Acknowledgments

• Author: James F. Haggerty
• Profession: Lawyer
• Pages: 17-18

xvii

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The motto on the Haggerty family crest (Hegarty in Ireland) reads

“Nec ectitur nec mutant,” which translated from Gaelic means,

“They neither bend nor change.” Anyone who has worked with

me (or, for that matter, lived with me) over the years knows just

how true that can be. So I have many people to thank.

I start with my wife, Elyse DeMayo Haggerty, the love of my

life, who offered great help and encouragement throughout the

writing and revision of each of the editions of this book, all the

while working full time as a social worker and leading our two

sons, Liam and Conall, from birth to their teenage years. You can-

not imagine the extent of her contribution, to my writing, my

work, and my life.

I also must thank Robert Shepard, my friend and original liter-

ary agent, who is now a practicing lawyer in Los Angeles. We met

years ago in Hawaii (I believe I was wearing a blue Aloha shirt

at the time), and he graciously took time away from far bigger

authors to offer ideas, assistance, and support for my various edi-

tions of this book.

Here’s the funny thing about a career: you look back and it

seems like you’ve been following some well-thought-out plan,

but—in most cases—you really haven’t. Instead, you move from

experience to experience, taking advantage of opportunities as

they arise . . . and then one day you look back and it’s a career! So

professionally, there are so many people to thank as I’ve moved

from opportunity to opportunity—more people to thank than I

could ever t in one book. Here’s a list that comes to mind as I

write this third edition of In The Court of Public Opinion, but please

bear in mind that all those I mentioned in prior editions are (as

we lawyers say) incorporated by reference: My friend and former

Washington, D.C., partner, Jeffrey Sandman, late of this life but not

of memory, was a great mentor, as was Alan (Max) Metrick, my

former partner at PRCG. Other legal, public relations, and pub-

lic affairs professionals have inuenced me enormously through

the years. I’m sure I’ve forgotten some, but I especially thank

John C. Carns, David P. Warner, Lee Silberstein, John Softness,

Jon Coifman, James Rocco, Richard Schrader, Harvey Englander,

Eric Rose, and Harlan Loeb. In the legal world, I thank C. Bryant

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