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Maximum Mom

Maximum Mom

Elise Buie

We’re here to share tips, resources, wins, losses and encouragement for moms who are raising a family while building a lawfirm, so you feel less alone in your journey toward a fulfilling career and being the best mom you can be.
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Top 10 Maximum Mom Episodes

Goodpods has curated a list of the 10 best Maximum Mom episodes, ranked by the number of listens and likes each episode have garnered from our listeners. If you are listening to Maximum Mom for the first time, there's no better place to start than with one of these standout episodes. If you are a fan of the show, vote for your favorite Maximum Mom episode by adding your comments to the episode page.

This week on Maximum Mom, your host Elise Buie is joined by Bridget O'Toole.

Bridget is a millennial environmental, land use, municipal and energy lawyer and mom to a 4-year-old son. She opened her own law firm on April 1, 2023 (April Fools Day) in one of New York's most rural counties after leaving a bougie downtown boutique law firm.

She’s been practicing since 2011 and represents clients all over New York State in her practice areas.

Take a listen!

01:11 Meet Bridget

04:58 Bridget’s practice in environmental, land use, municipal, and renewable energy law

09:37 The challenges of working from home

10:35 The persistent issue of schools contacting mothers first

16:42 Bridget's work in renewable energy and her experience working with commercial fishing associations in New York State

22:44 The benefits of meditation for stress management and the importance of unplugging from technology

29:18 Bridget’s fear of what others would think if she opened an office in a rural county and how she overcame it

31:26 The value of giving trusted referrals

34:56 The lack of access to justice and technology in rural communities and how it affects her practice

39:53 The different types of insurance that are necessary as a law practice grows

41:19 The significance of joining a mastermind group and connecting with other women who have similar experiences as working moms

📹 Watch the interview here

Resources:

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This week on Maximum Mom, your host Elise Buie is joined by Rachel Clar.

Rachel is a divorced lawyer mom, and in deciding to launch a business. She had to first move through a tremendous inner journey of self-discovery and personal growth to develop the courage to take a big chance.

As lawyers, we often live our lives based on the model we learned in school, the lie that conflict is a binary only resolved with someone prevailing. As women, in general, we were raised to elevate ourselves through collaborative leadership instead.

Rachel believes in reconciliation work, humility, and collaboration. She wants women lawyers to find their sisterhood where they can speak freely, ask their toughest career questions, and level up to get the pay and the influence that they rightly deserve.

Rachel creates spaces where real conversations happen and women both deeply bond & craft brilliant career strategies. She is a woman, a lawyer, and entrepreneur, professionally. Rachel is a mom to two amazing teenage boys. She is an empath, an artist, and a student of non-violence.

02:48 Meet Rachel and Interconnected Us

06:40 The struggles and unhappiness experienced by women lawyers

10:32 Combating the pressure to always appear strong.

16:57 The value of time, the importance of setting boundaries, and the ongoing journey of learning to manage time effectively

23:27 The importance of celebrating personal wins and prioritizing self-care

27:34 Using exercise to shut the brain off

33:05 The joy of making connections

41:26 The lack of emphasis on emotional intelligence and communication skills in law school and the legal profession

Connect with Rachel:

Resources:

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This week on Maximum Mom, your host Elise Buie is joined by Flora Garcia-Sepulveda.

Flora Garcia-Sepulveda, a founding partner of Woodman & Garcia-Sepulveda and a Certified Family Law Specialist, is an experienced trial lawyer who practices family law exclusively, focusing on diverse financial issues including business valuation, property division and child and spousal support. Flora is fluent in Spanish. Flora also represents clients in difficult custody disputes and move-away cases.

Before she opened her practice, she worked at Bay Area Legal Aid a non-profit Agency representing victims of domestic violence in their restraining orders, divorce and immigration matters. Flora began to practice family law exclusively in 2005, and has focused in this area of law since that time. Flora previous work at the San Mateo Court and her domestic violence litigation background results in the smooth management of her family law cases as they progress to trial. Her attention to detail and knowledge of the intricacies of family law procedure enable her to strategically plan her cases and prepare for settlement or trial in a way that ensures that clients are receiving the best and most comprehensive representation available.

Since 2012 Flora expanded her practice to include probate matters such as wills, trusts, guardianships, conservatorships and step-parent adoptions.

05:34 The importance of education in building resilience

07:53 Teaching her daughters to be self-sufficient

11:00 Discussion on the need to educate people about the long-term ramifications of staying at home

19:08 The value of teaching children self-sufficiency and the importance of not doing everything for them

30:58 The need to let go of bitterness and victim mentality

34:14 The importance of educating and empowering women

37:30 The benefits of remote work and flexibility, particularly for working mothers, and how it can lead to increased productivity and work-life balance

Connect with Flora Garcia-Sepulveda:

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Maximum Mom - The Power of Resilience with Christine Diorio
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05/08/23 • 61 min

This week on Maximum Mom, your host Elise Buie is joined by Christine Diorio. Christine is a survivor! After losing her brother to a drug overdose when she was 23, she married her first husband less than a year later. They were both alcoholics, and yet somehow she managed to go to law school and have 2 kids while they were there.

After she started work as prosecutor, Christine and her husband went through a very nasty divorce which culminated in her own (and very public!) arrest for DUI and she was forced to resign. Fast forward 13 years later - Christine is sober, in her second marriage with a beautiful blended family, and despite spending the first 5 years after her divorce in and out of court with her ex-husband, today he is also sober and they have a solid and friendly co-parenting relationship.

After Christine’s DUI, she became a public defender. As she worked on her own sobriety - advocating for other addicts in jail was deeply fulfilling but also left her burnt out, so when she became pregnant with her youngest daughter, she went on maternity leave and took a much needed break from the law.

When Christine’s daughter entered kindergarten, she knew it was time to return to work but she still wanted the flexibility to be home with her 3 kids. So, the Law Office of Christine Diorio was born smack dab in the middle of the pandemic! I practice primarily family law (mostly divorce) and some criminal defense (mostly DUI's). She truly feels called to help others through the things she has had to overcome, to hopefully inspire them and provide some light and hope.

Christine’s tagline is "where justice has a heart" because she believes the justice system needs more compassion. She just celebrated 2 years since opening her firms doors in Tampa, Florida. She has 3 staff members and they are totally virtual. They are growing by leaps and bounds and Chirstine believes it is because of the compassion she brings along with the focus to help her clients stay out of court wherever possible.

She believes nothing about the divorce process should become so nasty, that you are unable to be co-parents when it is over, and too many attorneys contribute to this dynamic! By being open with her clients about her own journey, Christine is able to meet them where they are.

02:14 Christine’s story of resilience and grit, sharing her personal and professional journey. Including her struggles with substance abuse, divorce, and career changes.

11:31 Starting a virtual law firm

16:41 Importance of peace in divorce, for the sake of the children and one's own well-being

21:48 Collaborative law and the challenges of its high cost

27:36 Hiring and empowering a team and the importance of prioritizing family

36:18 Resilience in challenges of law practice and overcoming them

49:14 Parental alienation and family law system

54:05 Substance abuse in law school

Connect with Christine:

📹 Watch the interview here.

Resources:

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Maximum Mom - When and How To Ask For Help with Kara McKeage
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03/27/23 • 35 min

This week on Maximum Mom, your host Elise Buie is joined by Kara McKeage. Kara McKeage is the founder of Pepper’s Personal Assistants, a sourcing and placement agency for highly vetted personal assistants.

With the belief that support is not a luxury, support is a necessity. She is dedicated to helping professional women let go of the shame around outsourcing household tasks so they can find more time, feel organized and have peace of mind.

Kara provides a framework and mindset shift in releasing the fear of delegation and outsourcing household tasks and how to have a successful relationship with your personal assistants.

With a team of 24 employees, Kara can share the importance of embracing support, leadership for remote teams, and taking actions that align with your core values. You can expect Kara to share lessons learned and key takeaways on life and business.

01:20 Meet Kara!

04:11 Getting support

09:30 When starting to delegate to a personal assistant

14:57 Accepting that you actually cannot do it all

18:30 When you are worried about providing too much care and raising entitled kids

21:42 Personal work need to happen in order to grow a business

23:48 How to create your core values

29:47 Feedback - one of the biggest leadership failures

🎧Listen to the podcast here.

📹 Watch the interview here.

Connect with Kara:

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Maximum Mom - The Referral Ninja with Stacey Brown Randall
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11/08/21 • 29 min

This week on Maximum Mom your host Elise Buie joined Stacey Brown Randall.

Stacey Brown Randall is the multiple award-winning author of Generating Business Referrals Without Asking, host of the Roadmap to Grow Your Business podcast and national speaker.

She has had the privilege of helping well-known corporations and franchises, but her focus is on small business owners, solopreneurs and sales professionals.

Stacey’s programs are uniquely tailored to help you take control of your referrals, your client experience and crush your goals.

Stacey has been featured in national publications like Entrepreneur magazine, Investor Business Daily, Forbes, CEO World, Fox News and more.

She received her Master’s in Organizational Communication and is married with three kids.

7:45 ignoring the gain
8:17 referral ninja
10:42 just try
11:50 referrals without asking
19:30 tracking networking
20:30 data is a starting point

Watch the interview here.

Subscribe to Maximum Mom on your favorite podcast player so you never miss an episode!

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Maximum Mom - Doing Family Law Differently with Ali Smedley
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06/21/21 • 46 min

This week on Maximum Mom your host Elise Buie joins Ali Smedley.

One of South Jersey’s leading matrimonial lawyers, AllynMarie (Ali) Smedley, Esq., has focused her practice solely in the area of family law, including divorce, pre- and post-marital agreements, support and alimony, child support and custody, college contribution matters, spousal support, grandparent visitation, equitable distribution, paternity determinations, parenting time, domestic violence, non-traditional family law, settlement negotiations, wills and adoptions. She also handles family law matters requiring Appellate Division review.

Ms. Smedley joined Trace Jenkins in 2006 and became a partner in the firm in January 2014. She founded Smedley & Lis in October 2015 and launched the Smedley Law Group in December 2019. As a capable litigator and negotiator, she brings a new energy and vision to the firm, while still focusing on its core values of achieving realistic and practical outcomes for clients. Prior to joining Trace Jenkins in 2006, Ms. Smedley clerked for the Honorable Harold U. Johnson, Jr., P.J.F.P., Chancery Division, Family Part in Cumberland County where she received valuable training in the workings of the New Jersey Judiciary that continues to benefit her clients to this day.

Watch the interview here.

Subscribe to Maximum Mom on your favorite podcast player so you never miss an episode!

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Maximum Mom - Building Your Network With Théda Page
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03/08/21 • 37 min

This week on Maximum Mom your host Elise Buie joins Théda Page! In 2002 Théda opened The Page Law Firm, which focuses on bankruptcy and family law.

Ms. Page began her career in 1986 representing debtors in consumer and business bankruptcies with a boutique law firm in Dallas and then with a sole member firm.

In 1988 Ms. Page joined J. C. Penney Company, Inc. in the corporate legal department where she developed and implemented a consumer bankruptcy rights enforcement project for the company’s credit service centers and represented the company in bankruptcy courts across the country. She also worked in the area of trade regulation ensuring the company’s compliance with applicable state and federal laws, as well as in the area of securities regulation.

In 1997 Ms. Page expanded her career in the corporate arena when she was named Manager of Public Relations for JCPenney where she was responsible for the development, implementation and coordination of strategies with respect to the company’s media communications programs, including executive speech writing and event marketing. Ms. Page was named Director of Corporate Media Relations for Sabre Holdings Corporation in Fort Worth in 1999 and subsequently named Director of Worldwide Media Relations for Sabre.

Watch the interview here.

Subscribe to Maximum Mom on your favorite podcast player so you never miss an episode!

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This week on Maximum Mom your host Elise Buie joined Melissa Shanahan!

Melissa Shanahan founded Velocity Work after several years at a consulting firm focused on the growth of private practices all across the U.S. After coaching over 350 doctors, dentists, and lawyers - she chose to narrow her services to attorneys only and started Velocity Work.

The host of the Velocity Work podcast and an extremely effective coach for attorneys running their own firms, Melissa brings her A-game to everything she does. Her energy is infectious and the material she’s teaching will forever change how you think.

From mindset, to vision, to productivity, to tracking firm data, Velocity Work has helped hundreds of attorneys grow their firm on their terms.

Melissa lives in Denver where she and her husband (also an entrepreneur) are raising their sweet 1 year old son, Lachlan.

www.velocitywork.com

https://www.instagram.com/velocity.work/

Watch the interview here.

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Watch the YouTube version of this episode HERE

This week on Maximum Mom, your host Elise Buie is joined by Brita Long. Brita is an attorney and attorney coach who teaches flat fees to other attorneys and more importantly mind set.

One of the workshops Brita provides is on our relationship with money. "It ain't about the money" isn't about the knowledge of personal finance or small practice finance, but about our thoughts, beliefs and feelings about money and how those affect our behavior. Including: charging flat fees.

When Brita began working with attorneys she quickly discovered that nearly all of them had money mindset/belief issues that were causing them to self sabotage in regard to money. Take a listen!

04:20 Brita’s mission to maximize attorneys by teaching flat fees and emphasizing personal development and mindset in the legal profession

13:44 Every problem in the office is a leadership problem

19:25 The importance of emotional intelligence in the legal profession

21:59 The impact of money mindset on legal practice

26:26 The financial challenges and self-sabotage tendencies observed in small law firm owners

28:29 Advocating for the adoption of flat feesLearning and Ego in Legal Practice

32:50 The role of ego in legal practice

41:11 Energy management

49:02 The lack of safety in expressing vulnerability in the legal profession and the potential for limitless reform in the profession

Connect with Brita:

Resources:

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FAQ

How many episodes does Maximum Mom have?

Maximum Mom currently has 85 episodes available.

What topics does Maximum Mom cover?

The podcast is about Mom, Lawyer, Entrepreneurship, Motherhood, Law Firm, Podcasts and Business.

What is the most popular episode on Maximum Mom?

The episode title 'Breaking Free: Women's Journey to Financial Independence with Sarah Walton' is the most popular.

What is the average episode length on Maximum Mom?

The average episode length on Maximum Mom is 43 minutes.

How often are episodes of Maximum Mom released?

Episodes of Maximum Mom are typically released every 7 days.

When was the first episode of Maximum Mom?

The first episode of Maximum Mom was released on Nov 11, 2020.

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