By Karen Blumenthal

What with one crisis after another, Lisa LeMaster couldn't have asked for a better summer.

Dallas' top public-relations spin master started the season at the side of billionaire Harold Simmons as he battled charges of financial wrongdoing from two daughters. This job she took while continuing to advise former Lt. Gov. Ben Barnes and Gtech Corp. amid questions about their lottery lobbying.

Later, she represented John Spano, the former bidder for the Dallas Stars who was forced to relinquish ownership of the New York Islanders amid criminal indictments. She also fended off reporters on behalf of Clayton C. Elliott Jr., a Dallas real-estate executive whose two children were murdered by his former wife.

Though she won't comment on it, she also made a trip to Wisconsin to help Lands' End Inc. cope with the United Parcel Service strike. Around the same time, she was hired by the Roman Catholic Church to try to quell growing outrage over its handling of pedophile priests.

So what was the big deal last month, when the 42-year-old former radio reporter and editor ended up in deal maker Tom Hicks' office as he explained a $1.2 billion purchase of a radio company? Ms. LeMaster says that she was just helping her client with a quick response on a breaking story, and that she doesn't plan to move further into financial public relations.

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