'End of road' for NG&J's Jaffa

CITY firm Nicholson Graham & Jones' long-standing marketing director Paul Jaffa is to leave the firm by mutual agreement this autumn.

His departure coincides with NG&J's merger talks with West End practice Brecher & Co, revealed in The Lawyer last week. However, the firm says the two events are unconnected.

Michael Johns, NG&J managing partner, says: "Paul's done a fantastic job for us, lifting us up from a fairly low comprehension of marketing. He's a very good marketeer and is leaving on the best of terms."

Johns says the firm is in the midst of recruiting a replacement who will bring a slightly different emphasis, "perhaps a fresh face bringing slightly different skills. We are seeking fresh blood".

Jaffa joined the firm as its first professional marketing director six years ago. He and the firm are negotiating the departure date, likely to be in September or October after his contract expires.

Explaining the move, Jaffa says it arose "from a feeling on both sides that six years is long enough".

He says: "I and they don't see it as any form of sacking. It's just a recognition we have come to the end of the road."

Jaffa's background includes advertising and marketing agencies, and he worked for a small law firm prior to NG&J.

He is chair of the Professional Services Marketing Group, members of which work usually for law and accountancy firms.

Brecher & Co has its own marketing manager, Clare Rodway, currently on maternity leave. "There's no reason to think that she won't be joining the new firm," says Brechers partner Alan Wiseman, a member of the firm's management team.