Taft, one of the fastest-growing law firms in the country, welcomes Whitney Coake to its Public Affairs Strategies Group as a director of public affairs in the Indianapolis office.

Coake has 20 years of experience across education systems–from the classroom to state-level roles–with seven years leading statewide, policy-adjacent government affairs and partnerships. Throughout her career, she has built bipartisan coalitions, aligned state and local stakeholders to execute multi-million dollar initiatives, and translated legislative priorities into actionable outcomes.

Prior to joining Taft, Coake served as a senior director on the Midwest State & District Partnerships team at College Board, leading Indiana strategy for College Board partnerships across assessment, advanced coursework, and workforce-aligned pathways. While with College Board, Whitney was the organization’s primary liaison to a state education agency, advising senior policymakers and legislators on education reform, assessment policy, and college and career readiness.

In 2025, Taft became the only Am Law 100 firm to successfully close three mergers in a single calendar year: Morris, Manning & Martin (Atlanta and Washington, D.C.); Mrachek Law (Florida); and Sherman & Howard (Mountain West). Today, Taft has more than 1,250 attorneys in 25 offices nationwide and projected revenues exceeding $1 billion.