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Written by Allison Mahoney
About Me
I grew up in the Chicago suburbs and have lived in New York City for most of my adult life. During the pandemic I moved to a ski town in Colorado, where I have been enjoying the beautiful scenery, healthy lifestyle, and slower pace.
From the time I was young, I have always loved reading and writing. My love for writing inspired me to attend law school, and for the past decade I have litigated social justice and civil rights cases in the United States. (For those who don’t know, lawyers write all the time!)
Working In The Law
I started my career at a large law firm, O’Melveny & Myers LLP, where I was a member of the firm’s pro bono committee and represented survivors of sexual abuse and intimate partner violence in immigration cases. Later, I was a prosecutor in New York City and investigated sex crimes, public corruption, and human trafficking rings.
While I enjoyed being a prosecutor, I found myself wanting to represent victims directly. Therefore, I resigned and for the next several years worked at Lawyers for Children, Inc. and represented children in foster care in New York City. As LFC’s Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation Project Attorney, I carried a specialized caseload and served as the in-house legal expert for cases involving those sensitive issues.
Today, I am a Senior Staff Attorney at A Better Childhood, where I investigate child welfare systems across the United States and file class action lawsuits on behalf of children in foster care, alleging violations of their civil rights. At ABC our goal is to ensure that children are not further harmed and traumatized by their experience in foster care.
In July 2021, I also founded Estorie Agency, after seeing the role that storytelling played in my legal work. At Estorie Agency, I provide communications and public relations services for organizations and advocates working on today’s most pressing social justice, civil rights, and human rights issues. This includes creating thoughtful content, developing public and media relations strategies, and building strategic partnerships for clients.
Estorie Agency gives me a creative outlet, while also allowing me to continue to work on issues I care deeply about.
In my free time, I teach and practice yoga and meditation.
Why I Started Blogging
My blog is tied to Estorie Agency and is a page on the company’s website. I started the blog to create and share free, helpful content with clients and potential clients. For example, my first series of posts were all about writing op-eds (or opinion essays). Op-eds are an excellent way for people to showcase their expertise, promote their work, and move readers to take action. Therefore, I wrote about the opportunity cost of not submitting an op-ed, how to draft an op-ed, where and when to submit an op-ed, and how to pitch an op-ed. I’m also planning on writing about email newsletters, the importance of landing speaking engagements, strategic partnerships, and ways to connect with documentary film producers—to name a few topics!
I promote my blog posting on all of Estorie Agency’s social media platforms, including Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn. I also re-share from my personal accounts to help drive more traffic to my blog.
In blogging I’m doing more than simply informing though—I’m also telling readers about my work and the range of services I provide. Hopefully some of those readers will turn into loyal clients.
My Blog
My blog is all about communications and public relations strategies. That content is targeted towards a very specific audience as well, made up on nonprofit organizations, lawyers, social service providers, thought leaders, and advocates who are working on social justice, civil rights, and human rights issues. I explain how they can share information about their work in a compelling way, tell their clients’ stories from a trauma-informed perspective, increase fundraising (if they are a nonprofit), and get the attention of new clients.
I also highlight my unique perspective. After all, I am not your ordinary PR professional. I am a lawyer with years of experience working with clients who have suffered unimaginable abuse and trauma. I understand the legal landscape and how to talk about these issues in a sensitive manner that respects and protects survivors and will not do any damage to pending legal actions.
Why My Blog Matters
My blog—and my work at Estorie Agency—matters because my goal is to end these forms of abuse and injustice in the world. My hope is that by strengthening my clients’ communications and public relations strategies they can better promote and carry out their important work. My company also gives a voice to victims and survivors who too often are left feeling voiceless.
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