Why I Became a Personal Family Lawyer®

As a teen parent, I relied on welfare and the Salvation Army to take care of me and my oldest son. Without the knowledge needed to navigate the legal system after filing for an injunction, I made decisions from a place of vulnerability, fear, and ignorance, often to my detriment. Not wanting to ever feel that way again - and not wanting others to feel the same way - I went to law school, clerked for a federal judge, then started my professional career as an attorney at a national law firm.

For nearly 8 years, I tried to develop intimate relationships with my clients to better understand their needs and goals, keep them out of court and out of conflict, and educate them on the volatile legal landscape so they were empowered and equipped with the knowledge and skills to make decisions for themselves and their businesses. These fundamental values, however, were at odds with the transactional business model used by my firm - a business model adopted by nearly every law firm in the country.

For instance, job security, compensation and promotability are all tied to the number of hours billed to a client - a business model that clearly encourages litigation, prolonging conflict, and encourages burnout. Consequently, efficiencies are discouraged and technology is slow to be adopted. Even when I retained clients under a flat rate model, I was encouraged (i.e., told) to spend as little time as possible on a client’s matter, pushing the work down to assistants and paralegals to free my time up to bill another client at over $400/hour.

Then, as you can imagine, at more than $400/hour (billed in 6-minute increments), my clients did not want to call me to discuss a new strategy or to update me on an ongoing issue. Rather, they wanted me to do everything as quickly as possible with as little communication as possible. They didn’t want to talk about their kids and my kids and they were afraid to call when they had changes in their life or business because they didn’t know how much that call would cost them and whether it was worth it. As a result, oftentimes they would make a decision or would try to resolve an issue that, had I known about and could have addressed early on, needlessly resulted in multi-year litigation with six-figures in legal fees and costly settlements.

When they did call, because I was often juggling unpredictable demands from the Court, opposing counsel, and other clients, I was unable to be as responsive or as present in the conversation as I would have wanted. With limited availability, I realized I had become a gatekeeper of legal knowledge, rather than a trusted advisor with the time, resources and capacity to empower my clients with the knowledge needed for them to make informed decisions that they felt comfortable with. You deserve the undivided attention from the attorney you are trusting. Unfortunately, the transactional model adopted by most law firms, forces you to compete against others for that attention.

This is exactly what happened to me as a teen parent. My attorney was overwhelmed and overworked. So, even with an attorney, I was left feeling as though I needed to navigate the legal process on my own. I had no relationship with her, she hardly asked me any questions or spent any meaningful time on my case, and when I did ask her questions I was dismissed as a nuisance. I was just one more billable hour to her and, once that transaction was complete, never thought of again. After that experience, I thought surely I just had a bad attorney. However, after practicing for over 10 years, I realize that my experience was not only normal, but expected. Traditional law leaves little room for relationships, glorifies and rewards conflict, and gate keeps knowledge - leaving you, as the client, feeling vulnerable and dependent.

After bucking the system for a decade, I knew the traditional law model would never be aligned with the vision I had for my life or with the way I want to serve my clients. So, I left the firm and partners I loved to pursue a practice model I knew I would love more. At first, I focused my attention on managing our family business, an international motorsports brand, while initially only serving and educating other business owners.

Like many families within the motorsports industry, my husband and I are often traveling for business while our minor children are cared for by family members at home. During a doubleheader weekend, while 6-hours away from our kids, the same sense of vulnerability I felt as a teen parent engulfed me as I began thinking about what would happen if we didn’t return home? Who would care for Jacen and Jayden? What would happen to our businesses? Would our kids still receive income from the businesses we have built? I realized, like you, that we had spent years building this brand for ourselves and our children, but we had done nothing to protect our legacy, ensure our children were never placed in the care of strangers, or to ensure our children were financially taken care of if we didn’t come home. I immediately understood how intertwined business ownership and estate planning is and how crucial estate planning is, especially for parents with minor children.

Consequently, I expanded my offerings and opened a relationship-focused law practice where I serve as a trusted advisor and business partner to families and their businesses. At my firm, the initial strategy meeting - whether for business or estate planning - is just the beginning of the relationship and we’re focused on putting in place an individualized drafted plan we know will work for you and the people you love.

So, here are some of the things we do differently based on my experience with the traditional model of business and estate planning.

First of all – nothing we do is billed on an hourly basis. Everything we do is billed flat fee, agreed to in advance, so there are no surprises. You’ll know exactly what it will cost to work with us after we’ve gotten clear about what you want, and you’ll even be able to choose your own fee. Then, after the initial planning process, we have options so that you can ensure your plan stays up to date throughout your life and your business remains compliant, and again you’ll know exactly what that costs and choose your own fee there.

By ditching the hourly rate, we also encourage frequent and consistent communication. You never have to worry about getting a bill in the mail for $120 after a 15 minute call with me. And this is crucial for estate and business planning, because the plan that you’re creating today is not going to be your forever plan. Your life and goals are going to change, your assets are going to change, your circumstances are going to change, the laws are going to change and you need to feel free to call me when you have changes without worrying about what it is going to cost you just to discuss it.

Second – we work in partnership with you to help keep your business and your family out of court and out of conflict. By frequently and proactively communicating with you, we are able to minimize, or even eliminate, issues before they become costly. We also empower you to make informed decisions for your family and your business by educating you on the law and the process, so you are confident that the plan you put in place is the right one for you.

Third - we see planning as just the beginning of the relationship, whereas in the past the plan was viewed as a one-time transactional event. For us, though, once you sign your planning documents, that is when the relationship really begins. At no additional charge, we review your plan at least every three years. And, we have two levels of membership programs that almost all of our clients participate in – either the gold program which provides you with a yearly plan review and unlimited changes to your plan, or the gold plus program which includes an annual meeting with your attorney, CPA and financial advisor, plus ongoing legal guidance throughout the year. Because we view our relationship as ongoing, we intentionally limit the number of clients we serve to ensure that we have the capacity to give you the individualized attention you deserve when you have a question.

Finally, for estate planning, we don’t just focus on passing on your financial assets, but your whole family wealth. When I found out I was pregnant with my oldest, my grandmother gave me a small gold ring, which was passed down from her grandmother, and will be passed down to my granddaughter. The ring itself does not have much value - but the significance this ring has to my family is immeasurable. If all I did was leave this ring to my granddaughter in a will, what makes this ring so valuable would die with me. Understanding that, and wanting to preserve who you are as a person, we have created a process and include it in every plan where we guide you to pass on more than your money, but also your intellectual, spiritual, and human assets.

These are just a few of the things that make our firm different. We’re the best fit for people who don’t just want to leave their family a set of documents that may or may not work, but instead want to use the estate planning process to pass on a legacy of love and care, and ease. And keep their family out of court and out of conflict. We’re also the best fit for people who want to build a family business they love, that works for them, and who want to protect their business.