Maximum Mom

This week on Maximum Mom, your host Elise Buie is joined by Victoria Collier.

Victoria Collier, Founder and CEO of Quid Pro Quo: Victoria is a seasoned entrepreneur with over 20 years of experience in the legal industry. In addition to building and selling her own 7-figure law firm, she has been coaching lawyers since 2008 on how to add value to their law firms.

Take a listen!

08:15 Victoria Collier discusses how having children has influenced her entrepreneurial journey and the motivation it provides to show her children they can pursue their dreams

11:50 Introduction to Victoria Collier's business, Quid Pro Quo, which assists law firm owners in selling or buying law firms, focusing on finding a perfect match between buyers and sellers

18:51 The importance of being true to yourself and finding fulfillment in your work and personal life

19:56 The dangers of pursuing growth without considering personal values and alignment with clients

24:12 The importance of preserving the culture and legacy of a law firm when buying or selling, and the need for realistic expectations and a successful transition process

29:11 Discussion on the transition timeline when buying or selling a law firm, including the importance of respecting the seller's decisions and allowing them to stay as long as they want

30:50 Exploring the importance of going beyond surface-level conversations and understanding the fears and concerns that drive people's decisions

34:31 Steps involved in working with the speaker to evaluate and position a law firm for sale, including assessing the current state of the firm, determining the desired outcome, conducting a valuation, and creating a marketing package.

37:44 Discusses the rules of thumb for valuing law firms based on the services provided and the multiple of earnings before taxes and depreciation and amortization (EBITDA).

38:45 Explains the concept of sellers discretionary earnings and how it involves recasting personal expenses back into the net income of the law firm.

42:18 Emphasizes the significance of financial forecasting for law firms, including the ability to analyze trends, make strategic decisions, and understand the impact on the numbers.

Connect with Victoria Collier:

• Website

Resources:

• Join the Guild Membership
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This week on Maximum Mom, your host Elise Buie is joined by Amy Cote.

Amy started Think Out because for most organizations prevention is an afterthought. With communication, consistency and execution, employees will perform well as teams that are prepared for the expected and unexpected.

Thanks to Amy’s training and experience, she has strong skills in leadership, communication, change management, operations, labor relations, policy development and best practices.

Thanks to Amy’s genes, she has an obsessive curiosity, keen ability to think out, problem solve and counsel.

If you have questions or just want to think out loud together, Amy would love you to take action and advocate for yourself, your people, your business, your future!

Take a listen!

11:34 How curiosity and innovative thinking play a role in Amy’s business

19:29 The need to question traditional ways of doing things and the benefits of thinking outside the box

20:38 A businesses to plan for the future

32:08 Amy starting her own business, including the initial uncertainty and the importance of perseverance

44:08 Personal growth and self-discovery that comes with owning a business

Connect with Amy Cote:

• Website

Resources:

• Join the Guild Membership
• Subscribe to the Maximum Lawyer Youtube Channel
• Follow us on Instagram
• Join the Facebook Group
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• Follow us on LinkedIn

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:

• Website
• LinkedIn

Resources:

• Join the Guild Membership
• Subscribe to the Maximum Lawyer Youtube Channel
• Follow us on Instagram
• Join the Facebook Group
• Follow the Facebook Page
• Follow us on LinkedIn

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:

• Website
• Avvo
• LinkedIn
• Twitter
• Facebook

Resources:

• Join the Guild Membership
• Subscribe to the Maximum Lawyer Youtube Channel
• Follow us on Instagram
• Join the Facebook Group
• Follow the Facebook Page
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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:

• Website
• Blog
• Client

📹 Watch the interview here.

Resources:

• Join the Guild Membership
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• Follow the Facebook Page
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