By Mike Sunnucks | Phoenix Business Journal
(Editor’s note: Attorney Evan Bolick and Melissa Johnson from Rose Law Group also have made media appearances regarding the trial)
The femme-fatale murder trial of Jodi Arias has brought some notoriety — and some new business — to Arizona attorneys and consultants who have made appearances on national news shows covering the Phoenix proceedings.
Local attorneys Jordan Rose and Jason Lamm, as well as social media and communications consultant Kinsey Schofield, have made numerous appearances on CNN Headline News and other networks covering the trial, which began Jan. 2. Fox 10 anchor John Hook also has seen increased exposure from the trial on Fox News Channel.
The locals are following in a tradition of using high-profile trials to vault to the top of an expert list that puts them in demand for speaking and, ultimately, could drive new business for their companies. While the adage “all publicity is good publicity” comes to mind, there are pros and cons for lawyers and other professionals who hitch their wagons to tabloid topics such as Arias and her alleged killing of Mesa businessman and marketing executive Travis Alexander in 2008.
Expert effects
Experts receive no compensation for appearing on television to comment on trials, but there are other benefits. Lamm, a criminal defense and white-collar attorney in Phoenix, said his appearances pose both positives and negatives for his legal practice.
“I think the visibility is good. Any kind of exposure is advertising,” said Lamm, managing partner of the law offices of Jason D. Lamm, who has commented locally and nationally on other cases. But Lamm said being on TV will attract “less genuine clients.” The practice requires due diligence on his part, an experience he compares to deep-sea fishing.
“Sometimes you may get a shark. Sometimes you get a tuna, and sometimes you get garbage,” he said.
Rose, managing partner of Scottsdale-based Rose Law Group PC, said her regular appearances on Jane Valdez Mitchell’s show on HLN help bring attention to her firm’s criminal defense and other practices in corporate and real estate law. Rose also talks about the trial on KFYI-AM 550 in Phoenix.
“Does it have any actual business upside? For Rose Law Group as a whole, I think, yes, as our criminal defense department has seen an increase in new cases,” she said.
