waste so they are efficient.  And they do very interesting work.  It’s the work and the great collaboration with my colleagues that keep me here.  Every day is different.

I love Internet marketing and writing; at Jaffe, my skills are valued and utilized to their full extent.  I am able to apply cutting-edge technology to assist our clients in the legal industry, and I find the work to be intellectually stimulating and extremely rewarding.

Before joining Jaffe, I thought that the two goals of being a good mom and a wife while enjoying a professional career were mutually exclusive.  My high standards for both roles are fully met at Jaffe because of the fact that I can control my work-at-home schedule.  I sit in awe and appreciation in my beautiful home office, sipping coffee and working at 4 a.m. before my daughter wakes up.  I couldn’t be happier to be a part of this amazing group.

After years of battling the D.C. Beltway and scheduling my life around traffic patterns, I was looking for an opportunity to feel more fulfilled—both professionally and personally.  I wanted a fast-paced environment where I could work with creative, smart people doing interesting and challenging work, but that wouldn’t force me to sacrifice other aspects of my life.  It’s a tall order, but I found exactly what I was looking for at Jaffe…and more.  Jaffe’s virtual structure provides more than just a work/life balance.  Offering superior Public Reputation services is an art that requires energy outside a traditional nine-to-five work schedule.  At Jaffe, our environment creates an opportunity to be happier, more productive and more efficient, which is clearly reflected in the quality of service we offer our clients.

Why do I work at Jaffe?  For me, it’s all about creative freedom.  Here, I work in an environment that inspires and fosters creative energy.  Freed of artificial barriers to innovation, I can push against the boundaries of convention and conceive radical ways for clients to get their messages across.

The beauty of working for Jaffe is, well, just about everything.  I get to work with a brilliant staff, professional growth is non-stop, rewarding projects are ongoing, and, of course, the flexibility.

Even though we work in a virtual environment, we’re able to interact and communicate with one another and with clients on a minute-by-minute basis.  The Jaffe technology systems and processes are cutting edge, which make navigating the virtual work environment very easy.  Working with the top professionals in the industry makes life a lot easier, as well.

Daily challenges and professional growth are the norm for an Internet marketing consultant.  After working in Internet marketing for over a decade, I’ve developed quite the passion for this business that some may compare to an addiction to roller coaster riding.  Much like a roller coaster, Internet marketing takes you on a wild ride that makes your stomach rise up to your throat as you scream in fear of the next assault to your comfort zone, just so at the end you can say, “Let’s do it again!”  Jaffe allows me to indulge in this obsession – and get paid for it!  Additionally, the legal industry has its own set of challenges that make the ride even more thrilling.

Every one of us will tell you that flexibility is the key to our life/work balance.  For me, flexibility is required for my life/work/play balance.  And, even though I am an “empty nester,” family is still a priority and it’s important to be available on an “as needed” basis (which is really much more than you would think).

Fun, talented co-workers; tremendously rewarding challenges; exponential professional opportunities; and incomparable freedom: what’s not to love about working at Jaffe?!

During my 30-year career, I have had the opportunity to work in-house at three of the best law firms in the country.  As I gained expertise in my own legal marketing career, I realized that I still had a lot to learn.  Fortunately for me, in each of those firms I had the valuable resource of outside public relations counsel to make my job just that much easier and ensure my firms were implementing the most effective marketing and PR strategies possible.

Many years later, I find myself at Jaffe where I’m now that very resource for lawyers and other in-house marketing staff in need of targeted media relations and general marketing counsel.  

Succeeding in legal marketing is often about connecting with the right networks.  I’m proud to have made the connection with Jaffe PR.

I’m an avid skier, rock climber, hiker, and yogini; so when I was ready to leave the grueling world of Wall Street behind, I moved to Colorado for lifestyle reasons.  I joined Jaffe PR in 2006 and found the ultimate yin and yang, if you will - the professional stimulation and challenges I crave while living with a mountain playground outside my front door.  In addition, my husband’s profession requires a lot of travel, including winters in Florida and extended periods of time overseas.  This was always quite challenging to manage when I worked in a traditional, constricting office environment.  Now, we have the flexibility to live in Fort Lauderdale, FL for more than half the year, and if I want to accompany him to Italy, Spain, or even Australia for a few weeks, all I need is my laptop and I don’t miss a beat at work.
 
I accomplish so much more in my home office than I ever could in a traditional office because I am free of frequent interruptions, unnecessary meetings, and office politics.  Plus, there’s no commuting time or expense, no dry cleaning bills, and no big utility bills for a brick and mortar headquarters.  At Jaffe, we’re also paperless, so we are “green” in so many different ways!  From an HR management perspective, the flexibility of working from home frees many talented professionals from the struggle of having to make what is often a mutually exclusive choice between career and family.  So we’re able to tap into a much broader talent pool to recruit our top-notch staff.

For more than a decade, I ran the gauntlet that is the commute through lower Fairfield County, Connecticut and later into New York City. After a taxing day, I would face the same 1 to 1.5 hour journey home.  Working at Jaffe has created an amazing opportunity to work for a high-quality company with an impressive client roster but from a beautiful, corner office right in my own home. Now with a better work/life balance, I am more productive, I enjoy the work that I do and it is reflected in the quality of service I am able to provide for our clients. It is not the bricks and mortar, or how plush the carpet is that makes a company, but the talented, hardworking, gifted staff that puts any company on the map. At Jaffe, they are all here and I am proud to be included among some of the best in the business.

I view my role at Jaffe as making heroes out of my clients – I help attorneys become successful business developers in ways that are comfortable and make sense to them, and I help firms to focus on their unique “stories” and work with them to deliver those messages in innovative, effective, yet appropriate ways.  With Jaffe, I get to do that in an environment where technology is embraced and where I can call the brightest minds in the industry my colleagues.

We “get” law firms.  We know their functions and dysfunctions.  We understand the pressures they experience in the face of unparalleled competition and a changing legal landscape.  In a world where perception is often reality, Jaffe professionals are the first choice for any law firm that wants to assert control over its Public Reputation and revitalize its approach to marketing.

I work at Jaffe because I get to work with some of the best and brightest legal PR and marketing minds in the country in an organization that is lead by one of the true visionaries in the industry.  I work at Jaffe because I get to do interesting, satisfying work for a variety of great clients on my own timetable.  I work at Jaffe because I get unmatched flexibility in how I structure my day to meet my clients' needs.  I work at Jaffe because the concept of work/life balance is not just lip service.  I work at Jaffe because I love the way my son's face lights up when he sees me there to pick him up after school.

As an entrepreneur running my own successful PR consultancy, I found the bulk of my time was spent managing administrative and financial tasks  -- and less and less time was spent on doing what I loved best: developing client relationships and implementing PR programs that underscore my clients' business development goals.

At Jaffe, I work with a team of highly talented individuals who are all experts within the field of legal marketing and public relations.  I no longer have to wear dozens of “marketing hats”; instead, I can concentrate on supporting my clients and collaborating with my Jaffe colleagues to provide the best ideas and solutions.

The resources that we share amongst the Jaffe team are unsurpassed in this field.  The legal marketing industry is dynamic and growing, and our group reflects that.  We are constantly implementing ways to better serve our clients and are at the forefront of creating successful Web 2.0 business development opportunities for law firms.  You’d be hard-pressed to find as much internal knowledge and experience anywhere else, and I am so honored to be part of this team.

Why I work at Jaffe, no more commuting!  I drove over 2.5 hours per day in my previous job, now I can spend that time working from home.  It enables me to live in a rural environment so that I can enjoy riding and training my horse, but keeps me involved in the business world.